
Estonia Needs More Tax Take, Debate Likely Not Until after Election
While the state does need to find new revenues, there will not be any substantive debate on taxation over the next four months, new Finance Minister Annely Akkermann (Reform) says.
While the state does need to find new revenues, there will not be any substantive debate on taxation over the next four months, new Finance Minister Annely Akkermann (Reform) says.
In line with expectations, the tax burden has therefore fallen compared to last year. In absolute terms, the average employee now pays a curious CZK 666 more per month to the state than last year (not adjusted for inflation), but this is only due to the growth in average wages.
Every individual earns money for living somehow. The society agreed that the government is needed and this means we should pay money for their service, and we call it taxes. We may not like paying taxes, but we understand the need for the government to exist.
The directive imposing a pan-EU 15 percent minimum effective corporate income tax on large companies, would, according to the European Commission, address tax challenges caused by digitalization and ensure that companies pay “their fair share of tax.”
Czechs have to hold out for one more month. After June 17, 2022, they will start earning for themselves. Until then, for 167 days, they work only for the state. That makes this year one of the least free since the Liberal Institute has been counting Tax Freedom Day since 2000.
The European Union is debating a directive that would place a minimum effective corporate income tax (CIT) of 15 percent on large-scale company groups. The directive is expected to address tax challenges caused by digitalization.
At the end of 2021, the European Commission (the EC) released a “Proposal for a council directive on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational groups in the Union”.
Last July, the European Commission presented a proposal for a directive aimed at reforming the taxation of energy products and electricity. This proposal is part of the European Union’s (EU) efforts to reduce emissions and air pollution.
In the last weeks, we saw debates between the state and the municipalities, which discussed options to increase the resources for local development, but once again these evolved in the direction of centralized solutions.
In the latest edition of the International Tax Competitiveness Index, Poland was placed 36th out of 37th OECD countries. In the international ranking of tax systems’ competitiveness prepared by the American Tax Foundation, only Italy scored worse.