Wealth inequality and concentration, together with the search for options to secure long-term sufficiency of tax systems in face of ageing societies, have recently moved the taxation of inheritances into the spotlight. The question if and to what extent behavioral responses by bequeathers may...

The tax burden in Austria is comparatively high, and the gap vis-à-vis the EU average has widened. The tax structure exhibits a number of specific features: taxes on labour are high, both from the employee's and the employer's side, following an upward trend and markedly exceeding the...

A key objective of a reform of the Austrian tax system should be the improvement of the tax structure. This includes a shift in the revenue composition away from certain tax bases (exoneration) towards other bases, implying their higher taxation. The latter should serve not only short-term...

Framework conditions for fiscal policy remain difficult: besides the medium-term outlook of only moderate economic growth, the liquidation of Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank International AG will weigh on the budget. The need for further subsidies to (partly) nationalised banks in distress cannot be ruled...

Das EU-Budget für die Periode 2021 bis 2027 muss sich stärker als bisher am europäischen Mehrwert orientieren, um angesichts der kontroversiellen Positionen der Mitgliedsländer und deren primärer Orientierung an der Nettoposition eine Einigung zu ermöglichen. Eine weitere Stärkung des...

The existing EU system of own resources financing EU expenditures does not make any positive contribution to the various EU strategies and policies implemented to cope with the manifold long-term challenges confronting the EU. It is against this background that the European Commission as well as...

This study presents in detail the concept of a financial transaction tax (FTT) and the theoretical and empirical evidence in favour and against introducing it, the potential revenues, different implementation designs and its ability to correct various market failures. We analyse the benefits and...

The need to reform EU funding and recent political developments such as Brexit and the withdrawal from the USA from the 2015 Paris climate agreement could revitalise the debate about the introduction of border carbon adjustments (BCA) for the European emission trading system (ETS). The...

The increase of wealth inequality in many EU countries has spurred interest in wealth taxation. While taxes on wealth for a long time have played only a marginal role in the public finance and taxation literature, more recently a variety of arguments are brought forward in favour of (higher)...

The obvious difference in the economic performance of countries has led to the question why some countries are so much wealthier than others, and whether the size, the structure, and the organisation of the public sector contribute to cross-country income and growth gaps. Public sector...