TAX BURDEN AND TAX COMPETITION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION - THEORETIC APPROACHES AND DEVELOPMENT 1

This article shortly summarizes basic theoretic approaches to tax burden and competition. The level and structure of tax burden is often discussed. In economic theory there are two basic opinions of level of tax burden and approaches to tax burden and competition and its impact on capital flows, economic activity and tax base. The first opinion prefers tax competition and „tax game “ because of positive effects on public expenditure, reducing of noneffective activities. The second opinion highlights the impact of tax competition in a negative way and prefers tax harmonization and puts stress on negative influence of capital mobility on capital tax rates and level on public expenditure. The present tax policy of the EU prefers revenue from indirect taxes (e.g. VAT and excise taxes), value of indirect taxes has continuously increased since 2001. Development of revenue from direct taxes has been fluctuating. On the other hand, the value of revenue from quasi taxes, mainly from social contributions, has a steady development in the countries of the European Union and it only decreases very slowly.