Changes in Structures of Tax Systems – Similarities and Differences Among OECD Countries

Abstract

Numerous studies indicate that the structure of taxation is of greater significance for economic growth than the level of fiscalism measured with the tax revenue to GDP ratio. Hence, the aim of the paper is to answer the question whether the tendencies taking place in tax systems of individual countries indeed reflect efforts to apply such economic growth-friendly tax instruments. The subject of the study were OECD member states in the period of 2000–2012. Data clustering method was applied to assess the direction of changes in the tax structures of OECD countries. In the analysis, four parameters characterizing tax systems were used: the ratio of income taxes to GDP, which describes the overall level of tax burden in the examined countries and three parameters characterizing the tax revenue structure of tax systems, i.e. the share of social security contributions in total tax revenue and the share of consumption taxes in total tax revenue.