Eurostat figures showed on Monday how the total amount of taxes and social contributions in the 27 EU states stood at 40.8% of GDP, compared with 40.4% in 2004. In the Eurozone revenue was 41.2% of GDP in 2005, compared to 40.9% in 2004.

Over a longer period, tax revenue as a percentage of GDP in both the EU25 and the Eurozone were in 2005 slightly below the levels recorded in 1995.

Among the Member States there were substantial differences in the tax-to-GDP ratio. In 2005 Sweden 52.1% recorded the highest ratio, followed by Denmark at 51.2%, Belgium at 47.7%, France at 45.8%, Finland at 44.0% and Austria at 43.6%. The lowest ratios were observed in Romania 28.8%, Lithuania 29.2%, Slovakia at 29.5%, Latvia at 29.6%, Estonia at 31.0% and Ireland at 32.2%.

In 2005, as compared with 2004, tax revenue as a proportion of GDP rose in nineteen Member States, fell in six and remained stable in Germany and Greece. The highest increases in the tax-to-GDP ratio were recorded in Cyprus from 34.1% in 2004 to 36.2% in 2005, Malta from 36.2% to 37.7%, Poland from 32.7% to 34.2% and Denmark from 49.9% to 51.2%. The largest reductions were observed in Austria from 44.4% to 43.6%, the Czech Republic from 36.8% to 36.3%, Estonia from 31.5% to 31.0% and Slovakia from 30.0% to 29.5%.