Tax competition and the European social model in a bigger EU: Convergence or disunion?

Tax competition among EU member states is not new, and has increased since 1990 and even more following the 2004-2007 enlargment to eastern European countries. Its positive and negative aspects are analyzed while paying close attention to the flat tax system adopted by new member states. Given the risk of production plants and tax bases relocating elsewhere, the tax system's redistributive function would be impaired, whence a threat to the European welfare model. For this reason, questions are raised about this model's prospects and about the attraction exerted by the Anglo-Saxon and Nordic models of capitalism.