Tax burdens in the context of business succession can have an impact on the success of family businesses and influence the decision to pass the business on to the next generation or to sell it. In this context, an international comparison may help to analyse Germany's competitiveness in the area of inheritance tax in comparison to other industrialised countries and to identify possible fields of action for policy makers to strengthen Germany as a business location - especially for family businesses.

The study aims at elaborating the role of inheritance tax in the overall tax system and at examining Germany's inheritance tax competitiveness in an international comparison. Finally, the findings are used to critically assess existing tax planning models and potential reform proposals.