Broad Tax Base and Lower Proportional Tax Reform as Inheritance Tax Reform -- An Empirical Analysis

This submission deals with an alternative to the German Inheritance Tax Reform Act 2009 in form of an inheritance tax with a broad tax base and low tax rates. In contrast to the new German Estate Tax Act we analyse an inheritance tax reform proposal that provides no tax relief for particular asset categories but contains low proportional tax rates. Our empirical analysis shows that abolishing of tax exemptions and market valuation of assets lead to a remarkable broadening of the inheritance tax base and enables substantial tax rate cuts. Adapted from the source document.