Tax sovereignty
The tax sovereignty describes the competence of a state and its member states and its sub-areas for the collection of taxes and duties.
The tax sovereignty includes:
- Legislative sovereignty
- Revenue sovereignty
- Administrative sovereignty
- Jurisdiction
The distribution of tax sovereignty between a state as a whole and its sub-areas is usually regulated in the constitution or laws enacted on the basis of these. Certain taxes are often reserved for different government entities, e.g. B. Property tax for the municipalities, tobacco tax and customs duties for the entire state. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, tax sovereignty is divided into local , state (or cantonal ) and federal taxes .
Situation in Germany
In the Federal Republic of Germany , the tax sovereignty is regulated as part of the financial sovereignty in Articles 105 to 108 of the Basic Law. A distinction is made between federal, state and municipal taxes. The latter include hunting tax , dog tax and amusement tax .
Situation in Switzerland
In Switzerland , the federal tax authority is regulated in Articles 128 to 134 of the Federal Constitution .
The federal government has a monopoly for the VAT , the tax on tobacco , the tax on spirits, the beer tax , the car tax , the fuel tax , the stamp tax , the withholding tax and customs duties. The cantons receive 10% of the spirits tax and 10% of the withholding tax. The federal government can also levy a direct tax on natural and legal persons.
The cantons and, if regulated in the respective cantonal constitutions, the communes, levy direct taxes and all other taxes. The legislative sovereignty of the cantons for direct taxes has been partially limited since 1993 by the federal law on the harmonization of direct taxes of the cantons and municipalities (StHG) , but each canton can freely determine tax rates, tax rates and tax allowances (see also tax harmonization ).
