Researchers at TRR 266 "Accounting for Transparency" at LMU Munich and Paderborn University publish the Tax Complexity Index data for the year 2022. The data now available for four years (2016, 2018, 2020, 2022) provide insights into the development of the rapidly changing tax landscape for multinational corporations (MNCs) around the globe. The data is freely accessible on the interactive website www.taxcomplexity.org
In recent years, multinational companies have been confronted with increasing tax complexity. This development has been shaped by various trends in global tax systems, such as new regulations, digitalisation and global tax competition, all of which have a potentially ambivalent impact on tax complexity.
The Tax Complexity Index developed by TRR 266 researchers measures the complexity of a country's corporate taxation faced by multinational companies and is based on the Global MNC Tax Complexity Survey. Since 2016, the survey has been conducted every two years and answered by up to 1,000 tax advisors from up to 110 countries.
The data now published for 2022 shows that the overall level of tax complexity remains stable. This is the first time since the survey began in 2016. Previously, tax complexity had risen continuously every two years. The results also show that transfer pricing rules are once again the most complex tax rules. The survey also analyses tax processes. It shows that survey participants perceive inconsistent decisions by tax officials as the biggest problem in the tax audit process.
Compared to previous surveys, the 2022 results indicate that a greater proportion of OECD countries believe that tax complexity only has a negative impact on multinational companies and can be a factor that encourages them to relocate their operations abroad.
Detailed information and analyses of the results can be found in the summary of the 2022 survey and on our website Global MNC Tax Complexity Survey: www.taxcomplexity.org
The newly collected data is now validated and freely accessible on the interactive website. The results are of particular interest to policy makers, practitioners and researchers. With the data and our analyses, we aim to improve the understanding of tax complexity within and between countries as well as developments over time. In addition to comparing individual countries, the website also offers a comparison of EU and OECD countries.
Participating institutions
The main locations of TRR 266 are Paderborn University (host university), HU Berlin and the University of Mannheim. All three locations have been centres for accounting and tax research for many years. They are joined by academics from LMU Munich, the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Goethe University Frankfurt, WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management and the University of Cologne, who are pursuing the same research agenda.
