<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The current German inheritance and gift tax statistics for 2022 suggest rising tax revenues. However, the statistics are misleading, particularly for large estates, because a large proportion of the taxes assessed are subsequently remitted. This is due to extensive tax exemptions for corporate assets. On the one hand, the findings are important for the assessment of the latest inheritance tax reform, which may not meet the requirements of the Federal Constitutional Court. On the other hand, they show that wealth-related taxes are currently declining despite very high wealth inequality in Germany.</p>
</abstract>

The current German inheritance and gift tax statistics for 2022 suggest rising tax revenues. However, the statistics are misleading, particularly for large estates, because a large proportion of the taxes assessed are subsequently remitted. This is due to extensive tax exemptions for corporate assets. On the one hand, the findings are important for the assessment of the latest inheritance tax reform, which may not meet the requirements of the Federal Constitutional Court. On the other hand, they show that wealth-related taxes are currently declining despite very high wealth inequality in Germany.

Declining Revenue from Inheritance and Gift Tax

Wirtschaftsdienst

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Rückläufige Einnahmen aus der Erbschaft- und Schenkungsteuer

The current German inheritance and gift tax statistics for 2022 suggest rising tax revenues. However, the statistics are misleading, particularly for large...

Declining Revenue from Inheritance and Gift Tax

Published Online: Jan 23, 2024

Page range: 42 - 46

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/wd-2024-0015

© 2024 Julia Jirmann, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.