Читать книгу German Profit Taxes - Christoph Freichel - Страница 6

Taxes form an important part of every citizen’s financial endeavors. The liability to pay taxes accompanies every citizen from the cradle to the grave. The tax liability is imposed by the polity to finance the services performed by the state and influences citizens’ economic dealings. The state must observe certain basic principles when levying taxes, e.g. the principles of legality and uniformity of taxation. In particular, taxation is supposed to be based on the economic capacity of the taxpayer. The state may not unduly call on individual citizens (strangulation effect) if it desires to participate in the success of the private economy in a sustainable manner. Non-uniform taxation can lead to evasive reactions by the eco- nomic actors and presents credibility and legitimacy problems that, inter alia, can lead to a decrease in tax revenue.

Thus, a state must take care to levy taxes so as to reflect the relationship between the legal protection of ownership and the social obligation arising from ownership in a legal and comprehensible manner which is seen to be just. The opposition of the objectives and interests that play a role in taxation must be taken into account in levying taxes. Economic actors want to and must reduce the tax liability, inter alia because of the pressure of globalization. On the other hand, the taxes finance tasks whose fulfillment can be for the benefit of the economic actors and provide the state with the opportunity to intervene in the economic process, inter alia, for the benefit of all.