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Copyright of Spanish Journal of Finance & Accounting / Revista Espanola de Financiacion y Contabilidad is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The main aim of this paper has been to analyse the tax burden exerted by Corporate Income Tax (CIT) on European Union (EU) companies using the effective tax rate (ETR) as a tool for analysis. For this purpose, a sample of listed companies in the EU was extracted from the Datastream/Worldscope database for the period 1995-2005. This analysis allowed us to determine the tax burden experienced by companies. The results have showed significant differences between the different EU countries as well as between statutory tax rates (STR) and ETRs. Likewise it has been proved that general reductions in STR do not have the expected effect on the tax burden. These results are especially relevant in the present environment, which is characterized by the discussion regarding harmonizing measures for CIT, which will limit its impact on business decisions regarding locating within the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]