Global Tax Expenditures Transparency Index (GTETI)

The Global Tax Expenditures Transparency Index (GTETI)  is the first comparative assessment of tax expenditures (TEs) reporting that covers countries worldwide. Countries are assessed on five dimensions: (1) Public availability, (2) Institutional Framework, (3) Methodology and Scope, (4) descriptive TE Data, and (5) TE Assessment. The GTETI provides a systematic framework to rank countries according to the regularity, quality and scope of their TE reports, and aims at increasing transparency and accountability in the tax expenditures field.

The Global Tax Expenditures Transparency Index (GTETI) is a project led by the Council on Economic Policies (CEP) and the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).

Background

Governments use tax expenditures (TEs) – also called tax breaks, tax reliefs or tax subsidies – to pursue a variety of policy goals. TEs are deviations from the benchmark or standard tax system that provide preferential tax treatment to individuals or businesses. They can trigger substantial tax revenue losses. According to the Global Tax Expenditures Database (GTED), the global average of revenue forgone due to TEs among the 106 countries that publish such data is 3.8 percent of GDP and 23.0 percent of tax revenue over the 1990-2021 period. In some countries, such as Czechia, Finland, Jordan and the Netherlands, revenue forgone from TEs can amount to 10 percent of GDP or more.

全球税收支出透明度指数（Global Tax Expenditures Transparency Index, GTETI）是首个覆盖全球各国的税收支出（tax expenditures, TEs）报告对比评估体系。评估从五大维度展开：(1) 公开可得性，(2) 制度框架，(3) 方法学与范围，(4) 税收支出描述性数据，(5) 税收支出评估。该指数构建了系统性评估框架，可依据各国税收支出报告的规范性、质量与覆盖范围对其进行排名，旨在提升税收支出领域的透明度与问责性。

全球税收支出透明度指数（GTETI）是由经济政策理事会（Council on Economic Policies, CEP）与德国发展与可持续性研究所（German Institute of Development and Sustainability, IDOS）联合主导的研究项目。

研究背景

各国政府通过税收支出（TEs，亦称税收减免、税收宽免或税收补贴）来实现各类政策目标。税收支出是对基准税制或标准税制的偏离，旨在为个人或企业提供优惠税收待遇。此类支出可能引发巨额税收收入损失。根据全球税收支出数据库（Global Tax Expenditures Database, GTED）的数据，1990年至2021年间，在公布此类数据的106个国家中，因税收支出导致的全球平均税收收入损失占国内生产总值（GDP）的3.8%，占总税收收入的23.0%。在捷克、芬兰、约旦与荷兰等部分国家，税收支出造成的收入损失可达GDP的10%甚至更高。