We derive an ex post neutral comprehensive income tax on pension schemes equivalent to a Johansson-Samuelson tax that guarantees non-discriminatory treatment of lifetime-dependent and other investments. By separately taxing contributions and benefits, our concept does not require any assumptions...

We derive an ex post neutral comprehensive income tax on pension schemes equivalent to a Johansson-Samuelson tax that guarantees non-discriminatory treatment of lifetime-dependent and other investments. By separately taxing contributions and benefits, our concept does not require any assumptions...

We study the effect of tax policy on stock market returns in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom using GARCH models and a unique daily dataset of legislative tax changes during the period 1 December 1978 to 31 January 2018. We find that days of discretionary tax legislation during...

For more than 50 years, researchers around the world have tirelessly been searching for a solution to Blacks famous “dividend-puzzle.” However, despite tremendous efforts in different fields of economics, the influence of taxation on the distribution policy of firms has remained elusive and...

In order to calculate the burden of a comprehensive and progressive income tax falling on a certain income source, an apportionment scheme for the entire tax burden has to be chosen. This raises the question of how to deal with losses, which is relevant for Germany in view of the heavy losses...

We study the effect of tax policy on stock market returns in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom using GARCH models and a unique daily dataset of legislative tax changes during the period 1978 to 2018. We find that days of discretionary tax legislation during all stages of the...

We introduce the German Business Panel (GBP), a novel large-scale survey of German firms. The GBP periodically surveys executives and key decision-makers in a representative sample of German firms, taking stock of their perceptions, views, and expectations. A particular focus of the survey is on...

This paper shows how to evaluate investment projects in transparently taxed partnerships and individual enterprises. After the German income tax reform 2008, there is an option for taxing retained earnings at a flat rate of 28.25 %‚ followed by a second taxation in the year of withdrawal. This...

Tax effects on distribution policy have been at the center of debate in the theoretical and empirical literature for over half a century. Theoretically, there are two major schools of thought on the matter. The “traditional view” predicts an influence of taxation on firms' payouts, while the...

“Periodically evaluating the size and effectiveness of tax expenditures is a necessary (although not sufficient) requirement for good government.” Leo Burman's appeal of 2003 is quoted often but followed seldom. The paper reflects on the evaluation of Germany's twenty biggest tax...