International imperatives and tax reform - Lessons from postcommunist Europe

A growing portion of tax policy in postcommunist Europe is driven by external factors relating to regional and global economic integration. The EU accession process and global competition for capital have largely determined tax policymaking and the development of capitalist tax regimes in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Eurostat data, OECD and EU reports, and interviews with political and bureaucratic officials support these conclusions. Recent trends in taxation in postcommunist Europe provide a striking example of the declining economic policy autonomy of states, in this case, newly autonomous states with a great sensitivity to issues of national sovereignty.