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Interview
Mr. Bach, there is growing criticism that the middle income segments are suffering from a tax and social contribution burden that is too heavy. Does the middle class pay a disproportionately high amount of income tax?
Actually, the middle class has a relatively low income tax burden. This is because we use the basic personal exemption to shield the subsistence level from taxation, and a range of deductions ...
18.05.2017| Stefan Bach
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Interview
As part of a joint investigation, DIW Berlin and the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg analyzed how investing in the labor market integration of the refugees who came to Germany in 2015 might impact the overall economy. The institutionsbased their analyses on a simulation model. What are the assumptions underlying this model?
We examined data on the 2015 refugees and analyzed this ...
02.02.2017| Stefan Bach
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Economic Bulletin
The initial fiscal costs associated with refugee integration a requite high—but as more and more refugees join the labor force, a reduction in ongoing welfare costs and an increase in government revenue will result. Against this background, the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg and DIW Berlin conducted a joint investigation (funded by the German Federal Ministry of Labor and ...
02.02.2017| Maximilian Bach, Kristina van Deuverden, Peter Haan
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Economic Bulletin
A comprehensive, microdata-based analysis of the German tax system’s distributional effects in 2015 shows that the total tax burden from direct and indirect taxes is slightly progressive on higher income segments, but regressive in the lower income deciles. Income and corporate taxes are distinctly progressive. They impose hardly any burden on lower- and middle-income households, but the average ...
21.12.2016| Stefan Bach
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Interview
Mr. Bach, DIW Berlin analyzed the distribution effects of the German tax and social security contribution systems in cooperation with Freie Universität Berlin. Which income group in Germany makes the highest contribution to income tax revenues?
High-income households generate most of the income tax. The wealthiest ten percent pays almost 60 percent of total tax revenue. On the other hand, the ...
21.12.2016
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Economic Bulletin
On January 1, 2017, the parental leave benefit will be celebrating its tenth anniversary. Although its implementation was hotly debated, it has become a widely accepted family policy measure. Its impact on parental labor supply, the division of labor between parents, fertility, and indicators that reflect the well-being of parents and children have been examined from a variety of perspectives. A global ...
09.12.2016| Mathias Huebener, Kai-Uwe Müller, C. Katharina Spieß, Katharina Wrohlich
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Interview
Mrs. Wrohlich, at the beginning of next year the parental leave benefit is turning ten. To what extent has it been able to strengthen the financial situation of young families?
The parental leave benefit has actually been able to increase the net income of families significantly in the year after their child was born. But the reform also left some people behind – in particular, families ...
09.12.2016
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Press Release
DIW Berlin’s experts identified the city’s untapped potential and formed recommendations based on a comprehensive study of its labor market, startup culture, and public investment patterns. The result: good potential, but productivity is low and innovation is weak. Overall, Berlin needs more fast-growing companies.
Has Berlin turned a corner? After a long period of stagnation, the city ...
25.07.2016
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Report
In Berlin, as elsewhere, public investment is critical to an individual’s life satisfaction and a prerequisite for positive economic development. There are many fields of activity for public investment. For instance, the tasks for Berlin include a sustainable transport concept that maintains and develops the local passenger transport network, a sustainable cycle concept, new schools need to be ...
20.07.2016
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Press Release
DIW Berlin experts estimate annual value of inheritances and gifts to be between 200 and 300 billion euros – high levels of inequality due to heavy concentration of wealth and largely tax-free transfers of big businesses – experts recommend reducing tax privileges and imposing limited tax rates for business transfers
In 2009, tax privileges for transfers of businesses were expanded; the ...
01.02.2016
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Report
by Stefan Bach and Andreas Thiemann
Compared to the rest of Europe, Germany exhibits an especially high concentration of wealth. According to estimates based on a microsimulation model, a German wealth tax could generate an estimated ten to 20 billion euros per year in revenue—even with high tax allowances—and slightly reduce the inequality of income distribution, as well. Collection ...
28.01.2016
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Interview
Dr. Bach, what is the real net worth of German households and how is this wealth distributed?
German households have a real net worth of 8.6 trillion euros. This massive wealth is very highly concentrated and is equivalent to around two and a half times the country’s GDP. We estimate that the richest one percent of the population own 32 percent of total assets and the wealthiest 0.1 percent ...
28.01.2016
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Interview
Mr. Müller, what is the current state of the work-life balance in Germany?
Since the introduction of Elterngeld, the situation has improved. Especially the expansion of subsidized day-care for small children has contributed to this development. On the other hand, there’s still a relatively widespread dissatisfaction with the work-life balance. Mothers would like to participate more in the ...
13.11.2015
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Press Release
Persistent lack of investment among municipalities – social expenditures diminishing financial leeway – structurally weak regions threatening to fall further behind – DIW experts recommend temporarily making use of solidarity contributions to relieve municipalities of social expenditures
Investment in public infrastructure is critical for ensuring competitiveness and creating growth ...
22.10.2015
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Press Release
Discrepancies primarily in party affiliation and voter turnout –attitudes toward the welfare state are converging – support for the Left Party remains marginal in the West
Twenty-five years after reunification, East and West Germans continue to show clear differences in their political preferences. This is the result of an analysis carried out by the German Institute for Economic Research ...
09.09.2015
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Press Release
Few assets in comparison to the rest of the population—those living alone are particularly affectedSo-called “care households”—that is, households in which a person over the age of 60 and in need of long-term care resides—have similar household incomes to “non-care households,” in which no care-dependent person lives. But care-dependent individuals are more ...
01.04.2015
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Interview
The interview with Johannes Geyer is published in DIW Economic Bulletin 14/2015. It is available for Download as pdf-document.
More issues of DIW Economic Bulletin
01.04.2015
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Press Release
The German tax and transfer system ensures that the net incomes of its citizens are distributed much more evenly than market income. Much of this redistribution takes place through the social security system. However, the majority of government benefits do not go to financially needy households. Tax expert Stefan Bach summarizes the key findings of a recent study conducted by the German Institute for ...
18.02.2015
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Interview
The Interview with Stefan Bach is published in DIW Economic Bulletin 8/2015. It is available for Download as pdf document
More issues of DIW Economic Bulletin
18.02.2015
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Press Release
A study by DIW Berlin presents a reform proposal – tax breaks could be restricted, tax burdens could be paid over longer periods – inheritance tax revenue would increase considerably
After the German Federal Constitutional Court determined in December 2014 that far-reaching exemptions to inheritance tax on corporate assets are partly unconstitutional, a new study by DIW Berlin suggests ...
11.02.2015