ETPF Research

ETPF Home

Research

About

Sponsors

Events

Contact

ETPF Phase 1 The effects of international taxation on business

ETPF Phase 2 The welfare implications of international taxation and tax competition

ETPF Phase 3 International tax and economic welfare

ETPF Research

The central aim of ETPF research is to increase the availability of economic research on issues which are of great importance, not just for multinational companies, but also for tax policy-makers.

The overall plan involves three phases, each of which is expected to last between 12 and 18 months. 5 or 6 commissioned papers are anticipated for each phase. Each of the phases should include a survey of the existing economic literature in that general area. In addition, a paper investigating an issue of policy relevance could be included. The broad themes for each phase are as follows.

Phase 1 The effects of international taxation on business

The main aim of phase 1 is to provide evidence of the impact of taxes on the behaviour of corporations, focusing particularly on Europe. This would include, for example, the impact of national and international taxes on where businesses choose to locate their activities and their profit, the scale of their investment, and their financial policy.

1   The effects of international taxation on the activities of multinational companies: a survey of existing evidence & data sources
2   How are plant location decisions and capital flows in Europe affected by corporate income taxes?
3   How far do differences in international tax regimes between countries affect financial policies?
4   Profit shifting within the EU: evidence from Germany
5   Do non-profit taxes affect the location of economic activity? Evidence from the EU
6   An economic analysis of ECJ judgements on corporate income taxes in the EU
7   Economic analysis of proposals for a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB)

Phase 2 The welfare implications of international taxation and tax competition

Phase 2 focuses more on the impact of businesses - particularly of multinational corporations - on the economic welfare of the countries in which they operate. For example, what are the benefits to individual countries of attracting inward investment? Is there any evidence that governments compete with each to attract mobile capital by reducing their tax rates?

1   Corporation tax is borne by workers, not shareholders
2   Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base: large countries revenue would rise under the EU’s proposals
3   Corporation tax creates unemployment
4   Globalisation generates higher corporation tax revenues
5   Tax competition in income tax as well as corporation tax

Phase 3 International Tax and Economic Welfare

In Phase 3, we are aiming to build towards a longer term programme, which should provide a mix of research projects on different themes and of different styles. In Phase 3 and subsequently, some papers would certainly need to cover policy questions, which come under the heading "International Tax Design". One advantage of including such projects is that it enables us to bring to the ETPF first-rate economic theorists who do not generally undertake empirical work, but who nevertheless are able to produce clear analysis of policy questions. But in phase 3 and subsequently, we also aim to include empirical projects relevant to determining international tax policy. These would include elements from the Phase 1 and Phase 2 themes: how taxes affect business decisions, and how taxes and business decisions affect welfare.

1    UK corporation tax deters corporate headquarters from locating in the UK
2    UK Government’s corporation tax proposals could damage the UK’s competitiveness
3    How does overseas investment affect activity at home?
4    Multinationals’ capital structure, thin capitalization rules, and corporate tax competition
5    The effects of company taxation in EU Accession Countries on German multinationals

Phase 4 The impact and design of business taxation in a globalised world