Auswirkungen der (Wieder-) Einführung einer Vermögensteuer auf die hessischen Landesfinanzen

The study assesses the fiscal effects of (re-)introducing the general wealth tax for the public budget of the German federal state Hessen. In order to increase public spending in crucial areas such as education, research, child care and infrastructure, a structural increase in tex revenue is needed. (Re-) introducing a federal wealrh tax is an attractive option both with regard to revenue and redistributive aspects. Such a tax that obeys the criteria set by the federal constitutional court by taxing all kinds of wealth in an equitable manner could indeed generate substantial revenue. The version most often discussed with a tax rate of one percent and a basic tax free allowance of 500.000 euro would yield 1.2 billion euro for the federal state of Hessen. The revenue could be used to increase public investment and to generate public employment in schools and universities. A careful estimate for the number of jobs created is in between 6.000 and 10.000 depending on the exact kind of job. The expenditure programme would additionally generate benefical macroeconomic effects. GDP in Hessen would increase by about 0.6 percent and employment (including the jobs created in the public sector) by about 18.000 jobs.