Inzidenz kommunaler Finanzausgleichssysteme

The thesis examines the economic incidence of the local financial equalizations of the Western German States (except the city states of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg). It proceeds from the assumption that the financial power of a municipality develops completely differently dependent on the local financial equalization, to which it is subject. It has to be examined whether these different results achieve the goals of a local financial equalization after distribution of the rate support grants and after deduction of the district rates. The analysis comes to the result that none of the examined local financial equalization completely fulfils the requirements: Neither the financial power of the municipalities is properly filled up nor the financial power among themselves is adapted. The deduction of the district rates counteracts the distribution results in many cases, as the municipalities drop back to their financial power before adjustment. In the case of the research according to the causes for these inconsistencies it turned out that the most of the financial equalization laws of the States are not adapted to the material conditions of their municipalities like size, income strength and function. In addition the tariff elements are designed and combined with one another in a specific way that prefers or disadvantages certain types of municipalities by the distribution of the grant-in-aid from the beginning. This comes to the conclusion that the results are not only caused by complexity and missing transparency of the local financial equalization. Rather the legislator of the State uses the regulation of the tariff elements consciously, in order to obtain the desirable results, which are often unfavourable however for numerous municipalities.