IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/bubdps/382014.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Taxing banks: An evaluation of the German bank levy

Author

Listed:
  • Buch, Claudia M.
  • Hilberg, Björn
  • Tonzer, Lena

Abstract

Bank distress can have severe negative consequences for the stability of the financial system, the real economy, and for public finances. Regimes for the restructuring and resolution of banks, financed by bank levies and fiscal backstops, seek to reduce these costs. Bank levies attempt to internalize systemic risk and to increase the costs of leverage. This paper evaluates the effects of the German bank levy implemented in 2011 as part of the German Bank Restructuring Act. Our analysis offers three main insights. First, revenues raised through the bank levy are lower than expected, because of low tax rates and high thresholds for tax exemptions. Second, the bulk of the payments were contributed by large commercial banks and by the central institutions of savings banks and credit unions. Third, for the banks affected by the levy, we find evidence for a reduction in lending and higher deposit rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Buch, Claudia M. & Hilberg, Björn & Tonzer, Lena, 2014. "Taxing banks: An evaluation of the German bank levy," Discussion Papers 38/2014, Deutsche Bundesbank.
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:bubdps:382014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/106176/1/81416188X.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli & Huizinga, Harry, 2001. "The taxation of domestic and foreign banking," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(3), pages 429-453, March.
    2. Manganelli, Simone & Altunbas, Yener & Marqués-Ibáñez, David, 2011. "Bank risk during the financial crisis: do business models matter?," Working Paper Series 1394, European Central Bank.
    3. Demirguc, Asli & Huizinga, Harry, 1999. "Determinants of Commercial Bank Interest Margins and Profitability: Some International Evidence," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 13(2), pages 379-408, May.
    4. Enrico Perotti & Javier Suarez, 2011. "A Pigovian Approach to Liquidity Regulation," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 7(4), pages 3-41, December.
    5. Luc Laeven & Fabian Valencia, 2020. "Systemic Banking Crises Database II," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 68(2), pages 307-361, June.
    6. Chiorazzo, Vincenzo & Milani, Carlo, 2011. "The impact of taxation on bank profits: Evidence from EU banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 3202-3212.
    7. Gunther Capelle-Blancard & Olena Havrylchyk, 2013. "The Ability of Banks to Shift Corporate Income Taxes to Customers," Working Papers 2013-09, CEPII research center.
    8. Markus Behn & Rainer Haselmann & Paul Wachtel, 2016. "Procyclical Capital Regulation and Lending," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 71(2), pages 919-956, April.
    9. Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff, 2011. "From Financial Crash to Debt Crisis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1676-1706, August.
    10. Albertazzi, Ugo & Gambacorta, Leonardo, 2010. "Bank profitability and taxation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(11), pages 2801-2810, November.
    11. Gunther Capelle-Blancard & Olena Havrylchyk, 2017. "Incidence of Bank Levy and Bank Market Power," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 21(3), pages 1023-1046.
    12. Reinhart, Carmen M. & Rogoff, Kenneth S., 2013. "Banking crises: An equal opportunity menace," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4557-4573.
    13. Di Nicolo, G. & Gamba, A. & Lucchetta, M., 2011. "Capital Regulation, Liquidity Requirements and Taxation in a Dynamic Model of Banking," Other publications TiSEM 58ac9f00-92d7-497b-a76f-e, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    14. Xavier Freixas & Jean-Charles Rochet, 2013. "Taming Systemically Important Financial Institutions," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 45, pages 37-58, August.
    15. Drehmann, Mathias & Tarashev, Nikola, 2013. "Measuring the systemic importance of interconnected banks," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 586-607.
    16. Damar, H. Evren & Meh, Césaire A. & Terajima, Yaz, 2013. "Leverage, balance-sheet size and wholesale funding," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 639-662.
    17. Arinaminpathy, Nimalan & Kapadia, Sujit & May, Robert, 2012. "Size and complexity in model financial systems," Bank of England working papers 465, Bank of England.
    18. Joon-Ho Hahm & Hyun Song Shin & Kwanho Shin, 2013. "Noncore Bank Liabilities and Financial Vulnerability," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 45, pages 3-36, August.
    19. Mathias Drehmann & Nikola Tarashev, 2011. "Systemic importance: some simple indicators," BIS Quarterly Review, Bank for International Settlements, March.
    20. Halvorsen, Robert & Palmquist, Raymond, 1980. "The Interpretation of Dummy Variables in Semilogarithmic Equations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(3), pages 474-475, June.
    21. Mr. Fabian Valencia & Mr. Luc Laeven, 2012. "Systemic Banking Crises Database: An Update," IMF Working Papers 2012/163, International Monetary Fund.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael Kogler, 2019. "On the incidence of bank levies: theory and evidence," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 26(4), pages 677-718, August.
    2. Hryckiewicz Aneta & Puławska Karolina, 2022. "How to Design a Bank Levy: The Effect of a Levy Scheme on Bank Performance and its Activities," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 30(3), pages 136-174, September.
    3. Karolina Puławska, 2021. "The Effect of Bank Levy Introduction on Commercial Banks in Europe," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-26, June.
    4. Gunther Capelle-Blancard & Olena Havrylchyk, 2017. "Incidence of Bank Levy and Bank Market Power," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 21(3), pages 1023-1046.
    5. Gerasimos T. Soldatos & Erotokritos Varelas, 2016. "Loan as a Durable Good and Bank Indirect-Tax Incidence," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 7(1), pages 33-38, January.
    6. Soldatos, Gerasimos T. & Varelas, Erotokritos, 2015. "Loan as a Durable Good and Bank Indirect-Tax Incidence," MPRA Paper 68220, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Gunther Capelle-Blancard & Olena Havrylchyk, 2014. "The burden of bank taxation: corporate income tax vs. bank levy," Chapters, in: Sajid M. Chaudhry & Andrew W Mullineux (ed.), Taxing Banks Fairly, chapter 4, pages 73-89, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Di Gong & Shiwei Hu & Jenny Ligthart, 2015. "Does Corporate Income Taxation Affect Securitization? Evidence from OECD Banks," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 48(3), pages 193-213, December.
    9. Irina Balteanu & Aitor Erce, 2018. "Linking Bank Crises and Sovereign Defaults: Evidence from Emerging Markets," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 66(4), pages 617-664, December.
    10. Gunther Capelle-Blancard & Olena Havrylchyk, 2013. "The Ability of Banks to Shift Corporate Income Taxes to Customers," Working Papers 2013-09, CEPII research center.
    11. Bellucci, Andrea & Fatica, Serena & Heynderickx, Wouter & Kvedaras, Virmantas & Pagano, Andrea, 2023. "Liability taxes, risk, and the cost of banking crises," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    12. Altunbas, Yener & Manganelli, Simone & Marques-Ibanez, David, 2017. "Realized bank risk during the great recession," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 29-44.
    13. Kalyvas, Antonios Nikolaos & Mamatzakis, Emmanuel, 2014. "Does business regulation matter for banks in the European Union?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 278-324.
    14. Burietz, A. & Ongena, S. & Picault, M., 2023. "Taxing banks leverage and syndicated lending: A cross-country comparison," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    15. Gawehn, Vanessa, 2019. "Banks and corporate income taxation: A review," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 247, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    16. Aneta Hryckiewicz & Piotr Mielus & Karolina Skorulska & Malgorzata Snarska, 2018. "Does a bank levy increase frictions on the interbank market?," KAE Working Papers 2018-033, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of Economic Analysis.
    17. Andrzej Karpowicz & Zbigniew Korzeb & Paweł Niedziółka, 2022. "Macroeconomic and sectoral specific determinants of bank levies’ inflows in European Union," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 53(2), pages 183-202.
    18. Chronopoulos, Dimitris K. & Sobiech, Anna L. & Wilson, John O.S., 2019. "The Australian bank levy: Do shareholders pay?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 412-415.
    19. Stijn Claessens, 2015. "An Overview of Macroprudential Policy Tools," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 7(1), pages 397-422, December.
    20. Guarin, Alexander & Lozano, Ignacio, 2017. "Credit funding and banking fragility: A forecasting model for emerging economies," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 168-189.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    bank levy; bank lending; interest rates; German banks;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:bubdps:382014. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dbbgvde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.