Abstract

The essay describes and analyses in detail the features and workings of the financial administration of the German Federal Republic. The first part describes the allocation of powers and the machinery of financial assessment (also in relation to unification), the various sources of tax revenue and their attribution to the various levels of government. The second part of the essay presents the system of financial offices (appraisal, collection and auditing). Personnel (training, determination of manning requirements), the role of the financial offices, and analysis of the costs of taxation are analysed in the third part. The three appendices set out the main features of the tax system (General Tax Code, collection, disputes, etc.), the characteristics of the principal taxes, and the principles behind reorganization of the financial offices.