Taxation of SMEs in OECD and G20 Countries
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are important for their contribution to
employment, innovation, economic growth and diversity. This report examines the tax
treatment of SMEs, the case for SME preferences, and the use of tax preferences and
simplification measures for SMEs in thirty-nine OECD and G20 countries. It finds that
many of the tax systems examined provide incentives to incorporate and to distribute
income in certain types of capital form. Ideally, taxes should be neutral with regard
to the business decisions of SMEs, including decisions related to their creation,
form and growth. However, certain features of the tax system may disproportionately
affect SMEs, for example, the asymmetric treatment of profits and losses, a bias toward
debt over corporate equity, and the higher fixed costs of tax and regulatory compliance
for small businesses. This report recommends that measures designed to address these
concerns be carefully targeted to affected firms and seek to avoid introducing further
distortions and complexity.
Published on September 05, 2015
In series:OECD Tax Policy Studiesview more titles
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword and Acknowledgements | |
Abbreviations and acronyms | |
Executive summary | |
The role of SMEs in domestic economies | |
Income taxation of SMEs | |
Tax preferences for SMEs | |
Tax compliance and SMEs | |
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