H20 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue: GeneralReturn

The significant contribution of R&D to economic development and sustainability has been shown by various studies. Therefore, governments offer different fiscal instruments to attract R&D, especially regarding multinational entities (MNEs). One of the fiscal instruments are tax incentives for R&D. Furthermore, the EU has been working on the switch from Separate Taxation (ST) to Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) for longer than a decade, which will lead to harmonized R&D tax allowances, however without harmonizing the tax rates. Hence, this study aims at analyzing how ST and CCCTB impact the location of MNEs' R&D activities, tax burden and countries' tax revenue through a case study. The results show that, under ST, tax jurisdictions can stimulate MNEs' R&D activities by means of attractive tax allowances and lower tax rates. Especially for high-tax countries, the tax allowances represent an important tool for attracting R&D activities. However, under CCCTB, the location of R&D activities additionally depends on the Formula Apportionment (FA) factors of the tax base, where the countries cannot exert a direct influence. Hence, the reduction of tax rates remains the only tool left to Member States, which can lead to revenue loss on the whole. Furthermore, the FA of the tax base under CCCTB mitigates the impact of any dislocation of R&D to a low-tax country, which, under ST, leads to larger tax savings of MNEs and its impact on jurisdictions' tax revenue is greater.

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effects of R&D intensity, R&D investment and tax incentives on firms' growth in Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain from 2002 to 2014. Another ambition of this paper is to identify which selected factors affected firms' growth. The effect of variables such as the R&D intensity, generosity of tax incentives, capital intensity, profitability, firm size and firm sales was tested. Using panel regression analysis a positive influence R&D intensity and generosity of tax incentives at firms' growth was recorded.

This article reports an investigation into the administrative costs of the Slovak tax system. By applying methodology used in the Czech Republic, it analyses the administrative costs of taxation in Slovakia between 2004 and 2011. The results show that Slovakia has relatively high costs of tax administration compared to other developed countries, including its neighbours - the V4 countries. We argue that most of the higher relative cost is caused by subjective - speculative factors that will be addressed by ongoing tax system reforms.

Consumption taxes have been harmonized in the EU countries since 1993 and a great attention is paid to their convergence in the EU. The EU directives harmonize tax administration, tax bases and set minimal applicable rates. The aim of the article is to find out if VAT systems of the EU countries really converged during the period 1995 and 2010, in consequence of harmonization. The subject of investigation is standard and reduced VAT rates, VAT revenues as a share in GDP and implicit rates of consumption taxes. Investigative methods are analysis of these indexes' development, t-tests and F-tests. There were used data from Eurostat and the European Commission for the statistics. Except for standard VAT rates, there was no decrease of indexes' variability and therefore tax systems did not converge.

As a result of the global economic crisis the governments of the states has been forced to present various proceedings especially in field of taxation to maintain or increase the tax revenues and to safe economy. Majority of the states decided to make changes inter alia in indirect taxation as the tool against the crisis. Some of the actions planned the short term effects and some of them are rather as the long term arrangement to fight against crisis. The states usually increased the VAT rates to maintain or increase the public revenues. However, states also launched the proceedings against the tax frauds especially in VAT area where the tax frauds are very frequent. Results of this research might be useful as the inspiration for other states in the global economy.