The Austrian Tax System – Status Quo

Angela Köppl and Margit Schratzenstaller

WIFO Bulletin, 2015, vol. 20, issue 5, 55-71

Abstract: The tax burden in Austria is comparatively high, and the gap vis-à-vis the EU average has widened. The tax structure exhibits a number of specific features: taxes on labour are high, both from the employee's and the employer's side, following an upward trend and markedly exceeding the international average. The share of environmental taxes is below the EU average, their effective burden corresponds to an intermediate position. Revenues from tobacco and alcohol taxes, major "sin taxes" aiming at influencing private behaviour, are losing importance in the longer run. Taxation of wealth claims a rather small and – against the international trend – significantly declining share of total tax revenues. Nominal tax rates on income are high, those on returns from capital are about average, as is the nominal and effective corporate tax burden. Moreover, complexity and lack of transparency of the tax system are on the rise. These findings call for a major overhaul of the system, notably of the composition of tax revenues.

Keywords: Tax system; assessed income tax; corporate taxes; environmental taxes; payroll taxes; tax structure; wage tax; wealth taxes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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