OECD Tax Policy Studies Taxation and Skills

Higher skill levels lead to higher wages and better employment prospects for individuals, higher productivity and profits for businesses, and higher growth rates and tax revenues for governments. While there is broad consensus about the importance of skills for inclusive growth, sharing the costs of skills investments equitably and efficiently between governments, individuals, and businesses is a matter of continued debate. This report analyses how taxes impact the costs and returns of skills investments. The tax system is a key means through which the returns and the costs of skills are shared between governments and students.