There is often a gap between the prescriptions of an optimal tax system and actual tax systems, some of which can be neither efficient economically nor efficient at redistributing income. With a focus on personal income taxes, this paper reviews the political economics literature on tax systems...

In letzter Zeit mehren sich die Stimmen, die für eine Reform der Einkommensbesteuerung in Deutschland plädieren. Die Reformvorschläge reichen von der von Kirchhof vorgeschlagenen Einfachsteuer bis zur Einführung einer dualen Einkommensteuer, die vom Sachverständigenrat und von Sinn...

There is often a gap between the prescriptions of an "optimal" tax system and actual tax systems, some of which can be neither efficient economically nor efficient at redistributing income. With a focus on personal income taxes, this paper reviews the political economics literature on tax...