The structure of income taxation in Germany implies that the marginal and the average tax rates will rise in the course of the coming yearseven if the increase of nominal incomes is modest. The elasticity of the wage income tax revenues with respect to gross wages amounts to about 1.9, assuming...

Current political discussions in Germany and other European countries illustrate the importance accorded to revenue and distribution effects of tax reforms. Whereas widely recognized concepts of effective tax measures can provide important insights into the incentives of taxation they do not...