Taxation in the Czech Republic

Taxes in the Czech Republic are levied by both the state and local governments. Tax revenue stood at 36.3% of GDP. The most important sources of revenue include the income tax, social security contributions, value-added tax and the corporate tax.

Income taxes in Czech Republic are levied at a flat rate of 15% on gross income with an additional 7% solidarity tax surchage for individuals making over 48 times the average wage (CZK 1,277,328 annually in 2015).[1] The corporate tax rate in 2015 was 19%.[1] All employment income earned in the Czech Republic is subject to various social security insurance fund contributions. The total tax burden can largely be described as flat to regressive as no progressive taxes are levied.

VAT rates also apply.[2] The normal rate is 21% in 2015.[3] The reduced rate was also increased in 2014 from 14% to 15%.[4]

Social security Contributions 2015[1]

Insurance Policy Employee Employer
Pension Insurance fund 6.5/8.5% 21.5%
Sickness Insurance fund 0.0% 2.3%
Employment Insurance 0.0% 1.2%
Health Insurance 4.5% 9.0%
Total in % 11.0/13.0% 34.0%

History

During the Austrian Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Bohemian Kingdom (what is now the Czech Republic) carried a significant part of the tax burden, as one of the most industrialised parts of the empire, paying 32% of all taxes in the Austrian territories in 1750.[5]

Since the break with the Soviet Union, multiple reforms have been done to bring the economy from a government run economy to a free market economy. This also brought a long range of tax reforms, including the introduction of a flat tax, and shift from direct taxes over to indirect taxes and large amounts of tax simplifications. In 1990, the Czech Republic introduced a long range of environmental charges, including air emission charges, CFC product charges, water extraction and pollution charges, sewage charges, charges for waste disposal, land conversion charges, and an airport noise tax.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Tax card year 2015" (PDF). KPMG. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  2. "VATGlobal".
  3. "Deloitte International Tax Source Year 2015". n.d. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  4. "VAT rise in Czech".
  5. The Rise of Fiscal States: A Global History, 1500-1914.
  6. "Economic Instruments: data about new charges". Retrieved 18 July 2014.
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