In this paper, we study the role of wealth transfers in shaping homeownership in Malta. Leveraging data from four waves of the Maltese Household Finance and Consumption Survey, we perform a logistic regression to investigate how financial inflows in the form of gifts or inheritances, affect (i)...

We study whether receiving a monetary gift from parents increases the intensity of parent-child social contact. We use unique longitudinal data that follows adult children and their older parents for more than a decade (between 2004 and 2015) across various European countries. We first document...

Wealth transfer taxes can be important instruments to counter increasing wealth inequality. Yet, inter-generational business transfers, whose distribution is particularly concentrated at the top, are inherently difficult to tax. Many countries treat this asset class preferentially to avoid...

We study whether receiving a monetary gift from parents increases the intensity of parent-child social contact. We use unique longitudinal data that follows adult children and their older parents for more than a decade (between 2004 and 2015) across various European countries. We first document...

The study examines the shift in taxation of open-ended fixed-income funds in Brazil from a realization basis to an accrual basis (locally known as come-cotas), which was introduced in 1998 and more recently extended to include private closed-end funds and offshore trusts through the enactment of...

Die aktuelle Erbschaft- und Schenkungsteuerstatistik für das Jahr 2022 suggeriert steigende Steuereinnahmen. Insbesondere für Großvermögen ist die Statistik aber irreführend, weil ein großer Teil der festgesetzten Steuern im Nachgang wieder erlassen wird. Der vorliegende Beitrag widmet...

In Deutschland intensiviert sich aktuell eine Debatte, die sich mit der Rolle der Erbschaftsteuer im Steuersystem und mit ihrer Ausgestaltung beschäftigt. Dabei geht es zum einen um die Erzielung von Steuereinnahmen angesichts von Engpässen in den Länderhaushalten. Zum anderen stehen...

We study the effects of information on attitudes towards inheritance taxation using survey experiments fielded in Germany. We show that information about tax allowances increases demand for higher taxes and shifts public opinion from favoring abolition to supporting the tax. Effects are...

In this paper, I analyze detailed data on intergenerational transfers in 4 countries (China, India, Japan, and the United States) from the "Japan Household Panel Survey on Consumer Preferences and Satisfaction (JHPS-CPS)" which has been conducted by the Institute of Social and Economic Research...

Die aktuelle Erbschaft- und Schenkungsteuerstatistik für das Jahr 2022 suggeriert steigende Steuereinnahmen. Insbesondere für Großvermögen ist die Statistik aber irreführend, weil ein großer Teil der festgesetzten Steuern im Nachgang wieder erlassen wird. Der vorliegende Beitrag widmet...

We study the effect of bequests and their taxation on wealth inequality. We allow for random death and birth in a continuous-time, dynastic framework. Individuals behave optimally and accumulate wealth over their lifetime. Bequests above a tax exemption threshold are taxed according to a fixed...

We study the effects of information on attitudes towards inheritance taxation using survey experiments fielded in Germany. We show that information about tax allowances increases demand for higher taxes and shifts public opinion from favoring abolition to supporting the tax. Effects are...

Since the end of inheritance and gift tax in 2008, there has been hardly any data on the distribution and volume of inheritances in Austria. Voluntary household surveys capture past inheritances, but there is a lack of current values as well as forecasts on the future development of...

We study the effects of information on attitudes towards inheritance taxation using survey experiments fielded in Germany. We show that information about tax allowances increases demand for higher taxes and shifts public opinion from favoring abolition to supporting the tax. Effects are...

This paper studies the estimation of wealth distribution using estates left at death. We establish formal conditions for adopting a simplied version of the classic estate multi- plier method, using only minimal information on estates and mortality. We empirically validate these conditions and...

Die Freibeträge bei der Erbschaft- und Schenkungsteuer (im Folgenden Erbschaftsteuer) wurden zuletzt vor 13 Jahren angepasst. Zwischenzeitlich kam es zu einem deutlichen Anstieg des allgemeinen Preisniveaus, insbesondere der Immobilienpreise. Vor diesem Hintergrund stellen sich einige Fragen zu...

Die Erbschaftsteuerreformen 2009 und 2016 haben zu umfangreichen Privilegierungen bei der Übertragung großer Vermögen - insbesondere beim Betriebsvermögen geführt. Die Privilegien sind aus einer gesamtwirtschaftlichen Perspektive nicht notwendig und vor dem Hintergrund einer hohen...

In summer 1923, pursuant to the 'full powers' granted him by the Parliament to balance the budget, Alberto De Stefani - appointed in October 1922 as Mussolini's Treasury Minister - announced the abolition of inheritance tax. The most iconic act of Fascist 'financial restauration' of 1922-25, the...

Inheritance law is a family-oriented legal institution shaping how families transfer wealth across generations. This review discusses the main components of inheritance law (inheritance tax rate, and testamentary freedom), and how they impact business families. It also explores common strategies...

This paper studies the relationship between the estate tax and the size of pre-tax bequests of (wealthy) donors: the micro elasticity of bequests. I do this for the two most popular bequest motives discussed in the literature under which this elasticity may be different from zero: warm glow and...

Net wealth taxes are one of the most controversial topics in taxation. Strained government finances due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the increasing inequality in the distribution of wealth are fuelling this debate (See, for example, Wealth Tax Commission, A Wealth Tax for the UK, Final Report...

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird eine normative Analyse und Verteidigung der Erbschaftssteuer unternommen. Zunächst wird eine egalitaristische Argumentation für die Steuer entfaltet. Aufgrund ihrer progressiven Struktur ist die Erbschaftssteuer ein geeignetes Instrument, um der wachsenden...

Inheritance and gift taxation vary widely among countries in both the design and tax burden. We analyze the impact of a series of factors, such as the country's affluence, political preferences, preferences for equity, aging ratio, fiscal standing of the state, and the country's size, on...

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...

Die Erbschaftsteuerreformen 2009 und 2016 haben zu umfangreichen Privilegierungen bei der Übertragung großer Vermögen - insbesondere beim Betriebsvermögen geführt. Die Privilegien sind aus einer gesamtwirtschaftlichen Perspektive nicht notwendig und vor dem Hintergrund einer hohen...

Die Freibeträge bei der Erbschaft- und Schenkungsteuer (im Folgenden Erbschaftsteuer) wurden zuletzt vor 13 Jahren angepasst. Zwischenzeitlich kam es zu einem deutlichen Anstieg des allgemeinen Preisniveaus, insbesondere der Immobilienpreise. Vor diesem Hintergrund stellen sich einige Fragen zu...