Topic Taxes

Kindergeld oder Kinderfreibetrag? Ein steuer- und familienpolitischer Evergreen

Trade Effects of Carbon Pricing Policies

Policies that affect the cost of using fossil fuels in production have a complex impact on the economy. In this paper, we focus on the role of these policies for the pattern of comparative advantage through their effect on production costs in manufacturing industries. Using data on carbon prices and fossil fuel subsidies, we show that less stringent carbon pricing policies increase comparative advantage ...

Wealth and Its Distribution in Germany, 1895-2021

German history over the past 125 years has been turbulent. Marked by two world wars, revolutions and major regime changes, as well as a hyperinflation and three currency reforms, expropriations and territorial divisions, it comprises extreme shocks to study the role of historical events, taxation, asset price changes, portfolio heterogeneity in affecting the wealth distribution in the long run. Combining ...

Equilibrium Effects of Payroll Tax Reductions and Optimal Policy Design

We quantify the unintended effects of a low-wage payroll tax reduction using an equilibrium search model featuring bargaining, worker and firm productivity heterogeneity, labor taxes, and a minimum wage. The decentralized economy is inefficient due to search externalities and labor market policies. We estimate the model using French data and find that a significant reduction in low-wage payroll taxes ...

The Distribution of National Income in Germany, 1992-2019

This paper analyzes the distribution and composition of pre-tax national income in Germany since 1992, combining personal income tax returns, household survey data, and national accounts. Inequality rose from the 1990s to the late 2000s due to falling labor incomes among the bottom 50% and rising incomes in the top 10%. This trend reversed after 2007 as labor incomes across the bottom 90% increased. ...

The EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy and Its Contribution to Climate Neutrality

The EU Taxonomy is the first standardised and comprehensive classification system for sustainable economic activities. It covers activities responsible for up to 80% of EU greenhouse gas emissions and may play an important role in channelling investments into low-carbon technologies by helping investors to make informed decisions. However, especially in transition sectors much depends on the stringency ...

Better Early than Never – The Effects of Anticipated Gift Tax Changes on Business Transfers

Wealth transfer taxes are important instruments to counter increasing wealth inequality. Yet, inter-generational business transfers, whose distribution is particularly concentrated at the top, are inherently difficult to tax. This is due to preferential tax treatments in many countries and sophisticated tax avoidance strategies by business owners. We analyze how business transfers react to...

Global Tax Evasion: How large is the problem and what to do about it?

Is global tax evasion falling or rising? Are new issues emerging, and if so, what are they? Have governments been effective in addressing tax evasion over the past 10 years? What has worked so far and what are some policies for the future? Gabriel Zucman, founding director of the EU Tax Observatory, and Sarah Godar will present key result from the inaugural Global Tax Evasion Report. The report...

Higher fossil fuel prices and a climate dividend: burdens on and relief of households

EU Tax Observatory

The EU Tax Observatory is an independent research laboratory hosted at the Paris School of Economics and DIW is the national cooperation partner.  It conducts innovative research on taxation, contributes to a democratic and inclusive debate on the future of taxation, and fosters a dialogue between the scientific community, civil society, and policymakers in the European Union and worldwide.