Current political discussions in Germany and other European countries illustrate the importance accorded to revenue and distribution effects of tax reforms. Whereas widely recognized concepts of effective tax measures can provide important insights into the incentives of taxation they do not...

We analyze the compliance costs of individual taxpayers resulting from the German income tax. Using survey data that has been raised between December 2008 and April 2009, we find evidence for a considerably higher cost burden of self-employed taxpayers. Taxable income and the demand for external...

We apply conjoint analysis to study the influence of tax labeling and tax earmarking on German taxpayers' willingness to contribute. We show that labeling and earmarking effects can substantially increase participants' willingness to contribute, and we analyze how these effects interact. These...

The German corporate tax reform of 2008 has brought about important cuts in corporate tax rates, which were at the same time accompanied by significant changes in the determination of the tax base for both major German corporate taxes - corporate income tax and trade tax. The reform followed the...