Skewed perspectives: Media Narratives on wealth-based taxation in German speaking countries

Hendrik Theine (), Alexander Stäudelmayr (), Magdalena Maad, Andrea Grisold and Moritz Gartiser
Additional contact information
Hendrik Theine: Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria
Alexander Stäudelmayr: Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria
Magdalena Maad: Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria
Andrea Grisold: Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria
Moritz Gartiser: Institute for Socioeconomics, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany

No 177, ICAE Working Papers from Johannes Kepler University, Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy

Abstract: Rising wealth inequality is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century, threatening both equal opportunity and the foundations of democratic governance. Yet calls for taxing wealth remain limited, even though such measures could help curb inequality. Recognising the central role of media in shaping public opinion, this article investigates how narratives around wealth taxation are constructed and circulated in the media. Focusing on German-speaking countries—where wealth inequality is particularly pronounced—we employ a mixed-methods approach that combines structural topic modeling with qualitative narrative analysis. Our study identifies ten distinct economic narratives. Anti-tax narratives dominate public discourse, often questioning the feasibility of wealth taxation or framing pro-tax arguments as ideologically driven. In contrast, pro-tax narratives appear less frequently and are primarily oriented around principles of fairness and the need for systemic reform. The findings highlight notable differences in the prevalence and evolution of these narratives across countries and over time, but overall, a skewed perspective on wealth-based taxation.

Date: 2026-03
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.jku.at/fileadmin/gruppen/108/ICAE_Working_Papers/wp177.pdf First version, 2026 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ico:wpaper:177

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in ICAE Working Papers from Johannes Kepler University, Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Teresa Griesebner ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).