It is often feared that tax competition might lead to a “race to the bottom”. The consequence of a decline of tax rates on capital income would be shrinking capital income tax revenues and difficulties for national governments to perform their usual tasks. The paper analyzes what happened to...

Facing the general election in 2013, the level of the income tax is a major issue of the economic policy debate in Germany. The paper presents data on the income tax burden in the period 1958–2012. The data refer to specific levels of real income as well as to specific levels of income in...

It is argued that the German system of supporting low wage income earners by government transfers gives incentives for employers and employees to contract low wages and then to exploit the government. The paper analyses if such incentives do exist. It turns out that this is the case under...

Based on a description of the German system of taxes and transfers, the incentives to work are analyzed for several groups of the labor force. The effects of the “Hartz IV” reform (effective from 2005 onwards) on the incentives receive particular attention. It turns out that the marginal...

The income tax rate structure introduced in 2007 was changed in 2009. The income tax rates will be lowered in 2010, too. The effects on the wage income tax revenues and on the incentives to work are analyzed. It turns out that “bracket creep” will remain a problem in Germany

The gross wage income distributions for different groups of taxpayers in 2004 are used to derive wage income distributions for 2007–2013. By applying the rules of income taxation, wage income tax revenues are deduced. Given the tax rate structure introduced in 2007, the average tax rates and...

Tax expenditures are granted for a variety of purposes in Germany. The paper presents data on the extent and the structure of the tax expenditures in the period 2005 to 2012. Tax expenditures will be reduced somewhat in the period 2005–2012. They should be cut further in order to increase...