The 2025 edition of the Global Tax Expenditures Database (GTED) Flagship Report, published by CEP and the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and the Council on Economic Policies (CEP), focuses on tax expenditures effectiveness.

Tax expenditures (TEs) – i.e. deviations from a benchmark tax system that lower the tax burden of specific groups, economic sectors or activities – can be powerful tools to promote public policies. However, their effectiveness is often in doubt. The present report discusses the determinants and explores the empirical evidence of TE effectiveness. More and more jurisdictions publish TE reports, as shown by the Global Tax Expenditures Database (GTED). In its most recent version (1.3.2), the GTED includes 116 reporting jurisdictions, more than 31,000 provisions, and over 150,000 revenue-forgone data points, marking the first time that more than half of the world’s jurisdictions publish such information. Still, reporting practices remain heterogeneous, with many countries omitting essential information on policy objectives, legal bases, beneficiaries, or timelines of TEs.

Across country income groups, TE use differs significantly: lower-income countries rely more on customs and broad consumption-based measures, middle-income countries focus on market access and sectoral promotion, and high-income countries devote a larger share to welfare policy provisions. Insights from the expanded database show that revenue forgone is typically concentrated in a small set of large provisions, even though many governments also apply large numbers of small and highly targeted measures. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive inventories, clearer reporting standards, and systematic evaluation.

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Flagship Report 2025 | Content and co-authors

1. Introduction | Christian von Haldenwang (IDOS)
2. Latest insights from the Global Tax Expenditures Database (GTED) | Flurim Aliu & Sofia Berg (CEP)
3. Key findings from the Global Tax Expenditures Transparency Index (GTETI) | Lucas Millan & Paula Castells (CEP)
4. Tax Expenditure effectiveness: what does the available evidence tells us? | Agustin Redonda, Flurim Aliu, Sofia Berg (CEP) & Orria Goni (UNDP)
5. Who benefits from tax expenditures in the VAT? | Alastair Thomas (World Bank)
6. Tax Expenditure Effectiveness – Implementing Tax Expenditure Guidelines in Ireland | Federica De Blasio, Luke Rehill and Emmet Ryan (Dept. of Finance, Ireland)
7. The critical need for data in understanding tax expenditures | Amina Ebrahim, Kwabena Adu-Ababio, Maria Jouste, Liam Carson, Precious Outwesiga, Raymond Ategyeka (UNU-Wider)
8. Tax incentive administration | Miguel Pecho (MF)
9. Corporate tax incentives and climate change mitigation | Luisa Dressler (OECD)
10. R&D Tax Incentives Under Pillar Two: Empirical Evidence and Best Practices | Jost H. Heckemeyer, Katharina Nicolay, Christoph Spengel, Daniela Steinbrenner, Sophia Wickel (ZEW Mannheim)