Taxes are one of the most important economic instruments with which states achieve economic balance, and they are guided by the principles of fairness, efficiency, simplicity and resilience. Income tax is considered a product of the 20th century. It is a form of tax paid by companies on the profits made by carrying out their economic activity. In Croatia, corporate income tax is also levied on self-employed individuals who have become corporate taxpayers according to the criteria prescribed by law or who have decided to choose this taxation model at their own request. It can be spoken of as a subtype of income tax, as it taxes profits that are considered the income of non-natural persons. It belongs to the category of direct tax forms that directly affect the tax power of taxpayers, without the possibility to transfer the tax liability to another tax entity. Despite all the efforts of the European Commission to achieve harmonization in the model of corporate taxation, it could not be agreed and it still remains an instrument for conducting the economic policy of each Member State. The paper discusses the basic determinants of corporate income tax and analyzes an overview of the system and characteristics of corporate income tax and the tax burden in the Europskoj unijiropean Union. At the end of the paper, an analysis of the Swedish tax system and a comparison, ie a comparative analysis with Croatia. When analyzing the tax system of an individual country, it is important to determine what is recognized to companies as a tax relief and what is the final tax burden because most countries tax corporate profits at one tax rate, and the payment of profits to shareholders at another rate valid at the time of payment.