The idea of higher wealth taxes to finance the mounting public debt in the wake of the financial crises is gaining ground in several OECD countries. We evaluate the revenue and distributional effects of a one-time capital levy on personal net wealth that is currently on the German political...

This paper surveys possible motivations for having a net wealth tax. After giving a short overview over the state of wealth taxation in OECD countries, we discuss both popular arguments for such a tax, as well as economic arguments. It is argued that classical normative principles of taxation...

Despite our founding vision as a land of opportunity, the United States ranks at or near the bottom among high-income countries in economic equality and inter-generational mobility. Our tax code plays a key role. Inherited income is taxed at less than one-seventh the average tax rate on income...

Swiss banking secrecy laws not only tempt foreign investors to remain silent about at least part of their capital incomes and, thus, not pay taxes as obliged by law. Therefore, Switzerland introduced a withholding tax on capital income in 1934, primarily in order to coerce domestic residents to...

This paper examines relative tax burden of transition economies from a microeconomic perspective. It employs data from the Tax Misery Index and the Index of Economic Freedom to compare the tax burden of transition economies to that of more developed market economies. It then creates a hybrid...

Profits-only partnership interests grant service-providing partners an interest in the profits of a partnership but not its capital. Such interests are a proverbial double-edged sword: they create economic arrangements needed in business, but provide opportunities for inequitable tax reductions....

Wealth transfer taxes are a critical policy tool for mitigating economic inequality, including inequality of opportunity. They are also relatively efficient. This short essay summarizes why and how wealth transfer taxes should be strengthened. Reform options that our next President should...

German Abstract: Haushalte mit unteren und mittleren Einkommen profitieren kaum von Senkungen des Einkommensteuertarifs oder vom Abbau des Solidaritätszuschlags. Zugleich führen schon moderate Entlastungen im Eingangsbereich des Steuertarifs oder beim „Mittelstandsbauch“ zu beträchtlichen...

The repeal of the estate tax for one year only in 2010 creates vast uncertainty but also provides an opportunity to reconsider the taxation of million would include in income and pay a 15 percentage point surtax on gifts and bequests. This paper proposes replacing the estate tax with an...

The upcoming one-year repeal of the federal estate tax in the U.S. creates an opportunity to reconsider the taxation of wealth transfers. This article argues that if inheritances are included in an optimal tax framework, existing evidence suggests that the ideal wealth transfer tax would be much...