Comparing Tax Complexity: Germany vs. Austria
Is the grass always greener on the other side? Interestingly, after reviewing the complexity of the tax systems in Germany and Austria, the researchers Thomas Hoppe, Martina Rechbauer, and Susann Sturm find that in many cases the grass is often almost exactly the same, since the tax systems of both countries often display an equal degree of complexity. However, in a few cases, the grass is actually greener on the other side of the border. The researchers therefore argue that both countries have room for improvement, and that they should carefully look at their neighbor and review, and possibly update, their own system accordingly. Some main findings of Hoppe, Rechbauer and Sturm’s latest research are summarized in the visual below.
Read the Publication “Hoppe, T., Rechbauer, M., & Sturm, S. (2019). Steuerkomplexität im Vergleich zwischen Deutschland und Österreich – Eine Analyse des Status quo. Steuer und Wirtschaft, 96(4), 397-412.
To cite this blog:
Hoppe, T., & Sturm, S. (2019, December 9). Comparing Tax Complexity: Germany vs. Austria, TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency Blog. https://www.accounting-for-transparency.de/comparing-tax-complexity-germany-vs-austria/
More Information
The researchers build their analysis on the recently developed Tax Complexity Index. The Tax Complexity Index is a result of a joint project of LMU Munich (including Sturm) and Paderborn University (including Hoppe) and has been published in July 2019 (the paper is available here). It measures the level of tax (code and framework) complexity faced by multinational companies in 100 countries. To collect the data needed to calculate the Tax Complexity Index, an online survey was distributed to tax experts of international tax services firms and networks across more than 100 countries in 2016. About 1,000 questionnaires were received and analyzed. The survey will be repeated in the future, allowing to track changes in tax complexity over time. Hence, it will be possible to analyze how changes in the tax code and the tax framework affect firm behavior such as foreign direct investments. All in all, the project will be a stepping-stone for future research as it provides a unique data set and an excellent opportunity to derive implications and recommendations for policy and practice. More information is available at: www.taxcomplexity.org
They selected these two countries for comparison because they have many similarities. Both countries are developed countries within the EU and have the same national language. To a certain extent the countries also face a similar and shared history. Furthermore, both countries have similar economic, political and social structures. Therefore, a comparison between the two countries was possible without taking too many contextual variables into account.
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