This paper examines the empirical relevance of the double dividend of revenue neutral marginal environmental tax reforms. For this purpose we use an extended version of the Ahmad-Stern model of indirect taxation. This version includes environmental externalities. We estimate the key parameters...

The paper investigates by means of cointegration analysis whether the recently observed low levels of private saving and the current account balance in the United States are worrisome in the sense that they cannot be sufficiently explained by determinants which performed well in the past. Stock...

The paper studies the macroeconomic effects of government spending shocks in an economy characterized by positive trend growth. It shows that the lower is the trend growth rate the less inflationary are government spending shocks and vice versa. Moreover, on impact output is higher but exhibits...

The financial status of the unemployment insurance system in Germany has improved markedly since 2005. Some reform measures and the upswing of the economy are the most important reasons for the favorable development. It is hotly debated how to use the surplus of the Federal Labor Agency....

This paper takes stock of German public support measures in favour of families. The database comprises benefits from family-specific norms of tax law as well as cash and in-kind transfers both from public budgets (federal, states’ and local layer) and from the social insurance system...

The structure of income taxation in Germany implies that the marginal and the average tax rates will rise in the course of the coming years—even if the increase of nominal incomes is modest. The elasticity of the wage income tax revenues with respect to gross wages amounts to about 1.9,...

Subsidization policy is intensively discussed in Germany. The paper demonstrates the extent of subsidization in Germany. Subsidies are defined as the sum of tax expenditures and those government expenditures which distort the structure of the economy; financial aid is granted to different...

Tax expenditures are granted for a variety of purposes in Germany. They were significantly reduced in December 2003. After the general election in 2005, additional reductions of the tax expenditures were decided upon; however, new measures were introduced, too. The paper presents data on the...

The paper presents data on the taxation of business income in the Federal Republic of Germany in the nineties. The government's plan to reform the system of taxing corporate and personal income is portrayed and assessed. It turns out that the reform proposal has numerous disadvantages; it is...

It is often proposed that capital income tax rates be harmonized. Otherwise, a “race to the bottom” will occur and lead to governments not being able to perform their usual tasks. However, the development of corporate income tax revenues in relation to GDP does not indicate that a race to...