Effizient, einfach und gerecht: Ein integriertes System zur Reform von Einkommensteuer und Sozialabgaben

The system of income taxation in Germany is too complex and insufficiently transparent. Many reform proposals have been publicly debated during the past years. However, so far, conflicting goals of positive employment and distributional effects without a negative impact on the state’s budget could not be overcome. A common problem of previous reform proposals is that they have neglected social security contributions and their interactions with income taxes. We tackle this issue by proposing an integrated system of taxation. Our simulations show that this comprehensive reform resolves conflicting goals: employment increases, inequality decreases and tax revenues slightly increase.