Income tax statistics analysis: A comparison of microsimulation versus group simulation

Microsimulation based on income tax statistics may be useful in tax reform discussions. Unfortunately, access to appropriate data is still rather restricted and expensive for ad-hoc analyses, and individual data is often even not available at all. In this paper we take Germany and its data situation as a proxy for many countries? restrictions in terms of tax data availability. Analyzing how much reliability and robustness of results we lose if we employ group simulation instead of microsimulation, we compare both methods. Investigating tax scale effects by the group model leads to very good results. Determining the financial effects of modified tax bases, the deviation from the microsimulation results increases, especially if tax base cuts vary between taxpayers. In addition, we take account of the class of taxpayers with a negative taxable income. Neglecting this class we identify a systematic underestimation of the financial consequences of a modified tax base with the group model assuming a progressive tax scale. If the group simulation data is not arranged according to the taxable income, but rather according to the total amount of income, we also find a tendency towards higher deviations from the microsimulation results. Quantifying the tax revenue effects of alternative tax settings the group simulation model represents a good compromise between the desire to capture the complex reality and the achievable accuracy when facing limited resources and data. Furthermore, for those cases in which group simulation is the appropriate tool, we provide a very simple method to interpolate a suitable income distribution and thereby the tax distribution within the classes. This interpolation makes future estimates of tax revenues a lot easier. We conclude that, although microsimulation in general is the superior approach, a group simulation model remains of interest, especially for analyses of rather old data and cross-country analyses, when sufficiently detailed data for micro analyses is missing.microsimulation; group simulation; tax revenue; personal income tax; tax statistics

Using Links to prototype a Database Wiki

Both relational databases and wikis have strengths that make them attractive for use in collaborative applications. In the last decade, database-backed Web applications have been used extensively to develop valuable shared biological references called curated databases. Databases offer many advantages such as scalability, query optimization and concurrency control, but are not easy to use and lack other features needed for collaboration. Wikis have become very popular for early-stage biocuration projects because they are easy to use, encourage sharing and collaboration, and provide built-in support for archiving, history-tracking and annotation. However, curation projects often outgrow the limited capabilities of wikis for structuring and efficiently querying data at scale, necessitating a painful phase transition to a database-backed Web application. We perceive a need for a new class of general-purpose system, which we call a Database Wiki, that combines flexible wiki-like support for collaboration with robust database-like capabilities for structuring and querying data. This paper presents DBWiki, a design prototype for such a system written in the Web programming language Links. We present the architecture, typical use, and wiki markup language design for DBWiki and discuss features of Links that provided unique advantages for rapid Web/database application prototyping

Ausmaß der steuerlichen Verlustverrechnung: eine empirische Analyse der Aufkommens- und Verteilungswirkungen

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Mission Control Concepts for Robotic Operations: Existing approaches and new Solutions

This paper gives a preliminary overview on activities within the currently ongoing Mission Control Concepts for Robotic Operations (MICCRO) study. The aim of the MICCRO study is to reveal commonalities in the operations of past, current and future robotic space missions in order to find an abstract, representative mission control concept applicable to multiple future missions with robotic systems involved. The existing operational concepts, responsibilities and information flows during the different mission phases are taken into account. A particular emphasis is put on the possible interaction between different autonomous components (on-board and on-ground), their synchronisation and the possible shift of autonomy borders during different mission phases

Kapitza-Dirac effect in the relativistic regime

A relativistic description of the Kapitza-Dirac effect in the so-called Bragg regime with two and three interacting photons is presented by investigating both numerical and perturbative solutions of the Dirac equation in momentum space. We demonstrate that spin-flips can be observed in the two-photon and the three-photon Kapitza-Dirac effect for certain parameters. During the interaction with the laser field the electron's spin is rotated, and we give explicit expressions for the rotation axis and the rotation angle. The off-resonant Kapitza-Dirac effect, that is, when the Bragg condition is not exactly fulfilled, is described by a generalized Rabi theory. We also analyze the in-field quantum dynamics as obtained from the numerical solution of the Dirac equation.Comment: minor correction

Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and long chain alkanes at 6070 ° C by Thermus and Bacillus spp

Although polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and alkanesare biodegradable at ambient temperature, in some cases low bioavailabilities are thereason for slow biodegradation. Considerably higher mass transfer rates and PAH solubilities and hence bioavailabilities can be obtained at higher temperatures. Mixed and pure cultures of aerobic, extreme thermophilic microorganisms (Bacillus spp., Thermus sp.) were used to degrade PAH compounds and PAH/alkane mixtures at 65 °C. The microorganismsused grew on hydrocarbons as sole carbon and energy source. Optimal growthtemperatures were in the range of 60-70 °C at pH values of 6-7. The conversion of PAH with 3-5 rings (acenaphthene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[e]pyrene) was demonstrated. Efficient PAH biodegradation required a second, degradable liquid phase. Thermus brockii Hamburg metabolized up to 40 mg (l h)-1 pyrene and 1000 mg(1 h)-1 hexadecane at 70 °C. Specific growth rates of 0.43 h-1 were measured for this strain with hexadecane/pyrene mixtures as the sole carbon and energy source in a 2-liter stirred bioreactor. About 0.7 g cell dry weight were formed from 1 g hydrocarbon. The experiments demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of extreme thermophilic PAH and alkane biodegradatio

Ökonomische Wirkungen der Missbrauchsbesteuerung bei Anteilsveräußerung nach Sacheinlage in eine Kapitalgesellschaft

Im Fall einer steuerneutralen Einbringung von Betriebsvermögen in eine Kapital-gesellschaft kommt bei anschließender Anteilsveräußerung innerhalb einer Sieben-jahresfrist die Missbrauchsvorschrift des § 22 Abs. 1 UmwStG zur Anwendung. Diese beinhaltet Elemente der Besteuerung eines Asset-Deals. Ein Vergleich der Nettoend-vermögen des Einbringenden mit und ohne Anwendung der Missbrauchsvorschrift zeigt, dass der Veräußerer im Vergleich zur regulären Besteuerung des Share-Deals keine steuerbedingte Vermögenseinbuße hinnehmen muss, soweit der Barwert der Steuerersparnisse der aus der Missbrauchsregelung resultierenden zusätzlichen Abschreibungen ausreichend hoch ist und dieser im Kaufpreis vergütet wird. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung belegen zudem, dass die Missbrauchsvorschrift nicht zu rechtfertigen ist. Für viele Steuersatzkonstellationen wäre bereits die nicht sanktionierte Einbringung mit anschließender Anteilsveräußerung gegenüber dem Asset-Deal nachteilig, so dass der vom Gesetzgeber unterstellte Missbrauch nicht vorliegt. Auch unter den Aspekten der Transparenz und Vereinfachung der Besteuerung ist die Missbrauchsregelung abzulehnen. -- In cases of contribution of assets into a corporation and subsequent sale of the participation by the shareholder within a retention period of seven years, the anti-abuse provision of article 22 paragraph 1 UmwStG is applied. Underlying the effects of the anti-abuse regulation on marginal share prices, the analysis shows no tax induced disadvantage in comparison with conventional law, provided that the present value of tax savings resulting from the increase in depreciation caused by the anti-abuse regulation is high enough and compensated in the purchase price. In terms of transparency and tax-law simplification, rejection of this anti-abuse provision is required.

Beurteilung der Verteilungswirkungen der "rot-Grünen" Einkommensteuerpolitik: Eine Frage des Maßstabes

Anhand einer empirischen Untersuchung der Folgen der Senkung des Einkommensteuertarifs durch die rot-grüne Regierung werden die für eine verteilungspolitische Wertung geeigneten Maßstäbe der Steuerlastumverteilung und der Einkommensumverteilung diskutiert. Dabei wird aufgezeigt, welchen Einfluss die Wahl des Bewertungsmaßstabs für die Interpretation der Ergebnisse hat. Es wird herausgearbeitet,dass eine allein auf die Nettoeinkommensverteilung fokussierte Wertung problematisch ist, da die Implikationen einer derartigen Steuerpolitik mit den primären Aufgaben der Einkommensbesteuerung in Konflikt stehen. Zur verteilungspolitischen Beurteilung von Steuerrechtsänderungen scheint der Maßstab der Steuer(last)umverteilung besser geeignet. --

Archiving and maintaining curated databases

Curated databases represent a substantial amount of effort by a dedicated group of people to produce a definitive description of some subject area. The value of curated databases lies in the quality of the data that has been manually collected, corrected, and annotated by human curators. Many curated databases are continuously modified and new releases being published on the Web. Given that curated databases act as publications, archiving them becomes a necessity to enable retrieval of particular database versions. A system trying to archive evolving databases on the Web faces several challenges. First and foremost, the systems needs to be able to effciently maintain and query multiple snapshots of ever growing databases. Second, the system needs to be flexible enough to account for changes to the database structure and to handle data of varying quality. Third, the system needs to be robust and invulnerable to local failure to allow reliable long-term preservation of archived information. Our archive management system XArch addresses the first challenge by providing the functionality to maintain, populate, and query archives of database snapshots in hierarchical format. This presentation intends to give an overview of our ongoing efforts of improving XArch regarding (i) archiving evolving databases, (ii) supporting distributed archives, and (iii) using our archives and XArch as the basis of a system to create, maintain, and publish curated databases