Staatliches Nehmen – Staatliches Geben Zum wechselbezüglichen Selbststand von Steuer- und Sozialrecht

Tax law and social law are closely related: The state demands financial sacrifices of its citizens by means of tax law to subsequently pay out substantial parts of the collected money by means of social law. In the course of this process, both fields of law deal with the same economic output which they treat as economic capacity or need, depending on its quantity. However, they differ in their relevance for basic rights, which sets stricter constitutional limitations to interference with liberty rights by taxation than to the allocation of benefits. Yet they do find common standards in the mutual protection of the subsistence minimum and in the general principle of equality. Against this background, tax law and social law should be subjected to a differentiating overall consideration that examines their subsystems as well as their co-functioning. Such a comprehensive view gives cause to co-ordination, for example, of the definition of the subsistence minimum, the transition from economic capacity to need and the status of the family. Furthermore, the redistributive function of the public social insurances ought to be transferred to the general social system. Finally, some uncoordinated interconnections of tax law and social law should be reconsidered.