The tax burden on investment or companies is an important factor for the attractiveness of a country or a region. In particular, business location and investment decisions are influenced by the relative tax burdens encountered in different regions. This study presents estimates of the effective average and marginal tax rates on company investment for 143 regions in Europe and the USA. Using the approach pioneered by Michael Devereux and Rachel Griffith, it is shown that companies face a wide variation of effective tax burdens across European regions. The results are explained by analysing the importance of specific tax provisions for the tax burden at the various locations.

Zusammenfassung
This book is the resuh of a research project commissioned by the «IBC BAK In­ ternational Benchmark Club»®, an initiative by BAK Basel Economics, and car­ ried out by Zentrum fiir Europaische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW - Centre for European Economic Research), Mannheim. It contributes to the IBC's effort to evaluate and compare economic performance and location factors across European regions. The report provides the background to the headline figures presented at the International Benchmark Forum on June 11* and 12*, 2003, in Basel, as well as a large number of additional results. This work has benefited from the help of many institutions and individuals. Above all, we are indebted to the sponsors for financing the project in times of limited fiscal resources. We also would like to thank the members of the Steering Committee of the IBC module on taxation for their enduring support. Special thanks go to Kurt Diitschler of the Swiss Federal Tax Administration who was al­ ways ready to provide information on detailed aspects of the Swiss tax system. We are grateful to Christoph Koellreuter and Martin Eichler from BAK Basel for or­ ganising and promoting research on taxation inside the IBC. Our colleagues Christina Elschner and Gerd Gutekunst, ZEW, gave many detailed and very help­ ful comments. Finally, we owe thanks to Ulrike Nicolaus and Monika Jackmann who provided able help in preparing the final draft of this report. Of course, all remaining errors are our sole responsibility.

Inhalt
Executive Summary.- Methodology and Coverage of the Study.- Characteristics and Development of the Tax Systems.- The Effective Tax Burdens in the Assessed Countries.- International Comparison of Effective Tax Burdens.- Supplement: The Impact of Shareholder Taxation.- Summary and Conclusions.