Considerable differences exist in the tax systems employed in the individual EU member states. These differences are evident not only in differing weighting, for example, in the case of indirect and direct taxation, but also in the same kind of tax via differences in individual taxation components, such as assessment bases and tax rates.
This also applies to the taxation of agriculture, not only in the area of income taxes (see previous studies by the Ifo Institute) but also in the taxation of the means of production. This study will provide at overview of the burden of taxation on the means of production employed in selected EU countries.
The first step of the study is to provide a systematic survey of the fiscal rules of tax regulations on the means of production in agriculture in selected EU countries (Denmark, France, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Austria and Sweden). The examined taxes are: taxes and fees on fertilisers and pesticides; motor vehicle taxation; mineral oil taxation and electricity and natural gas taxation. After the individual country analyses a synoptic juxtaposition of the examined taxes shows the most important elements, i.e., the assessment basis, taxation rates, etc. This clearly presents the essential common features or differences in the regulations between the individual countries.
The second part supplies a comparative representation of the resource commitment in the selected countries of EU. In dependence on the type of production and the size of the enterprise, the intensity in the use of fertiliser and pesticides and the expended energy is graphically illustrated.
Against this background the third part of the study analyses the tax effects for different agricultural model units and shows the differences. Finally for the individual EU countries the tax burdens on the means of production and also the effects of the different taxes examined on profits are illustrated separately and then as a whole. This approach looks at the competitive position, i.e. the extent to which tax-induced distortion of competition can be caused by different taxes on the means of production in European agriculture.
In a further step the aspects of a reorientation or restructuring of agriculture in the direction of ecological farming is taken into consideration in the selection of the farms. In addition we demonstrate for the individual countries the extent to which the goals targeted by environmental taxes and the introduction of ecological aspects in the system of taxation have been reached and what restructuring successes have been achieved in the individual countries.
This study gives an impression of the diversity of the burdens on the examined agricultural units. This also makes evident the possibly tax-induced distortions to competition. The study can thus be used as a basis for a more objective discussion with regard to tax-induced competition distortions. This also applies to discussions at the EU level.
The study is also intended to serve as a basis for the current discussion of how tax-policy instruments can actively contribute to the restructuring of agriculture. For the examined EU countries we show which countries use ecologically oriented taxes on the means of production in agriculture and which instruments are primarily employed.
Produktionsmittelbesteuerung der Landwirtschaft in ausgewählten EU-Partnerländern, von Rüdiger Parsche, Chang Woon Nam, Doina Maria Radulescu, Manfred Schöpe, ifo Forschungsbericht 20, München, Februar 2004.
ifo Schnelldienst 5/2004.
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