MaTax Workshop: Participants Discuss Empirical Tax Policy Effects

On September 1 and 2, 2016, the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) organised the fifth edition of the workshop on empirical tax research. Around 40 participants attended the event, which boasted a varied programme including various presentations of current empirical research findings regarding the influence of corporate taxation on corporate decision-making. The workshop was organised within the framework of the Leibniz ScienceCampus MannheimTaxation (MaTax), a joint initiative of the University of Mannheim and ZEW.

In his opening speech, Thomas Hemmelgarn, head of the Unit "Economic Aspects of Taxation" at the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union of the European Commission, shed light on the latest developments in EU tax policy in the context of current research. Taking various reform initiatives over the past few years as an example, Hemmelgarn discussed how questions surrounding fair taxation and the elimination of harmful tax competition are becoming increasingly important for EU tax policy. This development is particularly remarkable since the formal role of the European Commission, in the context of corporate taxation, consists in eliminating tax obstacles in the Single Market. With regard to the current relaunch of the proposal for a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) and proposals to make corporate taxation more transparent, Hemmelgarn emphasised the need for impact analyses in terms of empirical analyses, simulations and experiments.

Addressing the broad range of taxation research

The workshop furthermore consisted of ten sessions during which participants had the opportunity to present their current research findings which were subsequently discussed by fellow presenters and the audience. The presentations covered a broad range of topics, including the impact of taxes on investment decisions, profit shifting behaviour, tax lobbying, as well as capital market reactions to press releases on tax avoidance. In addition to corporate tax rates, the workshop also provided a platform for in-depth discussion of other regulative instruments, such as tax loss carryforwards, withholding taxes and value-added taxes. Furthermore, the participants debated the role of various actors in tax policy, such as tax consultants and capital investors.