German Profit Taxes. Christoph Freichel

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      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).

       Note

      Direct taxes: No shift of tax liability is envisaged

      Indirect taxes: Shift of tax liability is envisaged

      •Personal and impersonal taxes

      Personal and/or impersonal taxes are taxes that allow for characteristics related to individuals (e.g. marital status, age). The most important personal taxes are personal income tax (Einkommensteuer – ESt), inheritance tax (Erbschaftsteuer – ErbSt) as well as the corporate income tax (Körperschaftsteuer – KSt). Another fundamental characteristic of the personal taxes is the distinction between the unlimited and limited tax liability. In the case of impersonal taxes, object-related taxes or real-estate taxes, the amount of taxes is generally determined solely by characteristics related to the object. The trade tax (Gewerbesteuer – GewSt) and the land tax (Grundsteuer – GrSt) are examples of impersonal taxes.

      •Classification according to economic factors

      In examining the economic factors and/or the assessment basis of the taxes, the following groups of taxes can be identified:

      -Profit taxes (the economic success forms the assessment basis of the taxes, e.g. personal income tax, corporate income tax and trade tax),

      -Substance taxes (the amount of funds form the assessment basis of the taxes, e.g. land tax and deferred transaction tax),

      -Transaction taxes (are generally based on legal transactions, e.g. land transfer tax),

      -Excise tax (generally based on consumption; for all intents and purposes, however, it is usually the producer who is taxed, e.g. petroleum tax and tobacco tax).

      Value-added tax cannot be clearly classified according to the scheme above. Technically, it is arranged like the transaction tax and takes into account the change of disposing capacity. According to the intentions of the law, it is, however, an excise tax because the final consumer is to be encumbered.

      Additional classification factors were developed especially within the discipline of financial sciences. In this respect, a distinction can be made, for example, between the parties entitled to the revenue (federal, regional, communal or community taxes) or ac- cording to the unit of measure forming the assessment basis (specific taxes or ad valor taxes). Specific taxes are related to physical magnitudes, such as quantity, weight or lot size (e.g. liters for petroleum tax, kWh for electricity tax). In contrast, the assessment basis of ad valor taxes are values (e.g. the taxable income in the case of personal income tax).