IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/zewdip/283587.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The tax attractiveness of EU locations for corporate investments: A stocktaking of past developments and recent reforms

Author

Listed:
  • Gundert, Hannah
  • Nicolay, Katharina
  • Steinbrenner, Daniela
  • Wickel, Sophia

Abstract

Tax incentives are a key component of governments' investment policy mix as they directly impact companies' tax burden. In this paper, we illustrate the EU's tax attractiveness as investment location over time in terms of effective average tax rates and evaluate potential tax reform options. Our quantitative assessment of recent tax policies suggests that corporate tax rate cuts, notional interest deductions and R&D incentives reduce the effective average tax rate significantly. However, we argue that targeted measures such as accelerated depreciations and R&D incentives are most suitable for creating an attractive tax environment for business investments, especially in the context of the global minimum tax.

Suggested Citation

  • Gundert, Hannah & Nicolay, Katharina & Steinbrenner, Daniela & Wickel, Sophia, 2023. "The tax attractiveness of EU locations for corporate investments: A stocktaking of past developments and recent reforms," ZEW Discussion Papers 23-066, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:283587
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/283587/1/1879976188.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Devereux & Harold Freeman, 1991. "A general neutral profits tax," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 12(3), pages 1-15, August.
    2. Devereux, Michael P & Griffith, Rachel, 2003. "Evaluating Tax Policy for Location Decisions," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 10(2), pages 107-126, March.
    3. Lerche, Adrian, 2022. "Investment Tax Credits and the Response of Firms," IAB-Discussion Paper 202228, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    4. Tibor Hanappi & Valentine Millot & Sébastien Turban, 2023. "How does corporate taxation affect business investment?: Evidence from aggregate and firm-level data," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1765, OECD Publishing.
    5. Annette Alstadsæter & Salvador Barrios & Gaetan Nicodeme & Agnieszka Maria Skonieczna & Antonio Vezzani, 2018. "Patent boxes design, patents location, and local R&D," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 33(93), pages 131-177.
    6. Atanassov, Julian & Liu, Xiaoding, 2020. "Can Corporate Income Tax Cuts Stimulate Innovation?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(5), pages 1415-1465, August.
    7. Hebous, Shafik & Ruf, Martin, 2017. "Evaluating the effects of ACE systems on multinational debt financing and investment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 131-149.
    8. Laura Dobbins & Martin Jacob, 2016. "Do corporate tax cuts increase investments?," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(7), pages 731-759, November.
    9. Lars P. Feld & Jost H. Heckemeyer, 2011. "Fdi And Taxation: A Meta‐Study," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 233-272, April.
    10. Eichfelder, Sebastian & Jacob, Martin & Schneider, Kerstin, 2023. "Do tax incentives affect investment quality?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    11. Atanassov, Julian & Liu, Xiaoding, 2020. "Can Corporate Income Tax Cuts Stimulate Innovation? - ERRATUM," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(5), pages 1755-1755, August.
    12. Mervyn A. King & Don Fullerton, 1984. "Introduction to "The Taxation of Income from Capital: A Comparative Study of the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Germany"," NBER Chapters, in: The Taxation of Income from Capital: A Comparative Study of the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Germany, pages 1-6, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Geert Campenhout & Tom Caneghem, 2013. "How did the notional interest deduction affect Belgian SMEs’ capital structure?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 351-373, February.
    14. Belisa Ferreira Liotti & Joy Waruguru Ndubai & Ruth Wamuyu & Ivan Lazarov & Jeffrey Owens, . "The treatment of tax incentives under Pillar Two," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    15. Oliver Falck & Anna Kerkhof & Christian Pfaffl & Christian Pfaffl, 2021. "Steuern und Innovation: Wie steuerliche FuE-Förderung Innovationsanreize in privatwirtschaftlichen Unternehmen schafft," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 74(10), pages 26-30, October.
    16. Finke, Katharina & Heckemeyer, Jost H. & Spengel, Christoph, 2014. "Assessing the impact of introducing an ACE regime: A behavioural corporate microsimulation analysis for Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 14-033, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    17. Ulrich Schreiber & Christoph Spengel & Lothar Lammersen, 2002. "Measuring The Impact Of Taxation On Investment And Financing Decisions," Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr), LMU Munich School of Management, vol. 54(1), pages 2-23, January.
    18. Gaessler, Fabian & Hall, Bronwyn H. & Harhoff, Dietmar, 2021. "Should there be lower taxes on patent income?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    19. Urszula Romaniuk & Krzysztof Malik, 2021. "Notional Interest Deduction – Impact on the Cost of Equity in Investment Projects," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 333-341.
    20. Schanz, Deborah & Dinkel, Andreas & Keller, Sara, 2017. "Tax attractiveness and the location of German-controlled subsidiaries," Munich Reprints in Economics 55058, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    21. Sorensen, Peter Birch, 2004. "International tax coordination: regionalism versus globalism," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(6), pages 1187-1214, June.
    22. Lerche, Adrian, 2022. "Investment Tax Credits and the Response of Firms," IZA Discussion Papers 15668, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    23. Florian Dorn & Fuest Clemens & Florian Neumeier & Michael Stimmelmayr, 2021. "Wie beeinflussen Steuerentlastungen die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung und das Steueraufkommen? Eine quantitative Analyse mit einem CGE-Modell," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 74(10), pages 03-11, October.
    24. Eric Zwick & James Mahon, 2017. "Tax Policy and Heterogeneous Investment Behavior," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(1), pages 217-248, January.
    25. Richard Goode, 1955. "Accelerated Depreciation Allowances as a Stimulus to Investment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 69(2), pages 191-220.
    26. Mervyn A. King & Don Fullerton, 1984. "The Taxation of Income from Capital: A Comparative Study of the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Germany," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number king84-1.
    27. Hall, Bronwyn & Van Reenen, John, 2000. "How effective are fiscal incentives for R&D? A review of the evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4-5), pages 449-469, April.
    28. Evsey D. Domar, 1953. "The Case for Accelerated Depreciation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 67(4), pages 493-519.
    29. Deborah Schanz & Andreas Dinkel & Sara Keller, 2017. "Tax attractiveness and the location of German-controlled subsidiaries," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 251-297, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fischer, Leonie & Heckemeyer, Jost H. & Spengel, Christoph & Steinbrenner, Daniela, 2021. "Tax policies in a transition to a knowledge-based economy: The effective tax burden of companies and highly skilled labour," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-096, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Knoll, Bodo & Riedel, Nadine & Schwab, Thomas & Todtenhaupt, Maximilian & Voget, Johannes, 2021. "Cross-border effects of R&D tax incentives," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    3. Elias Steinmüller & Georg U. Thunecke & Georg Wamser, 2019. "Corporate income taxes around the world: a survey on forward-looking tax measures and two applications," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 26(2), pages 418-456, April.
    4. Fengfei Li & Tse‐Chun Lin, 2022. "Innovative firms’ cash holdings, tax policies, and institutional environments," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 51(3), pages 869-902, September.
    5. Sanz Labrador, Ismael & Sanz-Sanz, José Félix, 2013. "Política fiscal y crecimiento económico: consideraciones microeconómicas y relaciones macroeconómicas," Macroeconomía del Desarrollo 5367, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    6. Nicola Branzoli & Antonella Caiumi, 2020. "How effective is an incremental ACE in addressing the debt bias? Evidence from corporate tax returns," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(6), pages 1485-1519, December.
    7. Ernesto Zangari, 2020. "An economic assessment of the evolution of the corporate tax system in Italy," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1291, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    8. Sean Mc Auliffe & Georg U. Thunecke & Georg Wamser, 2023. "The Tax-Elasticity of Tangible Fixed Assets: Evidence from Novel Corporate Tax Data," CESifo Working Paper Series 10628, CESifo.
    9. Toshiyuki Uemura, 2023. "Corporate Tax Increases and Shareholder-Level Capital Income Tax Neutrality in Japan -An Analysis of Fundamental Reforms Using Effective Tax Rates-," Discussion Paper Series 257, School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University.
    10. Shao, Yuchen & Xiao, Chengrui, 2019. "Corporate tax policy and heterogeneous firm innovation: Evidence from a developing country," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 470-486.
    11. Ziyang Yue & Gangqiang Yang & Haisen Wang, 2023. "How do tax reductions motivate technological innovation?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, December.
    12. Spengel, Christoph & Heinemann, Friedrich & Olbert, Marcel & Pfeiffer, Olena & Schwab, Thomas & Stutzenberger, Kathrin, 2018. "Analysis of US corporate tax reform proposals and their effects for Europe and Germany. Final report: Update 2018," ZEW Expertises, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, number 181905.
    13. Lisa Evers & Helen Miller & Christoph Spengel, 2015. "Intellectual property box regimes: effective tax rates and tax policy considerations," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 22(3), pages 502-530, June.
    14. Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra & Héctor Zárate-Solano & Andrés Camilo Gómez-Molina, 2018. "Elasticidad del ingreso corporativo gravable en Colombia," Borradores de Economia 1046, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    15. Jost HECKEMEYER & Katharina FINKE & Christoph SPENGEL, 2010. "ZEW TaxCoMM - A Corporate Tax Microsimulation Model. Concept and Application to the 2008 German Corporate Tax Reform," EcoMod2010 259600072, EcoMod.
    16. Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra & Javier Ávila Mahecha & Jorge Enrique Ramos-Forero, 2017. "The Effect of Corporate Taxes on Investment: Evidence from the Colombian Firms," IHEID Working Papers 10-2017, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    17. European Commission, 2019. "Tax Policies in the European Union: 2020 Survey," Taxation Survey 2020, Directorate General Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission.
    18. Chang Woon Nam & Doina Radulescu & Doina Maria Radulescu, 2004. "Types of Tax Concessions for Attracting Foreign Direct Investment in Free Economic Zones," CESifo Working Paper Series 1175, CESifo.
    19. Desiderio Romero-Jordán & Ismael Sanz-Labrador & José Félix Sanz-Sanz, 2020. "Is the corporation tax a barrier to productivity growth?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 23-38, June.
    20. Masaaki Suzuki, 2013. "Corporate Effective Tax Rates in Asian Countries," KIER Working Papers 875, Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mannheim Tax Index; effective tax rates; Devereux-Griffith methodology; globalminimum tax; tax incentives; investment; location attractiveness;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • K34 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Tax Law

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:283587. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/zemande.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.