Shifting taxes away from labour to tax bases which are considered least detrimental to growth remains a common policy recommendation from the European Commission and other international institutions. This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on the growth effects of tax shifts. It then takes stock of tax shifts in the EU Member States over the last years, giving a few examples of their implementation and of the hurdles Member States have faced. Finally, it concludes on recent developments that may impact on the nature of future tax shifts.

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