---
_id: '2250'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: All over the world, firms and governments are increasingly concerned about
the rise in tax complexity. To manage it and develop effective simplification
measures, detailed information on the current drivers of complexity is required.
However, research on this topic is scarce. This is surprising as the latest developments—for
example, triggered by the BEPS project—give rise to the conjecture that complexity
drivers may have changed, thus questioning the findings of prior studies. In this
paper, we shed light on this issue and provide a global picture of the current
drivers of tax complexity that multinational corporations face based on a survey
of 221 highly experienced tax practitioners from 108 countries. Our results show
that prior complexity drivers of the tax code are still relevant, with details
and changes of tax regulations being the two most influential complexity drivers.
We also find evidence for new relevant complexity drivers emerging from different
areas of the tax framework, such as inconsistent decisions among tax officers
(tax audits) or retroactively applied tax law amendments (tax enactment). Based
on the responses of the practitioners, we develop a concept of tax complexity
that distinguishes two pillars, tax code and tax framework complexity, and illustrates
the various aspects that should be considered when assessing the complexity of
a country’s tax system.
author:
- first_name: Thomas
full_name: Hoppe, Thomas
id: '22671'
last_name: Hoppe
- first_name: Deborah
full_name: Schanz, Deborah
last_name: Schanz
- first_name: Susann
full_name: Sturm, Susann
last_name: Sturm
- first_name: Caren
full_name: Sureth-Sloane, Caren
id: '530'
last_name: Sureth-Sloane
citation:
ama: Hoppe T, Schanz D, Sturm S, Sureth-Sloane C. What Are the Drivers of Tax
Complexity for Multinational Corporations? Evidence from 108 Countries.; 2017.
doi:10.2139/ssrn.3046546
apa: Hoppe, T., Schanz, D., Sturm, S., & Sureth-Sloane, C. (2017). What are
the Drivers of Tax Complexity for Multinational Corporations? Evidence from 108
Countries. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3046546
bibtex: '@book{Hoppe_Schanz_Sturm_Sureth-Sloane_2017, title={What are the Drivers
of Tax Complexity for Multinational Corporations? Evidence from 108 Countries},
DOI={10.2139/ssrn.3046546},
author={Hoppe, Thomas and Schanz, Deborah and Sturm, Susann and Sureth-Sloane,
Caren}, year={2017} }'
chicago: Hoppe, Thomas, Deborah Schanz, Susann Sturm, and Caren Sureth-Sloane. What
Are the Drivers of Tax Complexity for Multinational Corporations? Evidence from
108 Countries, 2017. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3046546.
ieee: T. Hoppe, D. Schanz, S. Sturm, and C. Sureth-Sloane, What are the Drivers
of Tax Complexity for Multinational Corporations? Evidence from 108 Countries.
2017.
mla: Hoppe, Thomas, et al. What Are the Drivers of Tax Complexity for Multinational
Corporations? Evidence from 108 Countries. 2017, doi:10.2139/ssrn.3046546.
short: T. Hoppe, D. Schanz, S. Sturm, C. Sureth-Sloane, What Are the Drivers of
Tax Complexity for Multinational Corporations? Evidence from 108 Countries, 2017.
date_created: 2018-04-06T07:44:59Z
date_updated: 2022-01-06T06:55:34Z
ddc:
- '330'
department:
- _id: '187'
- _id: '635'
doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3046546
file:
- access_level: closed
content_type: application/pdf
creator: hoppet
date_created: 2018-04-06T07:48:31Z
date_updated: 2018-04-06T07:48:31Z
file_id: '2253'
file_name: Hoppe Schanz Sturm Sureth-Sloane 2017.pdf
file_size: 1077359
relation: main_file
success: 1
file_date_updated: 2018-04-06T07:48:31Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
jel:
- H20
- H25
- C83
- O57
keyword:
- Complexity Drivers
- International Comparison
- Survey
- Tax Complexity
- Tax Practitioners
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3046546
oa: '1'
page: '28'
project:
- _id: '37'
grant_number: P01
name: Der Einfluss von steuerlicher Regulierung auf multinationale Unternehmen
publication_identifier:
issn:
- 1556-5068
status: public
title: What are the Drivers of Tax Complexity for Multinational Corporations? Evidence
from 108 Countries
type: working_paper
user_id: '68607'
year: '2017'
...