Ieškoti

In most countries in the European Union (EU) and in the rest of the world, debt is treated more favourably from a tax perspective than equity, with interest payments on loans generally being tax deductible. In contrast, costs relating to equity financing, such as dividends, are mostly non-tax deductible. This unequal treatment of debt and equity leads to a bias towards debt in businesses' investment decisions and can lead to high levels of indebtedness in the EU corporate sector. On 11 May 2022, ...

This paper was provided by the Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies at the request of the committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) ahead of the Monetary Dialogue with the ECB President on 26 September 2022.

This briefing note considers household indebtedness in the EU. It distinguishes the situation in different Member States, noting issues such as the different accounting drivers of indebtedness (e.g. mortgages, consumer credit). It considers the economic drivers of indebtedness and of increased indebtedness during the 2000s, reflecting upon both demand and supply factors (noting how interest rates have evolved in key Member States). It also briefly considers risks arising from high indebtedness.