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E.U. Taxation
The following mostly European Union economic indicators for 2006 are broken down by ECONOMIC, LABOR and TAXATION. These statistics are available through Deloitte.com which in turn prepared them with the cooperation of the Economic Intelligence Unit. Work and residence permits apply to foreigners and not to EU citizens. A more complete source of European economic indicators may be found at the bottom of this page.
While these indicators can help determine which countries are preferable for employment and residence, what constitutes U.S. tax compliance for Americans living abroad remains essential to understand. American expatriates should also keep abreast of the tax news of latest developments in order to avoid possible penalties and audits.
| COUNTRY | POPULATION | LANGUAGE | GDP | GROWTH | INFL | EXPORT | MIN WAGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUSTRIA | 8.2m | German | $36,260 | 1.9% | 2.1% | 108.4b | None |
| CZECH REP | 10.2m | Czech | $10,450 | 4.0% | 2.8% | 66.7b | CZK 7,185 |
| BELGIUM | 10.3m | Dutch/French/German | $34,040 | 2.7% | 2.1% | 244.6b | € 1,234 |
| CROATIA | 4.5m | Croatian | $7,660 | 3.7% | 2.1% | 8.0b | HRK 1,667 |
| CYPRUS | .776m | Greek/Turk/English | $21,300 | 3.6% | 2.9% | 1.0b | CYP 350 |
| DENMARK | 5.4m | Danish/Faroese/Green | $44,790 | 2.0% | 1.2% | 74.9b | None |
| ESTONIA | 1.4m | Estonian/Russian | $8,250 | 6.1% | 3.1% | 6.0b | EEK 2,690 |
| FRANCE | 60.2m | French | $33,410 | 2.3% | 2.1% | 422.8b | € 1,153 |
| GERMANY | 82.6m | German | $32,770 | 1.2% | 1.7% | 891.0b | None |
| GREECE | 10.6m | Greek/English/French | $18,430 | 4.2% | 2.9% | 11.1b | € 605 |
| HUNGARY | 10m | Hungarian | $9,940 | 4.0% | 6.8% | 54.5b | HUF 57,000 |
| IRELAND | 4.1m | English/Irish | $44,590 | 4.9% | 2.2% | 98.8b | €7.65/Hr |
| ITALY | 58.1m | Italian/German/French | $28,910 | 0.1% | 2.2% | 345.5b | Fixed |
| LATVIA | 2.3m | Latvian/Luth/Russian | $5,420 | 8.0% | 6.2% | 3.7b | LVL 80 |
| LUTHIANIA | 3.4m | Lith/Russian/Polish | $6,472 | 6.7% | 1.2% | 9.5b | $416 |
| LUXEMBOURG | .460m | Lux/German/French | $69,360 | 4.2% | 2.2% | 11.8b | € 1,467 |
| NETHERLANDS | 16.3m | Dutch/Frisian | $36,160 | 1.4% | 1.2% | 311.2b | € 1,270 |
| NORWAY | 4.6m | Norwegian | $54,627 | 2.9% | 0.5% | 83.0b | None |
| POLAND | 38.2m | Polish | $6,336 | 5.3% | 3.5% | 81.6b | PLN 849 |
| PORTUGAL | 10.4m | Portuguese | $16,180 | 1.0% | 2.4% | 37.9b | € 375 |
| RUSSIA | 144.7m | Russian | $4,045 | 7.1% | 10.9% | 183.5b | RUR 720 |
| SLOVAKIA | 5.4m | Slovak/Hungarian | $7,550 | 5.5% | 7.6% | 27.9b | SKK 6,500 |
| SPAIN | 41.1m | Spanish/Basque | $24,190 | 2.7% | 3.1% | 180.4b | € 513 |
| SWEDEN | 9m | Swedish | $38,409 | 3.0% | 0.4% | 122.7b | None |
| SWITZERLAND | 7.4m | German/French/Italian | $48,950 | 1.7% | 0.8% | 135.4b | None |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 60.3m | English | $35,530 | 3.1% | 1.3% | 349.5b | £4.85/hr |
| UNITED STATES | 293m | English/Spanish | $40,050 | 4.4% | 2.7% | 807.6b | $5.15/hr |
| COUNTRY | CONDITIONS | UNEMPL | AGRICULT | INDUSTRY | SERVICE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUSTRIA | Good industrial relations. | Compulsory social insurance. | Early retire-ment going. | 4.5% | 3.5% | 25.7% | 70.8% |
| CZECH REP | Foreigners ok if no Czech citizen available to work. | Social benefits provided by social security. | Prague is financial centre. | 9.2% | 3.1% | 37.5% | 59.4% |
| BELGIUM | Labor costs controlled. | Minimum wages adjusted every 1-2 yrs. | Foreign inves-ment is ok. | 7.8% | 2.0% | 26% | 72% |
| CROATIA | Increased labour market flexibility. | Private sector salaries lower than public. | New labor laws adopted | 18.7% | 7.9% | 30% | 62.1% |
| CYPRUS | Foreigners ok if no Cyrpus citizen available to work. | Residence and work also depend upon investment. | 70% of labor force is unionized. | 5.3% | 4.1% | 19.9% | 76% |
| DENMARK | Foreigners need work permits from police. | Welfare model provides universal benefits to all persons. | 80% of workforce is unionized. | 6.4% | 2.2% | 25.2% | 72.6% |
| ESTONIA | Average wage rising rapidly. | Only employers make social security contribs | Foreign firms with branches | 9.7% | 4.1% | 28.5% | 67.6% |
| FRANCE | No employment restrictions. | 35 hour work week since 2002. | Work permits required. | 9.9% | 2.7% | 24.3% | 73% |
| GERMANY | Job offer and visa required. | Substantial social security contributions. | Direct entry very difficult. | 10.6% | 1.0% | 267.5% | 72.5% |
| GREECE | Difficult to obtain work permit. | Private sector covered by social security fund. | 35% workforce unionized. | 9.7% | 6.8% | 22.1% | 71.1% |
| HUNGARY | Employer applies for work permit. | Social insurance costs are high. | Budapest is financial part | 6.0% | 4.1% | 30.6% | 65.3% |
| IRELAND | Work permit required. | Social welfare insurance compulsory. | 45% work-force union. | 4.5% | 4.0% | 38% | 58% |
| ITALY | Employer applies for work permit. | Foreign nationals pay social contributions. | Aliens need residence ok | 8.1% | 2.3% | 28.7% | 69% |
| LATVIA | Social insurance high. | Expatriates pay 31.11% social tax. | Riga is finan-cial centre | 8.7% | 4.3% | 24.8% | 70.9% |
| LITHUANIA | Social insurance high. | Employers pay 31% of gross wages. | Foreign firms no raw land. | 6.8% | 5.9% | 33.3% | 66.8% |
| LUXEMBOURG | Work permit required. | Employers contribute to state pension fund. | Major banking centre. | 3.1% | 1.0% | 30% | 69% |
| NETHERLANDS | Work permit required. | Social insurance contri-butions compulsory. | 27% workforce unionized. | 6.7% | 2.4% | 24.5% | 73.1% |
| NORWAY | Government wants to simpify recruiting. | Generous social insurance coverages. | >95% indus-tries in union | 4.5% | 2.2% | 36.3% | 61.5% |
| POLAND | Obliged to pay social services. | Obliged to contribute to social security. | Warsaw is bank centre | 19.6% | 3.0% | 31.9% | 65.1% |
| PORTUGAL | Work permit required. | Poorest country in European Union. | Severe deficit > 6%. | 6.7% | 5.5% | 29.3% | 65.2% |
| RUSSIA | Wages levels vary. | Ranks 47th of 60 countries for business | Social tax is 26% | 8.2% | 4.9% | 33.7% | 61.4% |
| SLOVAKIA | Trades unions not forceful. | Health & pension funds at 35.2% of payroll | Ranks 34th in business | 14.3% | 3.5% | 29.9% | 66.6% |
| SPAIN | Work permit required but government limit. | Dismissal laws are among strictest in EU | Minority in trade unions | 10.8% | 3.6% | 28.6% | 67.8% |
| SWEDEN | Work permit required. | Social security contributions 36-50%. | 90% workforce unionized. | 5.5% | 2.0% | 28.7% | 69.3% |
| SWITZERLAND | Tough rules to work here. | Mandatory employee pension funds. | 20% workforce unionized. | 3.9% | 2.0% | 34% | 64% |
| UNITED KINGDOM | Work permit required. | Ranks 7th of 60 in business environment. | Stable union membership | 4.6% | 0.9% | 26.5% | 72.6% |
| UNITES STATES | Visa required. Not easy. | Ranks 3rd of 60 in business environment. | 13% workforce unionized. | 5.5% | 0.9% | 19.7% | 79.4% |
| COUNTRY | VAT | INCOME TAX | CORP TAX | DIVIDEND | INTEREST | ROYALTY | CAP GAIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUSTRIA | 20 / 10% | to 50% | 25% | 25% | 0% | 20% | to 50% |
| CZECH REP | 19 / 5% | to 32% | 26% | 15% | 15% | 25% | to 32% |
| BELGIUM | 21 / 12 / 6% | to 50% | 33% | 15 / 25% | 15% | 15% | to 50% |
| CROATIA | 22% | to 45% | 20% | 15% | 15% | 15% | can be 0% |
| CYPRUS | 15 / 5% | to 30% | 10% | 15% | 10% | can be 0% | |
| DENMARK | 25% | to 59% | 30% | 28% | 0% | 30% | to 59% |
| ESTONIA | 18 / 5% | 24% | 24% | 0% | 0% | 15% | 24% |
| FRANCE | 19.6 / 5.5 / 2.1% | to 48.09% | 33.3% | 25% | 0% | 33.33% | 15 or 48% |
| GERMANY | 16 / 7% | to 47.5% | to 40% | 21.1% | 0% | 21.1% | to 21% |
| GREECE | 19 / 12 / 5% | to 40% | 32% | 0% | 35% | 20% | to 40% |
| HUNGARY | 25 / 15 / 5% | to 38% | 16% | 0% | 0% | 0% | to 38% |
| IRELAND | 21 / 13.5 / 4.8% | to 42% | 12.5% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% |
| ITALY | 20 / 10 / 4% | to 43% | 33% | to 27% | to 27% | 22.5% | varies |
| LATVIA | 18 / 5% | 25% | 15% | 10% | 10% | to 15% | 25% |
| LUTHIANIA | 18 / 9 / 5% | 33% | 15% | 15% | 10% | 10% | 33% |
| LUXEMBOURG | 15 / 12 / 6 / 3% | to 38.95% | 30.38% | 20% | 0% | 0% | to 38.95% |
| NETHERLANDS | 19 / 6% | to 52% | 31.5% | 25% | 0% | 0% | to 52% |
| NORWAY | 24 / 12% | to 55.3% | 28% | 25% | 0% | 0% | to 55.3% |
| POLAND | 22 / 7 / 3% | to 40% | 19% | 19% | 20% | 20% | to 40% |
| PORTUGAL | 21% / 12% / 5% | to 40% | 25% | 25% | 20% | 15% | to 40% |
| RUSSIA | 18 / 10% | 19% | 24% | 15% | 20% | 20% | to 13% |
| SLOVAKIA | 19% | 19% | 19% | 0% | 19% | 19% | 19% |
| SPAIN | 16 / 7 / 4% | to 45% | 35% | 15% | 15% | 15% | to 45% |
| SWEDEN | 25 / 12 / 6% | to 58% | 28% | 30% | 0% | 28% | to 58% |
| SWITZERLAND | 7.6 / 3.6 / 2.4% | to 41.5% | to 25% | 35% | 0% | 0% | to 35% |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 17.5 / 5% | to 40% | 30% | 0% | 20% | 22% | varies |
| UNITED STATES | sales taxes | to 35% | to 39.5% | to 35% | to 35% | to 35% | 5-15% |
For outstanding source of European economic indicators, click: www.europa.eu.int