Foreword

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> This paper examines the development of taxation in Sweden from 1862 to 2010. The examination includes six key aspects of the Swedish tax system, namely the taxation of labor income, capital income, wealth, inheritances and gifts, consumption and real estate. The importance of these taxes varied greatly over time and Sweden increasingly relied on broad-based taxes (such as income taxes and general consumption taxes) and taxes that were less visible to the public (such as payroll taxes and social security contributions). The tax-to-GDP ratio was initially low and relatively stable, but from the 1930s, the ratio increased sharply for nearly 50 years. Towards the end of the period, the tax-to-GDP ratio declined significantly.</abstract>

Swedish Taxation in a 150-year Perspective

An overview of the Proposal of the Swedish Government Committee on Corporate Taxation

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Although globalization has contributed immensely to growth and prosperity around the world, it is a growing challenge for tax policy makers. Globalization and greater mobility of tax bases increase the relative importance of taxes in corporations’ investment decisions. The combination of highly mobile capital, inadequacies in existing tax laws and a total change of international business environment have led to the fundamental problem in international tax law labeled by the OECD as the problem of BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting), along with severe competition among countries to attract investments and business activities. These challenges are the topic for the 2014 seminar of the Nordic Tax Research Council. Based on the Nordic national reports we discuss these challenges</abstract>

Corporate income tax and the international challenge

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> We study the development in the Danish corporate income tax base and the corporate income tax revenue in the period from 1990 until present. Measured in per cent of GDP the CIT base has out-paced the revenue due to parallel CIT rate cuts and base broadening reforms. We seek to explain the development in the CIT base and discuss whether this is threatened by base erosion and profit shifting. Describing the development in the CIT tax base is a comprehensive and complex task and to pin-point one single cause is not possible. But it is possible to point to elements which have contributed to the development. We conclude that there exists a challenge in terms of international tax competition but find no evidence of the Danish CIT base suffering from this. The challenge for policy makers is designing a tax system which on one side secures sufficient revenue and on the other hand is internationally competitive.</abstract>

Corporate taxation in Denmark and the international challenge

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">It is argued th**at the higher degree of economic integration across borders and the international trend towards a reduction of corporate income tax rates have had a significant impact on the Danish corporate tax regime in recent years. Accordingly, during the last ten years the Danish statutory corporate tax rate has been lowered further, while several government actions at the same time have been taken in order to combat international tax avoidance and evasion. As a result, new anti-avoidance provisions have been introduced and some of the older anti-avoidance provisions have been tightened in order to prevent base erosion and profit shifting. Thus, to some extent Denmark has already tried to address a number of the key pressure areas mentioned in the recently published OECD BEPS report, such as international mismatches in entity and instrument characterization, the tax treatment of related party debt financing, transfer pricing and the effectiveness of anti-avoidance measures. However, the article concludes that these anti-avoidance provisions often suffer from being quite complex, very broad in scope and open to criticism from an EU law perspective.</abstract>

Corporate Taxation and the International Challenge

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">One of the main trends in Finnish corporate taxation during the last ten years has been the lowering of the corporate tax rate. The decision to lower the corporate tax rate to 20% from the beginning of 2014 also changed the approach in reforming the corporate taxation as it was decided to stay on the grounds of a broad tax base and not to make loopholes in it with targeted exceptions. The Finnish corporate taxation contains also some provisions that act as incentives for investment and the establishment of companies. However, the focus has been lately on the rules with purpose to protect the national tax base. Therefore, article handles both the specific anti avoidance rules and the application of the general anti avoidance rule on the cross-border transactions. Some particular challenges and the exchange of information are also taken into account before the conclusion with some ideas and aspects on future reforms.</abstract>

The international Challenges and Finnish Corporate Taxation

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This article aims to describe the development in the field of corporate tax law in Iceland, from both legal and economic point of view, with a focus on measures taken to protect the tax base and in order to try to make Iceland an attractive place for investment and establishment companies. First, there will be a brief general description of the development of the corporate tax rate in Iceland since 2004 and an overview of new taxes that have been introduced for companies over the past ten years. Second, there will be an analysis of how the Icelandic legal framework provides for incentives for investment and establishment of companies in Iceland. Third, this discussion is to be followed by a section on the steps Iceland has taken in order to combat tax avoidance. Fourth, there is a general description of the economic development for the corporate taxation in Iceland since 1990 and fifth, there is brief discussion of the development of revenues from the corporate tax. Sixth, a short overview of the real investment in the Icelandic economy is given, and finally, the main conclusions of this article will be summed up with a short discussion on the main challenges Iceland is currently facing in the field of corporate taxation in today’s globalised economy.</abstract>

Department of Taxation, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs

Corporate taxation in Iceland and the international challenge

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Since the Tax Reform of 1992 Norway has had a tax system of relatively low tax rates and broad tax bases. Norway, along with other Nordic neighbours, did quite early substantially reduce its statutory corporate tax rate - reduced from 50.8 to 28 per cent as part of the 1992 Reform. After 1992 the rate has been constant at 28 until it was reduced marginally to 27 in 2014. Since 1992 the principal objective in designing the corporate tax system has been to ensure resource effectiveness. The role of the corporate (and capital) income tax is therefore to secure public revenue but at the same time minimising distortion. An important feature of the system is therefore that normal return on capital is taxed at the same rate, irrespective of whether it is earned as business income or not. The Report identifies three main challenges to the current corporate tax system. The first challenge discussed is the system’s effects on investments. It cannot be overlooked that the corporate tax rate in Norway is currently higher than the tax rate of many countries Norway is commonly compared with (e.g. other Nordic countries). The Report suggests that this can contribute to a reduction in the level of investment in Norway. The second identified challenge is the tax distortion between debt and equity finance. The Report briefly discusses neutrality in financing through equal tax treatment of debt and equity finance. The Report then discusses the implications and differences of an ACE and a CBIT model in this context. The final challenge discussed is base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). Differences in countries’ tax rules create vast opportunities for tax planning, and largely for the benefit of multinational enterprises (MNEs), inter alia through transfer pricing. The Report suggests that BEPS over time may imply a serious threat in maintaining the revenue from the corporate tax base. The Report then acknowledges that a reduction in the formal tax rate may only to some extent address the problem; which indicates a need to consider other supplementing measures. One such measure is the interest deduction limitation rule, made effective from 2014. The rule was introduced to address profit shifting in MNEs. More generally the Report recognises that Norway cannot freely introduce measures against BEPS following international obligations. Finally the Report mentions the appointment of a Tax Commission in 2013. The Commission’s mandate is to review the Norwegian corporate tax system in light of international developments. The Commission shall deliver its report in the autumn of 2014.</abstract>

Nasjonalrapport for Norge

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> This article investigates if increasing neutrality between debt and equity capital might improve the efficiency in a corporate tax system. Firm-level and sector- level taxation data from Sweden is used to study if a tax system that is characterized by very few limitations with respect to the deductibility of interest costs leads to systematic differences in the taxes paid by different sectors. This paper finds that there are differences between different sectors’ tax payments and these differences can be explained by the sectors’ use of debt capital.</abstract>

Recent developments in Corporate Taxation in Sweden

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> This article aims to give an overview of the rules concerning taxation of companies in Sweden and of trends in the taxation of companies that have been evident in the last few years. It focuses in particular on issues that are connected with the so-called BEPS discussion, for instance interest deduction limitations, CFC rules, general anti-avoidance rules and other rules intended to protect the national tax base. It also sets out to describe other important features of the Swedish tax legislation in regard to companies, such as the rules on taxation of inbound and outbound dividends, interest and royalty.</abstract>

NSFR Seminar 2014 – National Report for Sweden

Koerver Schmidt. Dansk CFC-beskatning – i et internationalt og komparativt perspektiv

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> This paper reports on an investigation of a recent decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in case C-48/13, Nordea Bank Denmark, concerning the Danish rules for reincorporation of losses from permanent establishments situated in European Union/ European Economic Area (EU/EEA) member states other than Denmark. The article includes comments on various EU tax law aspects of the case - namely the restriction test applied by the ECJ, the justifications brought forward by the intervening governments and the question of proportionality - and examines the consequences of the Danish tax law going forward.</abstract>

The Nordea Bank Denmark Case (C-48/13)

Danish Tax News

Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki and KMPG Finland

Finnish Tax News

Icelandic Tax News 2013

Norwegian Tax News

Swedish Tax News

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Nordic Tax Journal

The winner of the 2023 Nordic Tax Council´s Article Prize can be found here.  Nordic Tax Journal is a peer reviewed, open access journal that publishes original, scholarly works on all aspects of taxation. It aims to promote contemporary research of tax-related issues, from both legal and economic perspectives, and to provide a platform for academics, researchers, practitioners, administrators, judges and policy makers to enhance their understanding and knowledge of taxation in the Nordic region. Although we appreciate a Nordic angle in manuscripts, it is not a requirement.  Nordic Tax Journal is published by the Nordic Tax Research Council, a resource for academics, tax officials, practitioners and policymakers pursuing high quality tax research throughout the Nordic region.  The articles in Nordic Tax Journal are published continuously throughout the year. It is abstracted and indexed in numerous relevant services (listed under the "Abstracting &amp; Indexing" tab), and ranked among the top law/economic journals in the Nordic region. The journal does not have article processing charges (APCs) or article submission charges.  Contributors are encouraged to submit their manuscripts to Nordic Tax Journal through its electronic submission system Editorial Manager.  The Nordic Tax Research Council's ARTICLE PRIZE €3.000The Nordic Tax Research Council's Article Prize is awarded yearly to the author of an article published in Nordic Tax Journal (NTaxJ).As from 2019 a prize of 3.000 EUR is awarded at the Council's annual spring seminar, by the Council Chair and the Editor-in-Chief of Nordic Tax Journal. The assessment criteria for the Article Prize are the same as for publication in Nordic Tax Journal: high quality research on taxation relevant to the Nordic countries. Authors can apply to enter the contest when submitting a manuscript to NTaxJ.  Nordic Tax Journal is ranked on the following Nordic academic lists:   Top rankDanish Ministry of Higher Education and Science (Page 185)   Scientific Level 1Norwegian Social Science Data Services   Level 1Publication Forum Federation of Finnish Learned Societies Visit our FacebookVisit our Twitter  Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process.  Target group   academics, researchers, practitioners, administrators, judges and policy makers interested in the taxation systems in the Nordic region 