Steering tax

Incentive tax or steering control is a levy that has as main purpose is not generating revenue, but mainly aims to guide the conduct of the taxpayer in a certain desired direction by the legislature. The term is not sharply defined, because many tax laws bring about through their design, a behavior steering, which is not always explicitly sought ( avoidance reactions ). The Pigouvian tax is a sub-case of incentive taxes on negative externalities.

Example of a steering control is the motor vehicle tax. It is designed in Germany so that an incentive to choose a low-emission model as possible when considering buying a car. Cars with high emissions, however, are also heavily taxed.

Legally, is now clarified by the Federal Constitutional Court that the purpose of generating revenue may withdraw behind the purpose of Verhaltslenkung. The intake can achieve as long as his secondary purpose, as ever, there is still an objective earning relevance of the standard. This means as long as can be expected in any case with a tax revenue, maintain the property tax and justified the steering purpose. The success of the Steering purpose connected with a steering control with a failure in generating revenue purpose. Tax revenue falls if the taxpayer behave as desired. For example, consumption of cigarettes in Germany went to the tobacco tax increase in March 2004 temporarily decreased significantly.

Reimbursement

There are also incentive taxes, such as the VOC tax in Switzerland, whose income is fully distributed to the population. In this case, taking achieve purpose is eliminated. Ideal goal of reducing compensation is the creation of positive incentives: it rewards people who behave in the desired way, the disposable income to be increased. A redistribution of steering control is often referred to as a tax subsidy. Whether this term is reasonable depends on whether one understands only direct transfers of public funds to private or the waiver of the State of revenue to support purchasing power and jobs ( double dividend). The official language of the federal government taking such waivers are referred to as " subsidy similar conduct ." In contrast to the fiscal taxes ( such as income and sales tax), which are mainly used to finance the state's responsibilities should be directed to the steering control consumer behavior. The alcopops Expensive Special Occupational about making an indirect contribution to health care and thus to the common good, because young people consume less harmful products because of the high price.