Market Economy Foundation

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Logo of the Market Economy Foundation

The Market Economy Foundation is a business-liberal-oriented think tank to which primarily liberal economists belong.

History and organization

She is part of the Stockholm Network . The foundation's scientific advisory board is also known as the Kronberger Kreis . Since 1998 it has been awarding the Wolfram Engels Prize - Mensch und Markt .

The foundation was established in 1982 under the name Frankfurter Institut . It has been based in Berlin since 2001. According to its own information, the foundation is financed through the sale of publications as well as donations and membership fees; it is supported by other foundations for specific projects.

Bernd Raffelhüschen and Michael Eilfort , the former head of the Bundestag office of Friedrich Merz , belong to the board of the foundation . The former scientific employees include: B. Gerhard Schick , financial policy spokesman for the Bundestag parliamentary group Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen.

The focus of the foundation's work is: labor market, social security systems, generation balance sheet, resources, taxes.

The foundation sees itself as an interface between science and politics with the aim of promoting business-liberal concerns. In contrast to initiatives such as the INSM, the foundation relies on scientific work in publications, background discussions and direct addressing of political decision-makers to assert its interests.

Commission Tax Code

76 experts from science, law, companies, municipalities and representatives of parties represented in the Bundestag are involved in the tax code commission , which began its work in 2004, under the direction of the Cologne legal scholar Joachim Lang , which developed the tax concept under the umbrella of the foundation.

The political advisory board consists of Friedrich Merz ( CDU ), the Rhineland-Palatinate Finance Minister Ingolf Deubel ( SPD ), Hermann Otto Solms ( FDP ) and the Bavarian Minister of Finance a. D. Kurt Faltlhauser ( CSU ).

The steering group consists of economists and lawyers

Tax reform proposals

After more than a year of deliberation, the Commission presented the first parts of the concept in July 2005. The proposals on corporate taxation and municipal financing were presented.

The main objective of the corporate taxation model is uniform and simplified taxation of all companies , regardless of their legal form . No tariff rates are specified. Corporate profits should be taxed lower. Only when the profit is distributed to the shareholders is the tax burden to be pushed up to the individual tax rate . This is intended to "strengthen the competitiveness of Germany as a business location".

All business income, income from self-employment , income from agriculture and forestry and also income from renting and leasing should be subject to this new corporate taxation . The trade tax is to be replaced by a surcharge from the municipalities on the corporate and income tax as well as a municipal share of the wage tax . Together with a reformed property tax , this should secure the financing of the municipalities. Overall, the concept would lead to a lower tax burden for companies.

In 2006 the “Tax Policy Program” on income tax , corporate taxation and municipal financing was published and in 2007 an internationally compatible profit determination law was presented.

In 2008 a draft of a complete income tax and procedural law with justification was presented by the commission.

In 2013 the report on the work and drafts of the Tax Code Commission was published . It contains the nationwide calculation of the concept published for the first time for all 12,227 German municipalities .

Swift Prize for Economic Satire

Since 2008, the Market Economy Foundation has awarded the Swift Prize for Economic Satire, named after Jonathan Swift , every two years . The award is given to publications that are said to have contributed in a special way to the promotion of a free, market-based society. The prize money is 10,000 euros. The previous winners are:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ulrich Weiss: More courage to freedom and market - 25 years of the Market Economy Foundation in the Kronberger Kreis. Berlin, June 2007.
  2. Rudolf Speth: The second wave of economic campaigns. From “You are Germany” to the “Market Economy Foundation”. July 2006.
  3. Tax policy program on the website of the Market Economy Foundation.
  4. wiwo.de, November 14, 2008
  5. Joachim Lang, Michael Eilfort (ed.): Structural reform of German income taxes. Olzog, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-7892-8212-6 .
  6. ^ Swift Prize on the Market Economy Foundation website.