Direct and indirect tax
Direct taxes
With the exception of tithing, direct taxes have only existed for around two hundred years. They require a highly developed economy based on the division of labor. Direct federal tax has been levied in Switzerland since 1915.
In the case of direct taxes, the tax debtor (the legally obliged person) and the taxpayer (the economically charged person) are identical, i.e. H. a transfer of control to a third party is not directly possible, but can by Tax shifting is shared. Direct taxes are set and levied directly on the tax debtor . Direct taxes include taxes on income and property (e.g. income tax , corporation tax , solidarity surcharge , withholding tax ) and taxes in connection with private consumption (e.g. hunting tax ).
Indirect taxes
With indirect taxes, the person who owes the tax ( tax debtor ) and the person who bears the tax economically ( taxpayer ) are not identical. The tax is passed on to other persons from the tax debtor. However, the tax is not paid by the taxpayer to the tax authorities , but by the tax debtor. Indirect taxes include sales tax and consumption taxes ( energy tax , tobacco tax , electricity tax , beer tax , coffee tax , alcopop tax , spirits tax , sparkling wine tax and intermediate product tax , and racing betting and lottery tax ).
Example: In the case of electricity tax, electricity drawn from the grid is taxed. The tax therefore burdens the end consumer. However, the tax is levied from the electricity supply company, which passes the tax on to customers via the price.
Fiscal Effect
According to Joachim Wieland , an increase in sales tax or a decrease in income tax and corporation tax changes the ratio of revenue from direct taxes to indirect taxes to the detriment of underperforming taxpayers. Since direct taxes (especially through tax progression ) are based on the efficiency principle and, on the other hand, an indirect tax such as sales tax is the same for everyone, in the cases mentioned the tax revenue is shifted to indirect taxes, which do not take into account the financial strength of the taxpayer. With the lower tax burden on economically more efficient taxpayers, tax justice will decrease. As a result, the gap between rich and poor increases accordingly .
According to scientists who were involved in a study by the Hans Böckler Foundation , tax policy from previous years also favored the rise in income inequality in Germany towards 2016 . For example, poorer households would have been more heavily burdened by higher indirect taxes .
criticism
This distinction is partly controversial, since ultimately all taxes are included in the cost / price calculation. It is sometimes believed that the cost / price calculation usually means that both sides bear the tax, even if only one party has to pay the tax and it was the intention of the state to charge only one side of the transaction. In the long term, it is irrelevant whether, for example, the social security contributions are split equally between the employer and the employee or not, the net wage does not change.
- Comment on criticism
The distinction between direct and indirect tax starts with the form of collection. The form of survey means whether there is direct or indirect access to the “intended” that is ultimately encumbered by the law. Where the burden ultimately arises depends not only on the individual price calculation, but also on the enforceability of the calculated price on the market, i.e. H. ultimately of supply and demand. In addition, the subdivision results in a different control option for income (for example in tax progression) and consumer spending (different tax rates for food and luxury goods).
The immutability of the net income presented in the criticism with regard to the distribution of SI contributions between employers and employees is only applicable if the total gross and SI contributions are considered statically. If the contribution rate in the statutory social insurance increases in the long term, for example because the wage quota (share of wages in national income) falls, then dividing the SV contributions by half means that the total gross amount is increased by half the difference in the SV contribution rate. Without dividing the SV contributions between employers and employees, the net income would fall twice as much.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Volker Pribnow: The justification of government tax and church tithe levying with Huldrich Zwingli. (= Zurich studies on legal history. Volume 34). (Zugl .: Zurich, Univ. , Diss., See a.) Schulthess Polygraphischer Verlag, Zurich 1996, ISBN 3-7255-3501-9 , pp. 34-35.
- ↑ Joachim Wieland: fair taxation instead of national debt | APuZ. Retrieved June 18, 2020 .
- ↑ New study: income distributed more unequally than ever before. In: br.de. Bayerischer Rundfunk, October 7, 2019, accessed on October 21, 2019 .
