The desirability of inheritance and gift taxes depends on individuals' tax responsiveness. This paper demonstrates how strongly, and in what way, the German inheritance and gift tax influences taxpayer behavior. To that end, it combines administrative data with cross-bracket tax variation: a...

In this paper, we evaluate and critique ten principal claims made in recent debates on the estate tax, distinguishing five types of statements: facts, rhetoric, value judgments, economic reasoning, and informed speculation. Economics cannot fully resolve policy debats because economic knowledge...

This article examines the distribution of wealth and theories justifying both the acquisition of great wealth and limitations on it. Discusses the estate tax, its economic effects and effectiveness in equalizing the distribution of wealth. Concludes that it has been very ineffective and that...

On January 1, 2013, the federal estate tax regime in effect from 2001 to 2012 is scheduled to revert to its pre-2001 structure. A 35% rate will soar to a 55% rate. A $5 million exemption will plummet to $1 million. Some deductions and credits enacted in 2001 will disappear while others repealed...

Germany's tax system places a relatively strong emphasis on direct taxes, particularly on labour. At the same time, revenues from the inheritance and gift tax are relatively low. This points towards a large-scale transfer of wealth from one generation to the next that is largely untaxed and...

Despite major public finance reform efforts over the last decade, Myanmarese public finances continue to be characterized by relative weakness in revenue collection, budget execution, and long-term sustainability. Myanmar is therefore in need of comprehensive public finance reform. Two top...

In Deutschland wird eine umfassende Steuerstrukturreform bereits seit Jahren kontrovers diskutiert. Mit dem Eintritt der FDP in die Regierungsverantwortung erhält diese Debatte derzeit besondere Aktualität. Dieser Beitrag argumentiert, dass trotz oder gerade wegen leerer öffentlicher Kassen...

In a recent paper, Jalbert (2002) develops and tests valuations equations for firms that are subject to pass-through taxation and for firms that are subject to double taxation. This work is extended by Jalbert and Dukes (2003) who examine the implications of a zero percent tax rate on dividend...

The U.S. faces tremendous short-term policy uncertainty, including about $5.4 trillion in tax increases over the next decade. These changes are set to take effect on January 1, 2013. It is unlikely that these changes will fully materialize, but what will happen is anyone's guess. Over the long...

Mircrosimulation (MS) and Computable General Equilibrium models (CGE) have both been widely used in policy analysis. Their combination allows the utilisation of the advantages of both types. The aim of this paper is to describe the state-of-the-art in simulation analysis and to illustrate the...