On June 28, 2022 the European Commission published the Annual Report on Taxation 2022: Tax Policies in the European Union. The report was prepared/authored by the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (European Commission). As a disclaimer the report states that the document should not be considered as representative of the European Commission’s official position.
The report presents the state of play of taxation in the EU. The report aims to describe the most recent reforms and the main indicators used by the European Commission to assess progress on taxation policies in EU Member States and at EU level. The report provides information on the EU’s main tax priorities:
- Foster innovation and productivity;
- Contribute to social fairness and prosperity; and
- Make tax administrations more effective and efficient and ensure good cooperation between tax administrations.
In addition, in view of the digital and green transition and several important EU and international tax developments, the report focuses in-depth on three topics:
- Green taxation and its contribution to addressing climate change and supporting ambitious environmental objectives;
- The digital transition, and its effect on taxation systems, in terms of tax rules, tax revenue collection and tax administration; and
- Business taxation in the 21st century.
The Annual Report highlights that EU Member States’ tax revenue has decreased for the first time since the 2009 financial crisis, while public expenditure jumped from 46.5% in 2019 to 53% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis. The report furthermore shows that the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are testing both the resilience of our economies and our capacity to swiftly respond. However, some immediate measures to tackle the current crises, including a temporary reduction of energy taxation and income support for poorer or hardest hit households, have already been implemented. The Annual Report on Taxation 2022 has been published together with an accompanying report on the most striking Taxation Trends in Member States over the last years (Taxation trends in the European Union: data for the EU Member States, Iceland, Norway).
The publication of the report also marks the start of a series of events to help steer the discussion towards a tax framework that is fit for the future. Today, an online with Commissioner Gentiloni, Commissioner Schmit and other high-level speakers will look at “Mega-trends and the impact on Taxation”, and debate the changes needed to make taxation more resilient and better performing over the long term. This series of events will culminate in a high-level Tax Symposium on 28 November 2022 on the “EU tax mix on the road to 2050”. The Symposium will generate input and ideas on the large-scale changes needed in taxation across the EU and will orientate the European Commission’s policy priorities for the future.
The Annual Report on Taxation 2022: Tax Policies in the European Union can be downloaded here.
The accompanying report Taxation trends in the European Union: data for the EU Member States, Iceland, Norway can be downloaded here.
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