Existenzsicherung in Ehe und Familie im Einkommensteuerrecht

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Abstract This study deals with the question of what extent the current income tax law can guarantee that married couples and families living on or below the subsistence level are exempt from taxation, as the German constitution stipulates. Its central thesis is that the income tax law is increasingly having to resort to social law to implement the principle that a citizen’s level of taxation should be based on their income (Leistungsfähigkeitsprinzip). Considering a taxpayer’s subsistence level does therefore not only represent the constitutionally enforceable minimum standard, but in terms of tax law it is also the most convincing yardstick when it comes to levying taxes according to a citizen’s ability to pay. Firstly, this approach makes it possible to eliminate the current discrepancies when considering private expenses under income tax law. Secondly, it also hinders the implementation of tax benefits which result in distributional effects that are unjustifiable from a social state perspective.