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15.07.2010: Expensive biofuels: In 2008, some € 3 billion support was provided for the controversial development of biodiesel and ethanol. In the Update Biofuels at What Cost? Government Support for Ethanol and Biodiesel in the European Union - 2010 Update, on behalf of the Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI), the FiFo Institute for Public Economics (University of Cologne) comments on the subsidy policy for biofuels in the EU- Member States and at the EU-level.

09.07.2010: Reducing taxes! In its guest contribution for the Handelsblatt FiFo-Director Clemens Fuest sketches how to design business taxation in Germany more growth-friendly without pushing up national debt to all time high

08.07.2010: VAT- chaos: The system of reduced VAT- rates is outdated and inefficient. FiFo Managing Director Michael Thöne stated in an interview with ZDF-Reporter that it is of first priority to smooth exemptions and privileges before starting to talk in any way about tax increases.

18.02.2010: A transnational monitoring of subsidies in a globalised world. On the OECD’s 9th Global Forum on Competition FiFo Managing Director Michael Thöne presents the main features and challenges of a modern monitoring of state aids.

17.02.2010: Local Business Taxes under scrutiny – again: In an interview with newspaper Rheinische Post FiFo-Director Clemens Fuest stresses that cities and municipalities need steady and reliable revenues. Therefore, local business taxes should be substituted by a supplement to corporate and income taxes on the local leve.

13.02.2010: Endowed and still too expensive. What are subsidies good for? In a special feature on radio channel Deutschlandfunk FiFo Managing Director Michael Thöne explains the political dynamics of tax allowances and presents ways to get subsidies under control.

13.01.2010: Postponing tax-reliefs. “The general public has conceived that tax-cuts financed by indebting lead into the wrong direction”. In an interview with German daily paper Tagesspiegel FiFo-Director Clemens Fuest explains the schizophrenia of the current debate on tax-policies.

12.01.2010: Simplifying taxes instead of cutting taxes. Despite abolishing several tax-exemptions, in German newspaper Handelsblatt FiFo-Director Clemens Fuest suggests to check consistency of all tax-support for families such as marital status reliefs, child allowances or deductions of childcare expenses.

11.01.2010: The EU needs a standardized procedure for insolvent Member States. The current debt-crisis in Greece reveals that a credible alternative to the solidary liability has to be founded in Europe, states FiFo-Director Clemens Fuest in a guest contribution for the Handelsblatt.

10.01.2010: Distinguishing when cutting subsidies. The urgent consolidation of public households will have to be accomplished by cutting subsidies. However, states FiFo Manaing Director Michael Thoene in German daily Tagesspiegel, it would be wrong to cut all subsidies by the same amount. “If politicians are able to introduce subsidies selectively, they have to be able to cut them selectively as well.”     

04.01.2010: Reforms of the tax structure have to be revenue-neutral. Even if they aren’t very inventive, proposals for growth friendly, but revenue neutral reforms have been on the politician’s desks for long, says FiFo managing Director Michael Thöne in an interview with radio channel Deutschlandradio.

30.12.2009: Tax reductions for REIT-AGs. The new “REIT” financial instrument is good and attractive. Additional tax subsidies are redundant and harm competition. On radio channel RBB FiFo Managing Director justifies his suggestion not to renew these subsidies.  

29.12.2009: Employee savings bonus serves as a tax subsidy. Due to existing state aid for pension savings and blanket allowances for savers, the present savings bonus neither has eligibility nor any positive effects, explains FiFo Managing Director on radio channel RBB.

28.12.2009: Tax allowances for biodiesel and combined heat and power technology. Good intentions don’t necessary lead to good results. Tax allowances to achieve climate protection require improvement, states FiFo Managing Director Michael Thöne on radio channel RBB.

07.12.2009: Evaluation of the 20 major tax allowances presented. FiFo Institute for Public Economics – in cooperation with the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and Copenhagen Economics – presents a report on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Finance. Tax allowances amounting to 18.1 billion Euros were analysed and evaluated upon standardized criteria. Only 5 out of the 20 tax allowances were given a “green light”. 10 were assigned “yellow” – meaning they have to be revised and tightened. The remaining 5 received the “red light” and are highly recommended to be abolished.

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02.12.2009: Financial policies have to bear trust. FiFo Director Clemens Fuest sketches how financial policies have to be set up to cope with the crisis and revises the government’s latest decisions in a contribution to German daily Handelsblatt.

27.11.2009: Vietnam on its way to ecotaxes. Headed by Vice Finance Minister Mr Do Hoang Anh Tuan a delegation of 15 from Vietnam visits FiFo Institute to discuss a planned ecotax and its macroeconomic implementation with FiFo Managing Director Michael Thöne and the FiFo Team.

21.11.2009: “The young have to rise up”. In an interview with newspaper Wirtschaftswoche FiFo Director Clemens Fuest illustrates the future burden of current financial policies and refers to a given pension guarantee as an attack on the young generation.

13.11.2009: Germany will not be able to reduce its level of  new indebtness below 3% of GDP if income taxes are going to be heavily cut. Though, Maastricht treaty’s requirements could still be satisfied if planned tax cuts were being reconsidered and expenses reduced, states FiFo Director Clemens Fuest in an interview with radio channel Deutschlandfunk.

09.11.2009: A step tariff rather concerns the income tax’s optics than its substance. Reforming the tax base – especially the high number of exceptions – is the actual task, explains FiFo President Clemens Fuest in German daily Handelsblatt.

05.11.2009: Shall Düsseldorf remain debtless until 2020? “You are lucky to be able to ask such nice questions”, replies FiFo Managing Director to a question by Düsseldorf’s daily newspaper Westdeutsche Zeitung and highlights that being debtless is an enormous locational advantage for a municipality. 

05.11.2009: There is no room for tax cuts, states FiFo Director Clemens Fuest in newspaper Kölner Stadtanzeiger after the release of the latest tax assessment. 

05.11.2009: Some indicators describing the characteristics of a tax system can be rather confusing. In German daily Welt FiFo President Clemens Fuest refers to the use of the tax ratio as an indicator for the overall tax burden as propaganda.

30.10.2009: The planned tax reductions aren’t appropriate instruments to boost the economy. They would disburden those who rather save than consume, explains FiFo President Clemens Fuest on radio channel Deutschlandfunk.

29.10.2009: “The promising ideas are still very vague and things that are concrete are not very satisfactory”. FiFo President Clemens Fuest summarizes the new German government’s acts of fiscal policy in the British weekly magazine Economist.

29.10.2009: Higher tax allowances for children won’t yield more growth. Due to a very high propensity to save in Germany the largest planned reliefs – higher tax allowances and benefits for children – will at the most only provoke a low impact on growth, states FiFo President Clemens Fuest in German newspaper Tagesspiegel.   

28.10.2009: Charities for hoteliers: FiFo President Clemens Fuest and FiFo Managing director Michael Thöne refer to the planned VAT-rate cut for hotels as pointless and label it a result of “clientele politics” in the Financial Times Deutschland.

23.10.2009: No tax cuts without abolishing many tax exemptions. In an interview with German magazine Spiegel FiFo President Clemens Fuest discusses current fiscal policy options.

22.10.2009: The economic stimulus package is at risk of becoming pro-cyclical. FiFo managing director Michael Thöne explains why parts of the investment stimulus package are being claimed too late. As a result, he states in “WDR” radio show Politikum, the  package could have pro- instead of anti-cyclical effects. 

22.10.2009: By implementing a debated „shadow budget“ to finance social security the new federal government would lose the leap of faith that new governments usually benefit from, says FiFo President Clemens Fuest in German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

21.10.2009: Tricky but in line with constitutional requirements. In newscast show Tagesthemen FiFo Director Clemens Fuest debates the new government’s plans to set up a shadow budget instead of pursuing the urgent consolidation of public expenses and the social security system.

19.10.2009: Setting up the inheritance tax all over again. In a guest-comment for the Handelsblatt FiFo Director Clemens Fuest explains why the recent reform is misleading and has to be heavily altered.

18.10.2009: Simple savings? In the long run the state has to improve efficiency to be able to save. However, in comments for Welt am Sonntag and Berliner Morgenpost FiFo Managing Director Michael Thöne suggests cancelling several subsidies and tax privileges in the short run, which would enable the state to save EURO 22 billion.    

6.10.2009: In a German TV show broadcasted by news channel “Phoenix” FiFo President Clemens Fuest and other experts debate financial feasibilities and restrictions that the new German government is facing.

06.10.2009: Subsidizing investments instead of reducing income tax rates. In interviews with German newspapers Badische Zeitung and taz FiFo President Clemens Fuest analyses how growth can be obtained and jobs saved when public finances are scarce.

28.09.2009: No consolidation before 2011. In German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung FiFo President Clemens Fuest suggests a shortening of public expenses, a slightly increased VAT rate of 20% (10% reduced tax rate) and – to attract firms and obtain growth – lowering of corporate taxes after 2011.

25./27.09.2009: It would take an “economic miracle”. In an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung FiFo President Clemens Fuest denies that economic growth could lead to tax earnings which are high enough to vanish the public financial deficit. What is more, he states in weekly newspaper Spiegel, reducing tax rates do not finance themselves via additional tax earnings.

22.09.2009: “This would be affordable if the state had too much money”, says FiFo President Clemens Fuest in German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung referring to claims to reduce income taxes.

21.09.2009: Tax cuts? Tax reductions are not feasible. In order to obtain growth, though, politicians should focus on corporate taxes and not on frequently debated income tax cuts, explains FiFo President Clemens Fuest in one of Germany’s major TV newscasts Tagesthemen.   

18.09.2009: How much growth does the current deficit need? In the public discussion on how much growth is needed to finance potential tax cuts many figures and numbers are being mixed up. FiFo President Clemens Fuest corrects the worst mathematical mistakes in the Financial Times Germany.

18.09.2009: Demanding taxes on financial transactions is nothing but election campaigning. In an interview with radio broadcast Deutschlandradio FiFo President Clemens Fuest comments on the upcoming world financial summit and the proposal to tax financial transactions.

17.09.2009: The debt brake urgently increases the need to reform the federal state’s tax earnings and financial compensation. In an expert hearing carried out by the parliament of federal state North Rhine-Westphalia FiFo Managing Director Michael Thoene advises on further steps concerning the newly implemented tax brake in Germany.

07.09.2009: Reforms in Germany: The tasks for Germany’s new government remain the same as before the elections. Ten central questions on Germany’s future. In a new book published by the Handelsblatt FiFo President Clemens Fuest and FiFo Managing Director Michael Thoene analyse public debt in Germany and emphasize the threatening risks associated with expenses for the social security system.

21.08.2009: It is evident that we have a problem. In German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung FiFo president Clemens Fuest analyses Germany’s mountain of public debt.

17.08.2009: The “scrapping bonus” is one of the most harmful subsidies to the environment, states FiFo Managing Director Michael Thoene on the radio broadcast Deutschlandfunk.

31.07.2009: There is no alternative to raising VAT rates. In a comment in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung FiFo President Clemens Fuest discusses different tax options to rehabilitate public finances in Germany.

06.07.2009: Reforms of fiscal federalism in Germany. German newspaper Frankurter Allgemeine Zeitung reviews a new report by Clemens Fuest and Michael Thoene: “This new report can be used as a base for reforming fiscal federalism. It is a well mixture of scientific, idealistic and pragmatic approaches. The authors indeed deliver an outstanding peace of work and are able to tackle an extensive topic in a short and understandable way.”      

28.05.2009: "Dear Professor Bofinger"….In a public letter FiFo Managing Director Michael Thöne objects his alleged support for Mr. Bofinger's proposal not to implement a debt brake in Germany.

18.05.2009: Financial crisis and tax increases: In contributions for newspapers "London Times" and "Rheinische Post" FiFo President Clemens Fuest states that neither Germany nor England will be able to avoid tax increases after the crisis.

14.05.2009: The fruits of budget consolidation vanished due to the financial crisis. FiFo Managing Director Michael Thöne analyses the latest tax estimation in the German newspaper "Manager-Magazin".

12.05.2009: Tax burden and social security contributions for the middle-class, for low-income earners, and for employed couples in Germany are higher than in most other OECD countries. FiFo President Clemens Fuest comments on the result of a new OECD study in the German dailies "Welt" and "Berliner Morgenpost".

04.05.2009: Fiscal Federalism reform in Germany: In a study on behalf of the non-profit organisation "Stiftung Marktwirtschaft" (long version; short version) FiFo President Clemens Fuest and FiFo Managing Director Michael Thöne suggest more autonomy for federal states in tax questions and suggest a more efficient, vertical fiscal equalisation scheme.

24.04.2009: "We won't agree": The young and the current mountain of debt. FiFo Managing Director Michael Thöne and other experts discuss about these questions on the radio show "Lebenszeit" broadcasted by "Deutschlandfunk".

09.04.2009: Growing deserts. Even though more and more tax havens are being desiccated, the German tax authorities will only earn poor additional revenues, argues FiFo President Clemens Fuest in a guest contribution for the German newspaper "Rheinischen Merkur".

31.03.2009: New economic stimulus packages will barely help. In the German newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung", FiFo President Clemens Fuest, warns against too high expectations in the G-20 summit in London.

10.03.2009: Why some critics on bank nationalisation are mistaken. In the German economic journal "Handelsblatt" FiFo President Clemens Fuest argues against the fundamental rejection of the nationalisation of the German real-estate bank HRE.

03.03.2009: Energy white paper presented: The government of Luxembourg introduces a study by Dieter Ewringmann, Wolfgang Eichhammer and Hans-Joachim Ziesing about Luxembourg's energy strategy.

04.02.2009: Hesitant step on the brake. FiFo Vice-President Wolfgang Kitterer pleads a strict limit of national debts in the radio program Deutschlandfunk.

01.02.2009: Much space for improvement: Compared to other countries, Germany's budgetary transparency is rather mediocrity. The Open Budget Initiative is a global comparative study; its German part was carried out by FiFo Köln.

15.01.2009: Public investments will not have anti-cyclical effects. FiFo Managing Director Michael Thöne does not share the optimism in the implementation of the stimulus package on the level of municipalities and federal states. Hearing with experts from the Budget committee of the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia.

15.01.2009: In a letter to the Federal Minister of Finance Peer Steinbrück the scientific advisory board of the German Federal Ministry of Finance and its chairman, FiFo President Clemens Fuest, take a stand on the current debate about the necessity of state aid in order to increase economic activity. They suggest determined and rapid, but time limited investment incentives.

November 2008: From Wallstreet to Main Street: The banking crisis is becoming an economic crisis. Comments and suggestions by FiFo President Clemens Fuest in the German newspapers Spiegel, Handelsblatt, Manager-Magazin, and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

24.11.2008: The EU Water-Framework Directive requires extensive adjustments of the Luxembourgian fee charging policy. Clear words about this issue by FiFo expert Dieter Ewringmann in the newspaper "Luxemburger Wort".

October 2008: The bank crisis is intensifying. Comments and suggestions concerning the crisis by FiFo Vice-President Wolfgang Kitterer on German TV channel WDR and radio station Deutschlandfunk and by FiFo Managing Director Michael Thöne on Deutschlandfunk.

01.10.2008: ARD (First German TV channel) documentation "So viel lebst du" on German Unity Day. A German life- how much would that be? In kilograms? In litres? Counted in either dreams or potatoes? And how would it be if one could visualize his whole life at once? On October 3rd at 18.45 the TV Channel ARD shows a documentary on German consumption behaviour. Statistical support and adjustment of the original British results to German conditions were carried out by FiFo Köln. FiFo Managing Director Michael Thöne also comments on certain issues in the documentation.

12.08.2008: The FiFo Köln congratulates his former student assistant Ole Bischof for winning the gold medal at the Olympic judo tournament in half middleweight.