Greece improves 4 spots in OECD’s Int’l Tax Competitiveness Index ranking for 2022

Greece climbed four places in this year’s International Tax Competitiveness Index (ITCI) ranking, unveiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Specifically, the country was ranked 29th out of 38 OECD members surveyed, improving from the bottom quarter ranking of 33rd.

A report on the ITCI rankings was announced by the Athens-based Center for Liberal Studies (KEFIM) on Tuesday, in cooperation with the Washington D.C.-based Tax Foundation.

According to the latter, the competitiveness index “seeks to measure the extent to which a country’s tax system adheres to two important aspects of tax policy: competitiveness and neutrality.”

The index employs more than 40 variables in five categories, namely, corporate revenue taxes, personal income taxes, consumption taxes, taxes on assets and international tax regulations.

The country received a grade of 59.2 points in the latest index, compared to 58.6 points in 2021.

In specific categories, Greece ranked 19th in the corporate taxes category; 17th in individual income taxes; 30th in consumer taxes 30th in taxes in assets, while 25th in taxation of assets abroad.

Estonia ranked first for the ninth consecutive year, while France ranked in last place, 38th.

Greece’s improvement “is the most prominent among OECD countries, along with Turkey. The government’s stated intent of reducing the tax burden must continue, especially in sectors such as consumption and asset taxation, where the margin for intervention is high, based on the index’s data,” KEFIM president Alexandros Skouras said.