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\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n
\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n
Taxes are an important way for governments to pay for public services like healthcare and education.<\/p>\n
In 2023, the total taxes collected by all EU governments made up about 40% of the total value of goods and services produced, known as the tax-to-GDP ratio.<\/p>\n
Yet despite the pivotal role of taxes, around one in four people in the EU believe that citizens in their country do “not at all” pay taxes in proportion to their income or wealth.<\/p>\n
But how do views on tax fairness differ across Europe? A 2025 Eurobarometer study, which gathered responses from more than 25,000 people, asked citizens across the EU: “Do people pay taxes in proportion to their income and wealth in your country?\u201d<\/p>\n
Taxes are paid \u2018to a large extent\u2019 in line with wealth<\/strong><\/p>\n Across the EU, one in five respondents said that this is the case \u2018to a large extent\u2019. The proportion of people who responded in this way ranges from just 8% in Latvia to 38% in Finland.<\/p>\n At least three in ten people in Luxembourg (36%), Denmark (32%), Austria (32%), Malta (31%), Germany (31%), and Greece (30%) also believe that people in their countries pay taxes \u2018to a large extent\u2019 in proportion to their income and wealth.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Lithuania, Poland, and Czechia (each 9%) are very close to Latvia, with few people responding to the question in this way.<\/p>\n Among the EU\u2019s larger economies, Italy shows the lowest share for this view, at 12%. The perception is also below the EU average in Spain (17%) and France (19%).<\/p>\n Taxes are paid \u2018to some extent\u2019 in line with wealth<\/strong><\/p>\n About half of respondents in the EU (51%) felt that people pay taxes \u2018to some extent\u2019 in proportion to their income and wealth. This share ranges from 33% in Hungary and Croatia to 59% in Cyprus.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most countries fall between 45% and 55%, meaning this answer is the most common in 23 out of 27 EU countries. The exceptions are Hungary, Croatia, Estonia, and Bulgaria, where the \u2018not at all\u2019 response is higher than \u2018to some extent\u2019.<\/p>\n Four countries stand out for strong \u2018not at all\u2019 responses<\/strong><\/p>\n Around one in four people in the EU (24%) believe that citizens in their country do \u2018not at all\u2019 pay taxes fairly in proportion to their income and wealth. In four countries, almost half of respondents share this view: Hungary (50%), Croatia (48%), Estonia (47%), and Bulgaria (46%).<\/p>\n The next highest is Slovakia (38%), showing that these four stand out as an outlier group. Beyond them, more than three in ten people in Latvia and Lithuania (both 36%), Poland (33%), Portugal, Slovenia, and Czechia (each 32%) also feel that taxes are not collected fairly, as citizens do \u2018not at all\u2019 pay according to their income and wealth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Italy and Spain are close to this level as well, both at 39%.<\/p>\n In contrast, the two Nordic countries, Denmark (7%) and Finland (10%), record the lowest \u2018not at all\u2019 perception, both below 10%.<\/p>\n These results indicate clear geographical trends in how people perceive tax fairness. In general, Nordic and Western European countries express more positive views, while Southern European nations are more divided. In contrast, Eastern European EU members tend to see their tax systems as less fair.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the EU, 5% of respondents said they do not know, while the share of unsure answers reaches 9% in some countries.<\/p>\n What shapes people\u2019s views on tax fairness?<\/p>\n \u201cWhere citizens perceive procedures as transparent and rules as applied equally to all, tax morale and voluntary compliance tend to be strong,\u201d said economic psychology professor Erick Kirchler from the University of Vienna.<\/p>\n He noted that in countries such as Denmark and Finland, which consistently rank among the global leaders in governance and integrity, citizens report a particularly high perception of fairness in the tax system.<\/p>\n