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The tax system consists of all individual taxes levied as well as the way in which they are levied. Considering the numerous federal, regional and communal taxes that are levied in Germany from different taxpayers, for different taxable objects, and on different assessment bases in different forms – partially with dependencies and interdependencies – the German tax system is a very complex system. On 19 September 2003 the law of taxes and levies for the Federal Republic of Germany consisted of 118 laws, 87 ordinances as well as several hundred statements made by the German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF). Additionally, there are innumerable laws that are not tax laws per se, but are of relevance to tax matters.

Scholars have developed several different approaches to systemizing the (individual) taxes.

Figure 5: Approaches of systematization

•Direct and indirect taxes

The distinction originates from the discipline of financial sciences and is related to the possibility provided by the legislature to shift tax liability. In the case of direct taxes, the tax debtor, the ultimate taxpayer, i.e. the party that ultimately bears the tax burden, and the taxpayer are identical (e.g. income tax). The intended shift of the tax liability from the tax debtor to the ultimate taxpayer is characteristic of indirect taxes. Accordingly, in the case of value-added tax, although the business owner is the tax debtor and the taxpayer, it is the final private consumer, who is to be encumbered financially (ultimate taxpayer).