The Barcelona Institute of Economics (IEB) has just published the IEB Report 2/2024, entitled ‘Economic Competitiveness and the Tax System’. Coordinated by Alejandro Esteller Moré, a full professor of economics at the University of Barcelona (UB), and José María Durán Cabré, an associate lecturer at the UB, the issue examines the role that taxes and different tax systems play in countries’ competitiveness.

The issue includes three articles, making it possible to approach the topic from multiple points of view. The first article, by Ruud de Mooij, Deputy Director of Fiscal Affairs at the International Monetary Fund, is based on the premise that a tax system is competitive when it is better than others, not as an end in itself, but as a means to achieving people’s welfare.

In his article, Javier García Arenas, from CaixaBank Research, similarly underscores that it is important for tax systems to enable the collection of a level of revenue in line with the country’s development and the funding of quality public services. After reviewing the most important corporate tax reforms undertaken in Spain in recent years to boost the country’s competitiveness, he highlights various additional changes that should be made, including streamlining tax incentives for R&D, reviewing depreciation rates and eliminating the distortions that discourage companies from growing.

Finally, in his analysis, Javier Pérez, from the Bank of Spain, emphasizes the importance of striking the right balance between achieving tax revenue goals in order to fund necessary policies and minimizing tax distortions that harm overall competition.