Data from official statistics and tax laws are exploited to describe fifty years of income taxation in Germany, with a focus on its role as a fiscal and distributive tool. The temporal pattern that emerges from the data is one of a golden age of the German income tax, followed by a slow shift...

This paper examines the allocative implications of progressive income taxation when individuals care about their relative income. It shows that tax progressivity might improve efficiency, and the more so in egalitarian economies. Introducing a progressive income tax can yield a Pareto...

This paper examines the allocative implications of progressive income taxation when individuals care about their relative income. It shows that tax progressivity might improve efficiency, and the more so in egalitarian economies. Introducing a progressive income tax can yield a Pareto...