Tax burden in OECD countries and in the Czech Republic

Data on the economic development of OECD-Member countries show that tax structures in all OECD countries are changing, but one constant feature is that the share of taxes in GDP is rising. The aim of this article is to discus the main reasons for the increased tax burden in OECD countries, the difficulties of international comparisons of tax burden, and the conditions for tax burden reduction in the Czech Republic. An international comparison is difficult because national economic indicators can be distorted by methods used for measuring GDP on the one hand and by tax-revenues assessment on the other. For example, some countries tax/GDP ratios are underestimated on account of considerable and hidden "tax expenditures". Czech tax policy is limited by the co-ordination and harmonization with, and the fiscal objectives of its accession to, the European Union.