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The tax burden in Portugal reached 36.9% of GDP in 2017, according to data published on Wednesday 28 November by Eurostat. Despite an increase of three tenths, the Portuguese tax burden remains below the European average. In the European Union, the weight of taxes reaches 40.2% of GDP and in the euro area, 41.4%.
In this calculation, Eurostat includes direct and indirect taxes (VAT, IRS or IRC, among others) and social security contributions (TSU). Last year, the ratio had risen three-tenths of the EU average and two tenths of the euro area, maintaining the upward trend observed since 2010.
In Portugal, the increase went from three tenths to 36.9%, remaining far from the European average. According to government accounts, the tax burden is expected to increase slightly again in 2018, then decrease in 2019.
Highest tax-to-GDP ratio in France, Belgium and Denmark
??? https://t.co/iTSHeQq7H4 pic.twitter.com/qmmXUyWYmV– EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) November 28, 2018
The heaviest tax burden for 2017 in the European Union belongs to France, with taxes and social contributions accounting for 48.4% of GDP. It follows Belgium with 47.3%, Denmark with 46.5%, Sweden with 44.9% and Finland with 43.4%.
In total, thirteen countries have a higher tax burden than Portugal and 14, a lower tax burden. Italy and Greece, for example, recorded a tax burden of 42.4% and 41.8%, respectively.
The lowest figure is in Ireland (23.5%), followed by Romania (25.8%) and Bulgaria (29.5%).
The biggest increase over 2016 was recorded in Cyprus, where the tax burden has increased by more than one point. On the other hand, the tax burden fell by almost one percentage point in Hungary.
This percentage calculated by Eurostat may differ from that made public in Portugal by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). INE's preferential calculation method excludes imputed social contributions from this account, but Eurostat has chosen to include this amount.
However, the European Statistics Office compares it with that of the other Member States, putting the Portuguese tax burden into perspective.
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