Innovation im Steuerrecht: Wie kann die Thesaurierungsbegünstigung eine annähernd belastungsneutrale Besteuerung von Personen- und Kapitalgesellschaften gewährleisten?

The paper addresses the question whether the preferential treatment of retained earnings according to section 34a EStG is suitable to achieve a comparable tax burden of partnerships and corporations. It can be shown that it is impossible to determine a reference value for all domestic companies. By introducing a “virtual principle of separation” (virtuelles Trennungsprinzip) we allow entrepreneurs to separate between the level of the firm and the owner of the firm, when retained earnings are to be taxed.