Presentation Date: Sunday August 2, 2009
  Presentation Time: 8:00 am-11:00 am

CPE Session 22

Taxation in Four Selected EU Countries

Presented By:

Zhijun Lin, Hong Kong Baptist University

Zhemin Wang, University of Wisconsin - Parkside

Description: Taxation is an instrument of economic regulation which can be used to influence consumption, encourage savings, or shape the way in which companies are organized. Tax policy is a symbol of national sovereignty and a part of a country’s overall economic policy, helping finance public spending and redistribute income. European Union (EU), which is a supranational organization founded on November 1, 1993 as the successor to the European Community (EC), consists of 27 member nations, with a combined population of around 500 million people and an annual gross domestic product exceeding $14.7 trillion. While the responsibility for tax policy in the EU mainly lies with the member states, the EU does play an important role in coordinating tax policies to ensure that tax rules are consistent with EU's goals of job creation, competitiveness, the single market, and free movement of capital. This workshop reviews EU’s involvement in member states’ tax policies and discusses EU’s tax strategies. The workshop also discusses the taxation in four selected EU countries: Germany, Ireland, Poland, and Romania. These four countries are selected because they joined the EU at different times and represent different stages of economic development.

Field of Study: Taxes
Program Level: Basic

Intended Audience: This workshop should be of interest to accounting faculty who wish to internationalize their curriculum, to accounting students with a career interest in any EU member nations, and to accounting practitioners who serve clients with business interest in Europe. It should also be useful to business executives and entrepreneurs who are interested in doing business in the EU.

Format/Structure: In this half day workshop, the presenters will discuss EU’s tax strategies and the taxation in four selected EU countries. Specifically, the workshop topics include: - EU’s involvement in member nation’s tax policies and EU’s tax strategies - Taxation in Germany - Taxation in Ireland - Taxation in Poland - Taxation in Romania The 40-page handout would serve as a source of reference for the workshop participants.

Learning Objective: 1. Have a general understanding of EU's involvement in its member states' tax policies. 2. Have a general understanding of the taxation in Germany. 3. Have a general understanding of the taxation in Ireland. 4. Have a general understanding of the taxation in Poland. 5. Have a general understanding of the taxation in Romania.

Prerequisites: None.

Advanced Preparation Required: None.

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