{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T09:16:33Z","timestamp":1770974193072,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764892800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"FCT - Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia","award":["project UID\/05422: Centre for organisational and Social Studies of Polytechnic of Porto"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["project UID\/05422: Centre for organisational and Social Studies of Polytechnic of Porto"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Economies"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study explores the applicability of the Laffer Curve in the context of the European Union (EU) by analyzing the relationship between taxation and fiscal revenue across personal income tax (PIT), corporate income tax (CIT), and value-added tax (VAT). Utilizing a comprehensive panel data set spanning 1995 to 2022 across all 27 EU member states, the research also integrates the Bird Index to assess fiscal effort and employs advanced econometric techniques, including the Hausman Test and log-quadratic regression models, to capture the non-linear dynamics of the Laffer Curve. The findings reveal that excessively high tax rates, particularly in some larger member states, may lead to revenue losses due to reduced economic activity and tax evasion, highlighting the existence of optimal tax rates that maximize revenue while sustaining economic growth. By estimating threshold tax rates and incorporating the Bird Index, the study provides a nuanced perspective on tax efficiency and fiscal sustainability, offering evidence-based policy recommendations for optimizing tax systems in the European Union to balance revenue generation with economic competitiveness.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/economies13120359","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T13:17:07Z","timestamp":1764940627000},"page":"359","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Tax Optimization in the European Union: A Laffer Curve Perspective"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Thais","family":"Sentinelo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"ISCAP, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Jaime Lopes Amorim s\/n, 4465-004 S\u00e3o Mamede de Infesta, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3543-0081","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"M\u00e1rio","family":"Queir\u00f3s","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CEOS.PP, ISCAP, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Jaime Lopes Amorim s\/n, 4465-004 S\u00e3o Mamede de Infesta, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8516-6418","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9 Manuel","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-464 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science, Campus da FEUP, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0959-8446","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patr\u00edcia","family":"Ramos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CEOS.PP, ISCAP, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Jaime Lopes Amorim s\/n, 4465-004 S\u00e3o Mamede de Infesta, Portugal"},{"name":"Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science, Campus da FEUP, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1017","DOI":"10.1007\/s11079-021-09644-4","article-title":"Structural tax reforms and public spending efficiency","volume":"32","author":"Afonso","year":"2021","journal-title":"Open Economies Review"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"397","DOI":"10.1016\/S0304-3932(01)00074-5","article-title":"On the analytics of the dynamic Laffer curve","volume":"48","author":"Agell","year":"2001","journal-title":"Journal of Monetary Economics"},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"1","article-title":"Cross-country evidence on the revenue impact of tax reforms","volume":"Vol. 113","author":"Amaglobeli","year":"2020","journal-title":"Proceedings. 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