Taxation as a factor in investment attractiveness in the Visegrad countries

Abstract

Managers take into account the tax burden when they decide about a new investment; therefore, they seek countries with lower tax rates. Governments respond to these requirements and battle for new investments by lowering tax rates as part of tax competition. This study focuses on the Visegrad countries as a region of new foreign investments from other OECD countries, and analyses the determinants of a bilateral FDI position of equity. As a model, it uses dynamic panel regression with GMM estimation. Results show that FDIs are affected by the level of difference in corporate taxation and the size of both countries. Every other potential determinant has no effect on the level of investment. These results show that foreign investors care about tax burdens more when investing within the Visegrad Group. Visegrad countries are relatively close when considering conditions for business; therefore, the most important difference becomes the taxation of profits.