Die Riester geförderten Produkte erlebten kürzlich das zehnjährige Jubiläum. Bisherige Analysen über die Vorteilhaftigkeit bezogen sich in der Regel auf Teilaspekte: entweder nur die Kosten- oder nur die Steuereffekte wurden untersucht. Ergebnis der Teilanalysen sind sich widersprechende...

Framework conditions for fiscal policy remain difficult: besides the medium-term outlook of only moderate economic growth, the liquidation of Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank International AG will weigh on the budget. The need for further subsidies to (partly) nationalised banks in distress cannot be ruled...

In den vergangenen Monaten ist der Abbau der kalten Progression wieder in den Fokus der Steuerpolitik gerückt. Das Ziel sollte jedoch nicht darin bestehen, das Problem durch eine diskretionäre Anpassung des Tarifs lediglich temporär zu lösen. Um dauerhaft Abhilfe zu schaffen, muss der...

"Researchers in Germany have nowadays access to confidential micro data compiled from official statistics in a way that could not have been dreamt of just a few years ago. This paper describes the new institutions that grant data access - most importantly the research data centers located inside...

Family entrepreneurs in all honesty cannot grasp this new concept. Just now, while we are still experiencing a worldwide financial and economic crisis, which has by no means been overcome yet, there is talk of increasing taxation of assets. In recent years, small and medium-sized and larger...

The reintroduction of a wealth tax in Germany would not contribute to more fairness in terms of the ability to pay principle. On the contrary: Since wealth in form of human capital is not taxed, a wealth tax would lead to a massive unequal treatment of people with the same ability to pay. The...

The complexity of a tax system can be measured by the costs of private taxpayers and businesses in complying with the tax law. According to the empirical literature tax compliance costs are strongly correlated with the source and the amount of a taxpayers’ income. For that reason, these costs...

Report of a meeting of representatives of European forestry contracting associations and contractors. Includes papers on the use of contract labour in European forestry, the organization and services of forestry contractors' associations, the management of health and safety in forestry, the...

In the aftermath of the 2007 US initiated financial crisis, labour market conditions have deteriorated between mid-2008 and mid-2009 across all European countries with massive employment losses recorded in both advanced economies and emerging economies. However, policy responses to mitigate the...