Influence of Corporate Tax Policy In Investment Deci-sions In Estonia - Case Study

Abstract

This study aims to answer what kind of differences in investment behavior arise from different tax policies. The comparison is made between Finland and Estonia. The legislative difference that we are looking at deals with internal financing, where Estonian companies pay their corporate taxes when money is distributed out from the company. The aim is to exclude other factors that alter investments and attempt to boil down the direct effects of these policies.

The research is conducted in cooperation with The Federation of Finnish Enterprises, an organization that’s mission is to facilitate entrepreneurship in Finland. Research is conduct-ed through interviews. The utility of the results for the federation is to provide data for publications and back up suggestions on legislative actions.

Variety of industries is represented in the study. The common denominators are that all the companies are Estonian based, either part of bigger international chains or domestic to Estonia. Every company is profitable so looking investments through internal financing is a viable option. During research, I emphasized making connections or comparisons between countries where possible or the interviewee had the capabilities to do so.