Inheritance tax-exempt transfer of German businesses:Imperative or unjustified subsidy? — An empirical analysis

This contribution addresses the substantial tax subsidies for businesses introducedby the German Inheritance Tax Act 2009. Advocates in favour of the vast or evenentire tax exemption for businesses stress the potential damage of the inheritancetax on businesses, as those often lack liquid assets to meet tax liability. Thissubmission tackles this issue empirically based on data of the German InheritanceTax Statistics and the SOEP. The results indicate that former German inheritancetax law has not endangered transferred businesses.[...]