The income tax (abbreviation: ESt) is a tax, which is levied on the income of natural persons. Assessment basis is the income which can be paid duty. The legal basis is in the income tax act (EStG).

Collection forms of the income tax are the wage tax, capital return-expensively, the interest anticipated payment, building-departure-expensively, supervisory board-expensively. They are called also "“taxes at source"”, since they are taken off directly at the source.

A likewise zugelassenene way of writing is income tax with joining, which is not used in the official legal terminology however.

Income tax in Germany

History

Church personnel tenth (decimae personales) of the Middle Ages were first beginnings for personnel taxation. In 17. Century came the Prussian head lap. The first German income tax of modern kind was levied 1811 to 1813 in East Prussia. It had been already recommended 1808 of baron of the stone following the English income tax of originally 1799 as war delivery. 1820 introduced Prussia under Karl August prince of hard mountain a class tax. The tax progressive rate oriented itself thereby after the grouping of the conditions. This tax was replaced 1851 for the higher incomes from a classified income tax and replaced 1891 among Ministers of Finance Miquel by a unit income tax with explanation obligation and progression. All German Federal States followed this model up to the First World War, after Hessen in the year 1869 and Saxonia had already changed over already 1874 to a general income tax. In the course of the financial reform of Matthias Erzberger at the beginning of the Weimar Republic 1920 a uniform realm income tax developed.

Current legal situation

The income tax which can be paid arises as a result of application of the tax schedule to the income which can be paid duty. Responsibly for appointment and collection of the income tax tax code is regular the tax office after "§ 19, in whose district the taxpayer has his domicile. Which regional administrative body can lay claim on the taken in taxes, the law of decomposition regulates.

The income which can be paid duty is determined as follows:

Determination of the income for the year 2005 from the Einkunftsarten ("§ 2 I EStG) 1. An income from land and forestry ["§13 - 14a EStG] 2. An income from industrial concern ["§15 - 17 EStG] 3. An income from independent work ["§18 EStG] 4. An income from not-independent work ["§19 - 19a EStG] 5. An income from capital ability ["§20 EStG] 6. An income from letting and farm lease ["§21 - 21a EStG] 7. An other income ["§22 - 23 EStG] = intermediate total + amount of addition ./. balancable negative sum of the income = intermediate total  	 

= sum of the income

./. Amount of age discharge for before 2 January 1941 bearing ("§ 24a EStG) ./. Amount of discharge for however-educating, 1,308 "€ ./. Free allowance for land and Forstwirte, 670 "€/1,340 "€ 

= total amount of the income (GdE)

./. Loss departure (maximum amount consider!) ./. Extra charges, those not precaution expenditures are ./. Precaution expenditures, einschliessl. Age precaution ./. Freiwillige additional age precaution ./. Unusual loads of general kind ./. reasonable load of ...... % of the GdE ./. ./. Maintenance to needy persons ./. Training free allowance ./. Occupation of an assistance in the household ./. Behindertenpauschbetrag ./. Survivor Pauschbetrag ./. Care Pauschbetrag ./. Care of children costs ./. Amount of departure for promotion of the residential property + an income which can be included after external tax law 

= incomes

./. Free allowances for"…. children, for each child 3,648 + 2,160 "€ ./. Hardness reconciliation 

= paying duty income 2005

Annual tax according to basic/splitting table - see also to income tax tariff + annual tax after special computation ./. Tax reductions + additions 

= annual tax 2005 which can be determined

./. performed pre-payments ./. capital return-expensively ./ which can be taken into account. wage tax which can be taken into account 

= for 2005

Criticism

The German Einkommensteuerrecht stands for years in the criticism: numerous exceptions and special arrangements lead to Intransparenz.Ein important corner point of all income tax reform concepts are the tax simplification. Exceptions and special arrangements are to be limited and abolished, in order to lower with the means freed thereby the control items, which does not mean however so easily that the income tax must generally sink thereby. Rather this simplification is to lead to more transparency, in addition, to more incomes, which are carried by the majority of the taxpayers.

Quotations

• Most with difficulty to understand the income tax is in the world. (Albert Einstein)

See also

Income tax return, negatives income tax, moonlighting, efficiency principle, tax evasion

Related links

Germany

• Income tax act (Germany)
• Encyclopedia of the Federal Ministry of finances
• Program flowchart and interactive control computer of the Federal Ministry of finances
• ELSTER - the electronic tax declaration

Austria

• - Income tax act Austria

Switzerland

• Income tax in the canton Aargau

Articles in category "Income tax (Germany)"

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