Tax Division

Study on the impact of reforms of corporate income taxation systems at the EU level on the size of the tax bases of the EU companies, using the model

Project directors


  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Oestreicher
  • Prof. Dr. Christoph Spengel


Participating research assistants


  • Dr. Christina Elschner
  • Dipl.-Kfm. Christof Ernst
  • Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Inf. Michael Grünewald
  • Dipl.-Kfm. Timo Reister
  • Dipl.-Kfm. Jens Prassel
  • Dipl.-Volksw. Lina Cui


Term

28.11.2007 – 27.11.2008


Funded by


  • European Commission


Co-operating partner


  • Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim


Objective

The objective of this study is to provide information on the consequences that adopting a common tax base would have on the size of the corporate tax bases of the EU companies concerned. In order to ascertain the impact of regulations concerning a common tax base the model "European Tax Analyser" is used. The study analyses whether a common tax base provides for a broadening or narrowing of the tax bases in the various EU Member States. Careful consideration is also given to the questions 1) how the choice of CCTB options for particular elements of the tax base affects its size, and 2) what is the weight of each of the structural elements of the tax base? The study also performs sensitivity analyses showing to what extent the results are dependent on the model's assumptions and parameters.

Specifically, the study evaluates the effects of moving from the national corporate tax provisions in the 27 member states to common provisions for determining taxable income by means of computer-based model calculation. The investigation takes account of provisions constituting the CCTB under discussion, including depreciation, inventory valuation, and provisions for liabilities. The size and the structure of the model companies are represented by standard EU-average data. Several country-specific, industry-specific and size-specific distinctions are made. The structure of these model companies is determined using the AMADEUS database.


Publications


  • Spengel, Christoph/Oestreicher, Andreas/Elschner, Christina, et. al., Study on the impact of reforms of corporate income taxation systems at the EU level on the size of the tax bases of the EU companies, using the model “European Tax Analyzer”, Mannheim and Göttingen 2008, available at the website of the European Union: link