Spielräume für eine gerechtere Steuerpolitik in den OECD-Ländern

In the past few decades the redistributive effect of the tax system has been substantially weakened by deliberate tax policies in most OECD countries. Despite some signs that this trend may have recently come to a halt a comprehensive policy change is not underway. One central argument put forward against such a change is the claim of a serious trade-off between equity and efficiency: According to the dominant view, higher taxes on top personal incomes, corporate income and wealth are detrimental to growth and employment. This article argues that even the dominating theoretical framework leaves substantial leeway for redistributive taxation. From a Keynesian macroeconomic perspective redistribution may even be systematically conducive to growth and employment. Consequently, apart from attempts at international tax coordination and harmonisation, national tax policies should actively use their room for manoeuvre towards more progressive taxation in order to correct the disparities in the income distribution and at the same time increase the space for fiscal manoeuvre.