Deutschland wird häu…g ein im europäischen Vergleich überdurchschnittliches Abgabenniveau bescheinigt. Da dies als eine der Hauptursachen für vergleichsweise schwaches Wachstum und hohe Arbeitslosigkeit gilt, werden in der wirtschaftspolitischen Debatte vermehrt Reformen des progressiven...

This paper computes the optimal progressivity of the income tax code in a dynamic general equilibrium model with household heterogeneity in which uninsurable labor productivity risk gives rise to a nontrivial income and wealth distribution. A progressive tax system serves as a partial substitute...

In this paper we quantitatively characterize the optimal capital and labor income tax in an overlapping generations model with idiosyncratic, uninsurable income shocks, where households also differ permanently with respect to their ability to generate income. The welfare criterion we employ is...

This note derives a model of the wage curve, closely following Phelps (1994) and Campbell and Orszag (1998). Phelps discusses a variety of theoretical bases for a wae curve, the two major competing types being bargaining models and efficiency wage models, though Phelps prefers the term...

elasticity of taxable income with respect to the net-of-tax rate, i.e., one minus the marginal tax <p> rate. We offer new evidence on this matter by making use of a large panel of Swedish tax payers over the period 1991-2002. Changes in statutory tax rates as well as discretionary changes in tax...</p>

The article considers the splitting of income between spouses from an economic perspective. It argues that this provision does not privilege married couples but prohibits their discrimination.

The German Constitutional Court has obliged parliament to enact an income tax law which lets the subsistence level tax-exempt. This can be done, in principle, by using a basic allowance or a zero-rated bracket. The paper discusses these alternatives.

In Germany, commuting expenses have been deductible from the income tax base for a long time. Germany’s grand coalition has now restricted this deduction. The article analyses whether or not this was justified from an economic point of view. It is shown that, in the long run, the tax treatment...

Der Aufsatz untersucht Paul Kirchhofs Vorschlag eines Einkommensteuergesetzbuchs.