Accounting for Tax Complexity (A05)

• Subject Area: Operations Management and Computer Science for Business Administration
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 403041268

In a highly dynamic global tax landscape, tax complexity and thus the lack of regulatory and administrative transparency is often seen as an obstacle for firms and policymakers. Schanz, Sureth-Sloane, and Voget (A05) establish and maintain a novel survey-based measure. This measure allows the A05 team to capture both tax code complexity—the complexity of regulations—and tax framework complexity—the complexity of tax procedures such as tax audits. A05 uses this measure to conduct novel analyses on the determinants of tax complexity, such as digitalization of tax processes and new anti-tax avoidance regulations, and the consequences for firms’ decisions, for example, on real investments and the structure and size of tax departments. Thereby, they contribute to the understanding of the implications of impaired transparency.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 266: Accounting for Transparency
• Applicant Institution: Universität Paderborn
• Project Heads: Professorin Dr. Deborah Schanz; Professorin Dr. Caren Sureth-Sloane; Professor Dr. Johannes Voget