Was bedeutet Steuervereinfachung wirklich?*

The goal of a simplification of the tax system can be made tractable by reference to the measure of compliance costs. These must, apart from the tax declaration costs, comprise the costs of tax planning that individuals are willing to bear to avoid taxes. Crude forms of taxation lower declaration costs and give rise to tax avoidance planning through unequal tax burdens. Tax simplification by means of lowering tax compliance costs must pay attention to both types of costs. Altogether, the potential of a reduction of tax compliance costs is thus lower than hoped for. Copyright Verein für Socialpolitik und Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2006