Research Group Taxation and Fiscal Policy

International Taxation

Growing global economic integration along with the further liberalisation of international capital flows have increased the relevance of international tax matters and intensified tax competition. Reports of multinational enterprises that reduce their tax burden drastically by shifting profits from high-tax to low-tax countries have triggered an intense public debate. These developments have led to calls for more coordination of tax policy both at the EU level and internationally. The research group contributes to this debate by analysing the incidence of taxation, tax competition and tax avoidance as well as proposals for tax coordination, tax harmonisation or the introduction of new tax instruments.

Taxation, Fiscal Policy and Inequality

In recent years the distribution of income and wealth has attracted increasing attention in public debates. The research group contributes to this debate by studying the impact of taxes and public spending on inequality. We also analyse the regional distribution of income and its determinants in Germany. In this context, we examine issues like the impact of globalisation on the income distribution, as well as the effects of economic policy reforms. In addition, the research group studies various aspects of the economic, political and social consequences of inequality.

Fiscal Policy Governance in the European Monetary Union

The recent economic and financial crisis has put public finances in several EU member states under tremendous pressure and raised concerns about the solvency of sovereigns. The resulting sovereign debt crisis has constrained fiscal capacity substantially and triggered heated debates about the future institutional setup of the Eurozone. The research group studies the development of fiscal policy in the Eurozone and beyond and contributes to the discussion about reforms of Eurozone governance. The research group also analyses the development of the EU budget and proposals for reforming it.

Prof. Dr. Johannes Becker, WWU Münster