In this paper we use a panel of 189 countries to describe the salient trends that have emerged in national personal income tax systems spanning the twenty five year period from 1981 to 2005. Using complete national income tax schedules, we calculate actual average and marginal tax rates at...

Using new survey and experimental data for a representative sample of the German population, we study preferences for tax simplification. The general wisdom seems to suggest that most tax systems are overly complex and that tax simplification is generally desirable. Consistent with this general...

Although tax simplification enjoys the attractiveness of being the opposite of complexity, it can have untoward effects as illustrated by the examples of a capitation tax, an international income tax regime that lacks rigorous base protection measures, and a system of negotiated tax liabilities....

Die deutsche Einkommensteuer wird seit längerer Zeit einhellig als zu kompliziert angesehen. Die vielen bislang durchgeführten Steuerreformen haben daran nichts geändert; eher ist das Gegenteil der Fall. Vor diesem Hintergrund und mit Blick auf die jüngere Diskussion um konsumorientierte...