Implizite und explizite Lohnsteuerbelastung in Deutschland

Abstract

Summary Social insurance contributions include an implicit tax portion if the contributions are higher than the benefits. For the first time, this implicit tax burden is calculated for the entire German social security system regarding income groups, age groups and sex. There is evidence that the implicit tax burden is throughout relatively high. The age-specific tax structure is characterized by an inversely U-shaped curve: The implicit tax burden is weaker for young and older employees subject to social insurance than for employees of the in-between generation. The income-specific tax profiles indicate a negative wage tax for insured with low income and then a strong progressive trend. On a higher level of income, the burden has a regressive course. The combination of implicit wage tax caused by social security system and explicit wage tax caused by income tax system makes the regressive course of tax burden on high income level disappear, so that a progressive wage tax scale with a negative component for lower incomes can be observed.