Influence of inflation

One of the most difficult questions faced in tax law is how to determine the taxable base. Starting from the ability-to-pay principle, income is generally considered to be the best indicator to measure the ability to pay taxes. The main question, however, is how income should be defined. Particularly the notion of income from capital causes many problems. Ordinary workers are bearing the burden of the fact that capital owners can no longer be taxed because of globalization and information technology. These problems were discussed in depth during the 2003 conference of the European Association of Tax Law Professors (EATLP) in Cologne. Published in cooperation with EATLP, this book contains the proceedings of this conference.