Ukazovatele daňovej a regulačnej konkurencieschopnosti: Aké daňové zaťaženie a vyvolané náklady znášajú podniky v krajinách EÚ?

Abstract

The tax burden and induced costs of regulation may affect the competitiveness of the economy and, in the context of current digital transformation trends, determine the ability of businesses to compete in terms of digital readiness. Regulatory competitiveness is very closely linked to the quality and performance of country's public institutions. This paper examines the tax and regulatory burden on businesses in EU countries and assesses the tax and regulatory competitiveness of the business environment in these countries. The research is mainly based on an empirical analysis of secondary data. On the basis of selected indicators of the tax and regulatory burden on businesses obtained from the World Bank's database (Doing Business), we examine the situation in EU countries. We use the method of a hierarchical and nonhierarchical cluster analysis to categorize countries into relatively homogeneous groups. According to our results, Slovakia has a similar level of tax and regulatory competitiveness as the Czech Republic and Portugal. Furthermore, we evaluate Slovakia's strengths and weaknesses in international comparison. The results show, among other things, that the financial costs of administrative tasks required due to business regulations are relatively low in Slovakia. On the other hand, the time to complete administrative tasks is long and the tax burden on businesses is relatively high in Slovakia.

Keywords

• tax burden
• competitiveness of the economy
• regulatory burden
• induced costs of regulations
• business environment