One of the most pertinent reform discussions in Germany is found in the debate on the local business tax. During the last year, two basic reform proposals, a 'revitalisation' of the current local business tax and its replacement by a surcharge on personal and corporate income taxes, intensively...

A high degree of de facto judicial Independence (JI) functions as a crucial precondition of governments to credibly commit to legislative decisions, such as respecting private property rights. Thus, de facto JI should improve the allocative efficiency and may therefore contribute positively to...