Is the economic and financial crisis also a crisis of Economics? From different perspectives, today there is rather harsh criticism of Economics as a Social Science. In this article, first, some of the recent failures of Economics are discussed. Then some of the criticisms are taken up that are less convincing, in particular criticisms of the application of the economic model of behaviour, the mathematisation of Economics and the principle of value freedom. The appropriate role of the government as well as of competition is discussed, and also which other consequences should be drawn for Economics as a science but also for economic policy. Finally, we debate whether there is, besides the economic crisis, really a crisis of Economics as well.
Taking into account that international tax competition is going stronger, first arguments in favour of abolishing corporate income taxation or even any capital income taxation are presented. Second, the arguments in favour of capital income taxation and especially of corporate income taxation are discussed. There, we also consider those arguments which explain differences in the behaviour of ‘small' compared to ‘big' countries. Then, we describe the recent international development of corporate income taxation and especially the Swiss situation in the international corporate income tax competition. That the burden of those taxes is still rather low in Switzerland does, however, not imply that there is no need for a reform of business taxation. Thus, we finally point to some areas where reforms might be indicated and we also discuss the problem of capital income taxation somewhat more generally.
