Which Way to Converge? The Europeanisation of National Tax Systems

Abstract

In this article we investigate in how far European Integration stimulates policy convergence in various subfields of tax policy. We see that several causal mechanisms contribute to an EU-wide convergence of tax policies: imposition, competition, harmonization and learning/ communication. Whereas personal income taxation does not exhibit strong EU-specific reasons for policy convergence, corporate income taxation is spurred by deeper market integration and imposition through the ECJ. More importantly, EU harmonization and (strategic forms) of learning within EU member states have had a direct and noticeable impact on national systems of VAT and excise taxation