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In 2005, the overall tax ratio (i.e. the total amount of taxes and social security contributions) in the EU272 stood at 39.6% of GDP, up from 39.2% in 2004. The EU27 tax ratio is nearly the same as in 1995 (39.7%); nevertheless, the ratio is lower than the peak of 41.0% in 1999. The downtrend which had started in 1999 in most countries stopped in 2005. In 2005 the overall tax ratio in the euro area (EA13) was 39.9%, up from 39.6% in 2004. Since 1995 taxes in the euro area have followed a similar trend to the EU27, although at a slightly higher level.

Taxes were the leading concern of business owners during the second quarter of 2007 replacing health care which previously was cited as being the single greatest issue impacting small according to the latest Small Business Research Board (SBRB) study.

European content security market is gathering pace, particularly with enterprise security gaining priority due to the ever increasing need to protect critical information from the emerging threats and attacks. Furthermore, employee productivity is becoming an area of focus and in the recent past, Europe has also been reviving its legislative directives, necessitating greater investments in security.

Existing-home sales were essentially unchanged in May, according to the National Association of Realtors(R). Total existing-home sales - including single-family, town homes, condominiums and co-ops - eased by 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million units in May from an upwardly revised pace of 6.01 million in April, and are 10.3 percent below the 6.68 million-unit level in May 2006.

Favourable economic conditions are expected to continue to boost the growth of the pharmaceutical industry in China. The health of the pharmaceutical industry has been improving continuously since 2000 and is expected to get even better.

JupiterResearch has found that although US consumers are continuing to acquire music-capable mobile phones, only few take advantage of those capabilities. According to a new report, “Mobile Music: Target Impulse Purchases and Purchasers for Over-The-Air Downloads,” only about five percent of consumers report sideloading songs onto their phone (i.e., transferring digital songs from a PC to a phone), and only two percent report downloading songs over the air.

Using your mobile phone abroad will become substantially cheaper this summer thanks to the EU's intervention. With the publication of the EU Roaming Regulation in the EU's Official Journal at the end of this week, this important piece of internal market legislation will become binding law in all 27 Member States on 30 June.

U.S. charitable giving reached a new record in 2006, an estimated $295.02 billion, according to Giving USA 2007, the yearbook of philanthropy published by Giving USA Foundation (TM) and researched and written by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

The European Commission has issued a report addressed to the European Parliament and the Council on two motor insurance issues – the effectiveness of claims representatives in settling claims, and insurance cover for legal expenses. Based upon various consultations carried out in 2006 with Member States, industry and the public, the report concludes that claims representatives are generally able to handle claims within the required timescale. The report also concludes that voluntary legal expenses insurance is available in the large majority of Member States and that the obligatory inclusion of legal costs in third-party liability insurance would not produce clear benefits.