---
_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. <i>What Are the Drivers of Tax
    Complexity for Multinational Corporations? Evidence from 108 Countries</i>.; 2017.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3046546">10.2139/ssrn.3046546</a>
  apa: Hoppe, T., Schanz, D., Sturm, S., &#38; Sureth-Sloane, C. (2017). <i>What are
    the Drivers of Tax Complexity for Multinational Corporations? Evidence from 108
    Countries</i>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3046546">https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3046546</a>
  bibtex: '@book{Hoppe_Schanz_Sturm_Sureth-Sloane_2017, title={What are the Drivers
    of Tax Complexity for Multinational Corporations? Evidence from 108 Countries},
    DOI={<a href="https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3046546">10.2139/ssrn.3046546</a>},
    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. <i>What
    Are the Drivers of Tax Complexity for Multinational Corporations? Evidence from
    108 Countries</i>, 2017. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3046546">https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3046546</a>.
  ieee: T. Hoppe, D. Schanz, S. Sturm, and C. Sureth-Sloane, <i>What are the Drivers
    of Tax Complexity for Multinational Corporations? Evidence from 108 Countries</i>.
    2017.
  mla: Hoppe, Thomas, et al. <i>What Are the Drivers of Tax Complexity for Multinational
    Corporations? Evidence from 108 Countries</i>. 2017, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3046546">10.2139/ssrn.3046546</a>.
  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'
...