Tax Systems in the Selected Transition Economies. An overview

Abstract

The paper discusses the Value Added Tax, Personal Income Tax, Corporate Income Tax and excise tax in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, and the Kyrgyz  Republic. It could be argued that the countries of Central Europe are more advanced in their reforms compared with the countries of the Former Soviet Union. In many cases the situation in the FSU still resembles the time of planned economy where enterprises function in an administratively regulated environment. It seems like a lot of political will is needed to overcome stagnancy and change the behavior of economic agents.

The paper will concentrate mainly on the so-called state taxes and will not cover local taxes such as real estate and land tax. It will not cover the social insurance contributions and other  types of payroll taxes, as they are beyond the scope of this paper.