Het impliciete belastingtarief op kapitaal lag gemiddeld in de oude EU-landen in 2003 bij 29,9%, dus duidelijk lager dan het impliciete belastingtarief op arbeid, dat 36% bedroeg.
But not just statutory tax rates, but also effective tax rates have declined further since the mid-80s. Since 1995 the Commission has calculated for all EU countries so called 'implicit tax rates' (ITR) for capital, labour and consumption. The implicit tax rate for capital averaged 29.9% for the EU-15 in 2003, well below the ITR for labour, which was 36%.