This paper examines the impact of thin capitalization rules that limit the tax deductibility of interest on the capital structure of the foreign affiliates of US multinationals. We construct a new data set on thin capitalization rules in 54 countries for the period 1982-2004. Using confidential...

The question of additional taxes on banking institutions has recently been debated.At the same time, financial regulation in the banking sector is undergoing many changes aimed at strengthening financial stability. This paper uses SYMBOL, a micro-simulation model of the banking system, to...

This paper reviews the experiences of Belgium and Italy with ACE-type systems of corporate taxation. The comparison focusses on the definition of the base for the computation of the allowance and the anti-avoidance framework to tackle abuses. It is argued that the Italian system, with its...

The tax deductibility of interest payments in most corporate income tax systems coupled with no such measure for equity financing creates economic distortions and exacerbates leverage. This paper discusses the consequences of this debt bias and the possible remedies.

During the period 2008-2012, EU governments incurred substantial costs bailing out banks. As corporate income taxation (CIT) in most countries still favors debt- over equityfinancing, reducing or eliminating this debt bias would complement regulatory reforms reducing costs of financial crises....

The main research question of the project is summarized as: What are the macroeconomic and distributional consequences of fiscal devaluation for a selection of countries and the EU as a whole? The selected countries are France, Italy, Spain and Austria. The project aims to perform four tasks: 1....

One key objective of tax-based fiscal consolidations which is too often disregarded in public debate is to minimise economic distortions. This paper uses a computable general equilibrium model to gauge these potential distortions by calculating the marginal cost of public funds (MCF) for EU...

Value Added Tax (VAT) in Europe is regularly subject to intensive debate. It is often argued that the current VAT system should be made more uniform to enhance economic efficiency and to protect the functioning of the internal market. But it is also regularly argued that extending reduced VAT to...

The survey carried out by the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the implementation of the Interest and Royalty Directive and application of Article 15(2) of the Agreement between the EU and the Swiss Confederation in the Member States...

Immovable property transactions are in most Member States based on concepts employed in the national (civil) laws. The application of the origin principle causes (additional) difficulties because of the different concepts employed in the national laws. In order to achieve a more uniform...