New Leibniz ScienceCampus "MaTax" in Mannheim - New European Centre of Excellence in Tax Research Launched by ZEW and the University of Mannheim Strengthens the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region as a Leading-Edge Scientific Location

The Leibniz ScienceCampus "Mannheim Taxation" (MaTax) begins operating on April 1, 2014. MaTax is a joint project of the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and the University of Mannheim. The ScienceCampus is jointly funded by the two participating institutions as well as the Leibniz Association, of which ZEW is a member, and the State of Baden-Württemberg. This scientific centre of excellence in tax research is the first of its kind in Germany and Europe. "The close cooperation between the University of Mannheim and ZEW plays a key role in enhancing the profile of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region and in particular the city of Mannheim as a research location and as a centre of excellent scientifically grounded tax policy advice", says Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Science, Research and the Arts, Theresia Bauer. MaTax is already the second Leibniz ScienceCampus that was successfully established in Mannheim.

The MaTax community consists of researchers from the fields of corporate taxation, public finance, tax law as well as political sciences. "The researchers address the question of how a sustainable tax system should be designed against the backdrop of the neweconomic and societal challenges arising from European integration and globalisation", outlines ZEW President Prof. Clemens Fuest the major scientific objective of MaTax.

On the part of ZEW, the "Corporate Taxation and Public Finance" Research Department substantially contributes to MaTax. On the part of the University of Mannheim, the Business School as well as the School of Law and Economics are mainly involved in the joint project. The new ScienceCampus also collaborates with the Institute for Financial and Tax Law of Heidelberg University. MaTax currently involves 15 professors, ten junior researchers and some 50 PhD students.

"MaTax as a European centre of excellence in tax research with international visibility will benefit Mannheim as a research location", says Prof. Christoph Spengel, professor of business administration and taxation at the University of Mannheim and one of the four directors of the new ScienceCampus. According to Prof. Spengel, the key objectives of MaTax are high-quality research on the field of taxation; interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers from the fields of economics, business administration, law, and political science; exchange between the participating researchers and between the realms of academia, business and administration; as well as training and education of up-and-coming researchers. A scientific advisory board that consists of more than 30 leading international researchers will support the project and ensure the scientific excellence of MaTax.

While MaTax is launched, economic and financial policies are facing numerous substantial challenges on the national, European, and global level. Tax policy is one of the nations’ key instruments to meet those challenges. Against this backdrop, projects within MaTax investigate how tax policies can efficiently contribute to achieving policy targets. MaTax will in particular explore how a sustainable tax system should be designed. Interdisciplinary teams will address, among other things, the following questions: How can tax policy become more growth-friendly without putting the intended revenues at risk? What is the specific role of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice? What could an innovation-friendly tax system look like? How can taxation respond to changes in income distribution?

A Leibniz ScienceCampus includes at least one Leibniz institution and one university as well as the Federal State in which the university is located. The objective of the initiative is to promote excellence in research of Leibniz institutions and universities on the basis of a complementing, regional partnership, which is open to other institutions.

The ScienceCampus MaTax is headed by a four-person Board of Directors: Prof. Clemens Fuest (ZEW and University of Mannheim), Thomas Kohl (ZEW), PD Friedrich Heinemann (ZEW), and Prof. Christoph Spengel (University of Mannheim and ZEW). The Leibniz ScienceCampus MaTax is coordinated by Dr. Katharina Finke and Philipp Dörrenberg (ZEW).

For further information please contact

PD Dr. Friedrich Heinemann, Phone +49(0)621/1235-149, E-mail heinemann@zew.de

Prof. Dr. Christoph Spengel, Phone +49(0)621/181-1704, E-mail spengel@uni-mannheim.de