Eurostat (the statistical office of the European Union) has published data on the tax-to-GDP ratios in the European Union showing overall tax revenue down to 38.4% of GDP in 2009.

Half of the Member States increased the standard rate of VAT since 2008.

The overall tax-to-GDP ratio in the EU27 declined to 38.4% in 2009, compared with 39.3% in 2008. Data indicate that this decrease was due to the 4.3% drop in GDP from 2008 to 2009, rather than to tax cuts. In comparison with the rest of the world, the EU27 tax ratio remains generally high and more than one third above the levels recorded in the USA and Japan. However, the tax burden varies significantly between Member States, ranging in 2009 from less than 30% in Latvia (26.6%), Romania (27.0%), Ireland (28.2%), Slovakia (28.8%), Bulgaria (28.9%) and UK (34.9%) to more than 45% in Denmark (48.1%) and Sweden (46.9%).

About half of the Member States have increased VAT rates between 2008 and 2011. The highest increases were registered in Hungary (from 20.0% to 25.0%), Romania (from 19.0% to 24.0%), Greece (from 19.0% to 23.0%) and Latvia (from 18.0% to 22.0%).

For full details see http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=STAT/11/100&format=HTML&aged=0&language=en&guiLanguage=en