From rules to strategy: tax in a fragmented world

Tax is no longer just a matter of revenue collection. Across advanced economies, it is becoming a tool of economic strategy used to attract investment, steer corporate behaviour, support decarbonisation and business model reinvention, and manage distributional tensions in an era of geopolitical fragmentation. At the same time, digitalisation and AI are transforming tax administration and enforcement, making systems faster, more data-driven and, often, more intrusive – raising the importance of data management for both taxpayers and authorities. The result is a ‘new tax order’ in which tax policy is more visible, more contested and more consequential for businesses and citizens alike.  

This Lab session explores what this shift means for Europe’s competitiveness and cohesion. How do we promote economic growth through decarbonisation, and what is the right role for tax incentives? What does effective data governance look like when compliance becomes continuous and automated? And how should policymakers respond to rising political pressure for redistribution, including renewed debate on wealth taxation, without adding a new layer of fragmentation across the Single Market?