K?rperschaftsteuers?tze, Verlustverrechnung und Steuerwettbewerb in der EU

This article describes the developments in corporate tax rates and loss-offset provisions in the EU countries and addresses the question of whether the new member states of the EU are applying lower tax rates and therefore boosting their loss-offset restrictions. Such a harmful tax competition has been feared with regard to the case law of the European Court of Justice that considers the cross-border loss offset. This study shows the opposite is true. In recent years, especially the new EU member states have extended the loss carry-forward period.     

Flexible Geschäftsmodelle in der Telekommunikation und die Netzneutralitätsdebatte

The net neutrality debate concerns the differential treatment of data on the Internet and the pricing models used by enduser internet service providers (IPSs). In particular, end-user ISPs may want to prioritize certain services and charge on the sender or the receiver side for this activity. In the policy debate it is asked whether regulatory intervention is warranted to restrict such behavior. The introduction of new end-user tariffs for fixed-line Internet access by Deutsche Telekom has heated up the debate in Germany. At the national level, the German Ministry of Economics and Technology has prepared a draft regulation on net neutrality, which aims at limiting the differential treatment of data transmission on the internet including the access networks and, thus, to protect the “Open Internet”. The European Commission has prepared an alternative draft regulation for a single European market in telecommunications, which contains provisions for an “Open Internet”. In this article, the authors investigate the extent to which the new tariff structure by Deutsche Telekom relates to the net neutrality debate. They also provide a first critical analysis of the proposals by the German Ministry of Economics and Technology and the European Commission.     

Solvenz- und Liquiditätsrisiken in der Türkei

The crisis in Turkey is largely self-inflicted and is only superficially related to the tightened US trade sanctions. Numerous expansionary economic policies have led to economic overheating and a sharp increase in the private debt of banks and non-financial companies. Significant solvency and liquidity risks have arisen with the recent sharp devaluation of the Turkish lira because of the high level of foreign debt, which is nearly completely denominated in foreign currency. If the exchange rate remains at the current level, corporate bankruptcies are likely, particularly in case of highly indebted non-financial companies which are hardly hedged against devaluation risks.     

Wege und Irrwege der neuen Grundsteuerpläne in Deutschland

Wirtschaftsdienst - Das bisherige Verfahren zur Grundsteuererhebung ist 2018 vom Bundesverfassungsgericht als verfassungswidrig erklärt worden. Seither haben fünf Bundesländer...     

Investitionen und Regulierung bei schnellen Internetzugängen in Deutschland und der Schweiz

The transition from copper-based internet access to ultra-fast broadband networks requires large investments. However, regulation has a serious impact on (private) investment incentives. We describe and evaluate the regulatory frameworks of European countries, in particular those of Germany and Switzerland. Our article argues that the ex-ante sector-specific regulation in EU countries like Germany, with its focus on cost-oriented access and service-based competition, is likely to have a detrimental effect on investment. In contrast, the Swiss approach of ex-post regulation provides a more conducive investment environment. We provide preliminary evidence on investment behaviour supporting our theoretical conclusions.     

Prävention und Management von Staatsinsolvenzen in der Europäischen Währungsunion

Der Umgang mit den Schuldenkrisen in einigen Eurol?ndern steht derzeit ganz oben auf der Tagesordnung der EWU-Gremien. Der Rettungsschirm zur aktuellen Krisenbew?ltigung ist allerdings bis 2013 befristet. Danach sollte ein dauerhafter Krisenpr?ventions- und Krisenmanagementmechanismus eingesetzt werden. Wie ein solcher Mechanismus zu gestalten ist, erl?utern die Autoren in diesem Beitrag.     

Ungleichheit und sozialer Ausgleich in der erweiterten Europäischen Union

Das Europa der 27 ist ein Wirtschaftsraum mit extremen und stark untersch?tzten Einkommensunterschieden. Wie l?sst sich die Einkommensverteilung innerhalb der Europ?ischen Union messen? Welche Folgen hat die ungleiche Einkommensstruktur für den Arbeitsmarkt in der EU? Wie kann der soziale Ausgleich in Europa herbeigeführt werden? Dr. Michael Dauderst?dt, 60, ist Leiter der Abteilung Wirtschafts- und Sozialpolitik der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.     

Pensionsfonds der Länder und Schuldenbremse

Germany’s federal states employ more than a million civil servants, whose future pension claims are by no means financially secured. This will cause a considerable additional budgetary burden in the coming decades. The pressure thus created to reduce expenditure can be alleviated by setting up a pension fund. However, this requires that the capital market yield must exceed the annual adjustment rate of the civil servants’ remuneration. The contributions of the federal states to such a fund should ideally be financed from budgetary savings. If the necessary rules are complied with, future budgets can also be relieved, provided the contributions to these funds are financed — wholly or partly — by loans.     

Konjunktur- und Strukturkomponenten der Länderhaushalte

Deutschland hat im August 2009 eine Schuldenregel im Grundgesetz verankert. Die Bundesl?nder müssen bis 2020 ihre Ausgaben grunds?tzlich ohne Kredite fi nanzieren. Konjunkturbedingte Defi zite sind weiterhin m?glich, die in konjunkturell guten Zeiten ausgeglichen werden müssen. Das RWI hat ein Verfahren entwickelt, wie die Konjunktur- und Strukturkomponenten der Landeshaushalte berechnet werden sollten.     

Testen der Tester? Grundsätze ordnungsgemäßen Testens!

Tests and comparisons of products can provide useful information on both quality and value of goods and services for consumers, suppliers, and for consumer policy, for example watchdogs. In a market economy like Germany, where consumer markets are not fully transparent and functioning, testing organisations act as information intermediaries. They provide information at the meta-level so that not everyone has to test and compare all goods and services individually. This is why the reliability of testers and testing organisations is of particular importance. This article examines the principles or minimum standards for proper testing and discusses how to control them.     

Disparitäten in der Entwicklung der Gemeindesteuern

Generally, taxes are the most relevant source of revenue for German municipalities. In the period from 2004 to 2014, tax revenues were growing at remarkable rates. However, statistical analyses show that not all municipalities were benefitting in the same way, and thus state-wide averages are of limited value, since they tend to whitewash inner-state inequality. Disparities are even significant in states with strong economic fundamentals. According to absolute measures, disparities are growing at the national level. This can be explained by a few tax-strong outliers. In contrast, relative inequality remains static. The alarming finding is that intertemporal mobility among municipalities in the allocation of tax revenues is limited, and thus tax-weak municipalities face a cloudy outlook.