Preparing for the Next Financial Crisis

Incentives 91

In Germany, all banks are subjected to the FAT but the tax is not collected if the

relevant sum is below €300 million, so de facto only big banks are concerned.

− The tax base: Claessens etal. (2010) suggest the base should be all liabilities,

except capital (so as to penalize leverage) and insured liabilities (so as to avoid

double taxation). They also advise that o- balance sheets, mainly resulting from

the conclusion of derivative contracts, should be part of the base. This is the case

in Germany. In France, the base is made of the capital requirements (Chapter 6).

− The tax rate: as Acharya etal. (2013), Claessens etal. (2010) suggest the tax

should vary in accordance with the contribution to systemic risk and on av ...