Corporate Tax Rate on the example of the Republic of Croatia and the Member States of the European Union : Graduate paper

Proračun država članica Europske Unije sastoji se od prihoda i rashoda, a isti u načelu moraju biti uravnoteženi. Načelo ravnoteže možda funkcionira u teoriji, ali u praksi je teže izvedivo budući da porezi čine veliki udio prihoda u proračunu, a opravdavanje tih prihoda kroz rashode je u većini slučajeva znatno veće. Ciljevi poreznih reformi proizlazi iz smanjenja ukupnog poreznog opterećenja, poticanja konkurentnosti gospodarstva te izgradnji pravednijeg poreznog sustava. Republika Hrvatska podložna je promjenama poreza na dobit kroz porezne reforme, a najznačajnija promjena zahvatila je 1998. godinu. Te godine proračunski prihodi povećali su se za 38% sa 1,785 milijuna kuna na 2,461 milijuna kuna, a razlog tomu je povećanje stope poreza na dobit sa 25% na 35%. Gledajući s aspekta konkurentnosti poreza na dobit između zemalja članica EU i Republike Hrvatske može se reći da Belgija, Francuska i Njemačka prednjače u pogledu stopa poreza na dobit i ostalih poreznih oblika. Dok, Bugarska, Rumunjska i baltičke zemlje ostvaruju najnižu stopu poreza na dobit zbog nerazvijenosti gospodarstva i konkurentnosti. Neke od država članica imaju jedinstvenu stopu poreza na dobit, dok druge primjenjuju više poreznih stopa koje ovise o ostvarenom gospodarskom rezultatu. Sa teorijskog aspekta detaljno je razrađena terminologija poreznog sustava, karakteristike poreza, teorije opravdavanja poreza na dobit i problematike poreznih sustava od kojih je prisutno Smithovo načelo pravednosti gdje bi svaki obveznik trebao plaćati porez sukladno visini svojih primitaka. Cilj ovog rada je analizirati trendove fluktuacije poreza na dobit Republike Hrvatske i država članica EU te utvrditi kakav je udio prihoda prikupljenih od oporezivanja dobiti u odnosu na ukupne prihode. Također, diplomskim radom nastoji se odgonetnuti jesu li porezne stope RH previsoke i treba li ih smanjiti.The budget of the Member States of the European Union is made up of revenue and expenditure, and in principle they must be balanced. The principle of equilibrium may work in theory, but in practice it is more difficult to do it, since taxes make up a large proportion of budget revenues, and in most cases justifying these revenues through expenditures is much higher. The goals of tax reform stem from reducing the overall tax burden, boosting the competitiveness of the economy and building a fairer tax system. The Republic of Croatia is subject to changes in corporate tax through tax reforms, with the most significant change being in 1998. That year, budget revenues increased by 38% from HRK 1,785 million to HRK 2,461 million, which is due to an increase in the corporate tax rate from 25% to 35%. Looking at the competitiveness of corporate income tax between EU Member States and the Republic of Croatia, it can be said that Belgium, France and Germany are leading in terms of corporate tax rates and other tax forms. Whereas, Bulgaria, Romania and the Baltic countries have the lowest profit tax rates due to underdeveloped economy and competitiveness. Some Member States have a single corporate income tax rate, while others apply multiple tax rates that depend on economic performance. From a theoretical point of view, the terminology of the tax system, the characteristics of tax, the theory of justification of corporate income tax and the problems of tax systems are elaborated, all of which present Smith's principle of fairness, where each taxpayer should pay tax according to the amount of his receipts. The aim of this paper is to analyze trends in corporate income tax fluctuations in the Republic of Croatia and the EU Member States, and to determine the proportion of revenues collected from corporate income taxation relative to total revenues. The thesis also tries to find out whether the tax rates of the Republic of Croatia are too high and whether they should be reduced