Spain awarded by Tax Foundation for its improvement in tax competitiveness

Ms. Ana Ortega's picture
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On 26 October the organization “Tax Foundation” handed over an award to a representative of the Spanish Embassy in Washington DC for being the country which has most improved in Tax Competitiveness in 2017.

Tax Foundation is a prestigious and renowned US think tank that issues the report “International Tax Competitiveness Index” (ITCI) on an annual basis.

The ITCI seeks to measure the extent to which a country’s tax system adheres to two important aspects of tax policy: competitiveness and neutrality, since a competitive and neutral tax code promotes sustainable economic growth and investment while raising sufficient revenue for government priorities.

For Tax Foundation, a competitive tax code is one that keeps marginal tax rates low and a neutral tax code is one that seeks to raise the most revenue with the fewest economic distortions.

To measure whether a country’s tax system is neutral and competitive, the ITCI looks at more than 40 tax policy variables. These variables measure not only the level of taxes, but also how taxes are structured. The Index looks at a country’s corporate taxes, individual income taxes, consumption taxes, property taxes, and the treatment of profits earned overseas. The ITCI gives a comprehensive overview of how developed countries’ tax codes compare, explains why certain tax codes stand out as good or bad models for reform, and provides important insight into how to think about tax policy.

Estonia has been occupying the first place in the ranking for four consecutive years. However, this year Tax Foundation wanted to award Spain because, thanks to our last tax reform, we have considerably improved our tax code and we have climbed from the 32nd position in 2014 to the 28th in 2017.

For further information, visit:

https://taxfoundation.org/2017-international-tax-competitiveness-index/