Katharina Nicolay is a researcher at ZEW’s Research Department "Corporate Taxation and Public Finance". She is also one of two coordinators of the Leibniz ScienceCampus "MannheimTaxation". She completed her doctoral thesis at the University of Mannheim in March 2013. Since January 2015 she has been assistant professor for accounting and taxation at the University of Mannheim. Before joining ZEW, she studied international business administration at Eberhard Karls University Tübingen and economics at the Université Panthéon Sorbonne in Paris. Her research interest cover topics of international business taxation, empirical tax research, evaluation of tax reforms, and tax accounting.
Selected Publications
Articles in Refereed Journals
Dutt, Verena, Christopher Ludwig, Katharina Nicolay, Heiko Vay and Johannes Voget (2019), Increasing Tax Transparency: Investor Reactions to the Country-by-Country Reporting Requirement for EU Financial Institutions, International Tax and Public Finance 26 (6), 1259-1290. Download
Bräutigam, Rainer, Jost Heckemeyer, Katharina Nicolay, Christoph Spengel and Kathrin Stutzenberger (2018), Addressing the Debt-Equity Bias within a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) – Possibilities, Impact on Effective Tax Rates and Revenue Neutrality, World Tax Journal 10. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Benedikt Zinn and Katharina Nicolay (2016), Characterizing True Book-Tax Differences Based on a Sample of Linked Financial and Tax Accounts in a One-Book System, Die Betriebswirtschaft.
Nicolay, Katharina and Verena Wiedemann (2016), Taxing investments in the Asia-Pacific region: The importance of cross-border taxation and fiscal incentives, World Tax Journal.
Evers, Maria Theresia, Katharina Nicolay, Melanie Köstler, Ina Meier, Wolfram Scheffler and Christoph Spengel (2015), Gemeinsame Körperschaftsteuer-Bemessungsgrundlage in der EU: Konkretisierung der Gewinnermittlungsprinzipien und Weiterentwicklungen, Steuer und Wirtschaft, 359-373.
Fuest, Clemens, Christoph Spengel, Katharina Nicolay, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer and Hannah Nusser (2013), Profit Shifting and ‘Aggressive’ Tax Planning by Multinational Firms: Issues and Options for Reform, World Tax Journal.
Nicolay, Katharina and Christoph Spengel (2013), Die Kirchhof'sche Einkommens- und Unternehmensbesteuerung aus ökonomischer Sicht, Steuer und Wirtschaft 3, 197-288.
Nicolay, Katharina, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Timo Reister and Christoph Spengel (2013), Impact of Tax Rate Cut Cum Base Broadening Reforms on Heterogeneous Firms - Learning from the German Tax Reform 2008, Finanzarchiv, 72-144.
Spengel, Christoph, Wei Li, Katharina Nicolay and Benedikt Zinn (2011), The Computation and Comparison of the Effective Tax Burden in Four Asian Countries, Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics Vol. 52, 13-39.
Spengel, Christoph, Christof Ernst and Katharina Nicolay (2010), Harmonisierung der steuerlichen Gewinnermittlung in der EU und effektive Steuerbelastung von Unternehmen in den 27 EU-Mitgliedstaaten, Die Betriebswirtschaft 70 (4), 283-300.
Articles in Non-Refereed Journals
Nicolay, Katharina, Clemens Fuest, Jost H. Heckemeyer, Hannah Nusser and Christoph Spengel (2015), Eindämmung internationaler Gewinnverlagerung: Wo steht die OECD und was sind die Alternativen?, Steuer und Wirtschaft 1, 90-97.
Endres, Dieter, Katharina Nicolay, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer and Christoph Spengel (2013), Corporate Taxation Trends in Europe, Intertax 4, 499-506.
Endres, Dieter, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Christoph Spengel, Katharina Nicolay and Katharina Richter (2013), Trends der Unternehmensbesteuerung in Europa und weiteren Industriestaaten, Der Betrieb, 896-901.
Endres, Dieter , Katharina Nicolay, Clemens Fuest, Theresa Lohse and Christoph Spengel (2010), Tax Burden on Foreign Direct Investment in the Asia-Pacific Region, India, and Russia, Intertax, 421-429.
Endres, Dieter, Clemens Fuest, Christoph Spengel, Katharina Nicolay and Theresa Lohse (2010), Steuerliche Attraktivität von Ländern im asiatisch-pazifischen Raum, in Indien und Russland aus der Sicht deutscher Investoren, Der Betrieb, 1310-1315.
Monographs, Contributions to Edited Volumes
Endres, Dieter, Clemens Fuest, Christoph Spengel, unter Mitarbeit von Alexandra Bartholmeß, Christina Elschner, Katharina Nicolay, Wei Li, Theresa Lohse and Johannes Voget (2010), Company Taxation in the Asia-Pacific Region, India and Russia, Springer, Heidelberg.
Spengel, Christoph, Katharina Nicolay and Benedikt Zinn (2010), Bedeutung der Substanzbesteuerung in Deutschland, Vol. 96, Baden-Baden. Download
Discussion and Working Papers
Dutt, Verena, Katharina Nicolay and Christoph Spengel (2021), Reporting Behavior and Transparency in European Banks’ Country-by-Country Reports, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 21-019, Mannheim. Download
Klein, Daniel, Christopher Ludwig, Katharina Nicolay and Christoph Spengel (2021), Quantifying the OECD BEPS Indicators – an Update to BEPS Action 11, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 21-013, Mannheim. Download
Heckemeyer, Jost Henrich, Katharina Nicolay and Christoph Spengel (2021), What Will the OECD BEPS Indicators Indicate?, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 21-005, Mannheim. Download
Klein, Daniel, Christopher Ludwig and Katharina Nicolay (2020), Internal Digitalization and Tax-Efficient Decision Making, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 20-051, Mannheim. Download
Dutt, Verena, Katharina Nicolay, Heiko Vay and Johannes Voget (2019), Can European Banks’ Country-by-Country Reports Reveal Profit Shifting? An Analysis of the Information Content of EU Banks’ Disclosures, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 19-042, Mannheim. Download
Nicolay, Katharina, Hannah Nusser and Olena Pfeiffer (2017), On the Interdependency of Profit Shifting Channels and the Effectiveness of Anti-Avoidance Legislation, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 17-066, Mannheim. Download
Bräutigam, Rainer, Katharina Nicolay and Christoph Spengel (2017), Entwicklung eines Indifferenzsteuersatzes für den European Tax Analyzer, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 17-019, Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Christian Rammer, Katharina Nicolay, Olena Pfeiffer, Ann-Catherin Werner, Marcel Olbert, Florence Blandinières, Martin Hud and Bettina Peters (2017), Steuerliche FuE-Förderung, Studien zum deutschen Innovationssystem Nr. 15-2017, Berlin. Download
Evers, Maria Theresia, Ina Meier and Katharina Nicolay (2017), The Implications of Book-Tax Differences: A Meta-Analysis, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 17-003, Mannheim. Download
Nicolay, Katharina and Christoph Spengel (2017), The European Commission's CC(C)TB Re-Launch, ZEW policy brief No. 17-01, Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Rainer Bräutigam, Katharina Nicolay, Oliver Klar and Kathrin Stutzenberger (2016), The Effects of Tax Reforms to Address the Debt-Equity Bias on the Cost of Capital and on Effective Tax Rates, European Commission Taxation Papers No. 65, Brüssel. Download
Evers, Maria Theresia, Ina Meier and Katharina Nicolay (2016), Book-Tax Conformity and Reporting Behavior - A Quasi-experiment, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 16-008, Mannheim, published in: book-tax conformity; book-tax differences; tax sheltering; earnings persistence. Download
Wiedemann, Verena and Katharina Nicolay (2015), Taxing Investments in the Asia-Pacific Region: The Importance of Cross-Border Taxation and Tax Incentives, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 15-014, Mannheim. Download
Evers, Maria Theresia, Katharina Nicolay, Melanie Köstler, Ina Meier, Wolfram Scheffler and Christoph Spengel (2014), Gemeinsame Körperschaftsteuer- Bemessungsgrundlage in der EU: Konkretisierung der Gewinnermittlungsprinzipien und Weiterentwicklungen, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 14-112, Mannheim. Download
Nicolay, Katharina, Clemens Fuest, Hannah Nusser and Christoph Spengel (2014), Extending Taxation of Interest and Royalty Income at Source – an Option to Limit Base Erosion and Profit Shifting?, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 14-073, Mannheim. Download
Evers, Maria Theresia, Katharina Nicolay, Sebastian Matenaer, Ina Meier and Benedikt Zinn (2014), Evidence on Book-tax Differences and Disclosure Quality Based on the Notes to the Financial Statements, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 14-047, Mannheim. Download
Nicolay, Katharina, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer and Christoph Spengel (2014), Assessing the Impact of Introducing an ACE Regime - A Behavioural Corporate Microsimulation Analysis for Germany, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 14-033, Mannheim. Download
Fuest, Clemens, Christoph Spengel, Katharina Nicolay, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer and Hannah Nusser (2013), Profit Shifting and "Aggressive" Tax Planning by Multinational Firms: Issues and Options for Reform, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 13-078, Mannheim. Download
Fuest, Clemens, Christoph Spengel, Katharina Nicolay, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer and Hannah Nusser (2013), Profit Shifting and "Aggressive" Tax Planning by Multinational Firms: Issues and Options for Reform, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 13-044, Mannheim. Download
Nicolay, Katharina, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Timo Reister and Christoph Spengel (2010), Impact of Tax Rate Cut Cum Base Broadening Reforms on Heterogeneous Firms – Learning from the German Tax Reform 2008, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 10-036, Mannheim. Download
Nicolay, Katharina, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Timo Reister and Christoph Spengel (2010), Impact of Tax Rate Cut Cum Base Broadening Reforms on Heterogeneous Firms - Learning from the German Tax Reform 2008, Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation Working Paper, 10/05. Download
Reister, Timo, Christoph Spengel, Katharina Nicolay and Jost Henrich Heckemeyer (2008), ZEW Corporate Taxation Microsimulation Model (ZEW TaxCoMM), ZEW Discussion Paper No. 08-117, Mannheim. Download
Expertises
Spengel, Christoph, Frank Schmidt, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Katharina Nicolay, Alexandra Bartholmeß, Christopher Ludwig, Daniela Steinbrenner, Peter Buchmann, Theresa Bührle, Verena Dutt, Leonie Fischer, Julia Spix and Barbara Stage (2021), Effective Tax Levels Using the Devereux/Griffith Methodology - Update 2020, EU Commission , Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Frank Schmidt, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Katharina Nicolay, Alexandra Bartholmeß, Christopher Ludwig, Daniela Steinbrenner, Peter Buchmann, Theresa Bührle, Verena Dutt, Leonie Fischer and Barbara Stage (2020), Effective Tax Levels Using the Devereux/Griffith Methodology - Update 2019, EU Commission , Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Frank Schmidt, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Katharina Nicolay, Alexandra Bartholmeß, Christopher Ludwig, Daniela Steinbrenner, Rainer Bräutigam, Peter Buchmann, Theresa Bührle, Elisa Casi, Verena Dutt, Leonie Fischer, Christoph Harendt, Raphael Müller, Thomas Schwab, Barbara Stage, Heiko Vay and Ann-Catherin Werner (2019), Effective Tax Levels Using the Devereux/Griffith Methodology - Update 2018, Project for the EU Commission TAXUD/2018/DE/307 Intermediary Report 2018 , Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Katharina Nicolay, Ann-Catherin Werner, Marcel Olbert, Daniela Steinbrenner, Frank Schmidt and Thomas Wolf (2018), Steuerlicher Digitalisierungsindex 2018, PWC, Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Frank Schmidt, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Katharina Nicolay, Alexandra Bartholmeß, Rainer Bräutigam, Julia Braun, Peter Buchmann, Theresa Bührle, Elisa Casi, Verena Dutt, Leonie Fischer, Christoph Harendt, Marcel Olbert, Olena Pfeiffer, Thomas Schwab, Daniela Steinbrenner, Kathrin Stutzenberger, Maximilian Todtenhaupt, Heiko Vay and Ann-Catherin Werner (2018), Effective Tax Levels Using the Devereux/Griffith Methodology - Update 2017, Project for the EU Commission TAXUD/2013/CC/120 Final Report 2017, Mannheim. Download
Nicolay, Katharina, Irene Bertschek, Christoph Spengel, Ulrich Laitenberger, Thomas Niebel, Peter Buchmann and Ann-Catherin Werner (2018), Struktur und Volumen des Marktes von Internetdienstleistungen mit Fokus auf Drittlandsunternehmen, Bundesministerium der Finanzen, Berlin. Download
Bertschek, Irene, Daniel Arnold, Daniel Erdsiek, Katharina Nicolay, Daniel Bieber and Elena Kreutzer (2018), Arbeiten 4.0 – Chancen und Herausforderungen für Luxemburg, Arbeitsministerium, Handelskammer, Arbeitnehmerkammer Luxemburg, Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Katharina Nicolay, Ann-Catherin Werner, Marcel Olbert, Frank Schmidt and Thomas Wolf (2017), Steuerlicher Digitalisierungsindex 2017, PWC, Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Frank Schmidt, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Katharina Nicolay, Alexandra Bartholmeß, Rainer Bräutigam, Julia Braun, Verena Dutt, Maria Theresia Evers, Christoph Harendt, Oliver Klar, Hannah Nusser, Marcel Olbert, Olena Pfeiffer, Daniela Steinbrenner, Frank Streif and Maximilian Todtenhaupt (2017), Effective Tax Levels Using the Devereux/Griffith Methodology: Final Report 2016, Project for the EU Commission TAXUD/2013/CC/120 Final Report 2016, Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Dieter Endres, Katharina Nicolay, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Alexandra Bartholmeß, Rainer Bräutigam, Julia Braun, Olena Pfeiffer, Maria Theresia Evers, Christoph Harendt, Frank Streif, Maximilian Todtenhaupt and Manuel Halter (2016), Effective Tax Levels using the Devereux/Griffith Methodology - Update 2015, Project for the EU Commission TAXUD/2013/CC/120 Intermediate Report 2015, Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Rainer Bräutigam, Katharina Nicolay, Oliver Klar and Kathrin Stutzenberger (2016), The Effects of Tax Reforms to Address the Debt-Equity Bias on the Cost of Capital and on Effective Tax Rates, Europäische Kommission, Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Dieter Endres, Katharina Nicolay, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Alexandra Bartholmeß, Rainer Bräutigam, Olena Pfeiffer, Lisa Evers, Maria Theresia Evers, Manuel Halter, Christoph Harendt, Katharina Richter, Frank Streif and Maximilian Todtenhaupt (2014), Effective Tax Levels Using the Devereux/Griffith Methodology, EU Kommission, Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Dieter Endres, Katharina Nicolay, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Alexandra Bartholmeß, Rainer Bräutigam, Olena Pfeiffer, Manuel Halter, Katharina Richter, Uwe Scheuering and Frank Streif (2013), Effective Tax Levels using the Devereux/Griffith Methodology, EU Kommission, Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Christina Elschner, Dieter Endres, Katharina Richter, Manuel Halter, Alexandra Bartholmeß, Daniel Dreßler, Katharina Nicolay and Jost Henrich Heckemeyer (2012), Effective Tax Levels at the Industry Level using the Devereux/Griffith Methodology, Mannheim. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Christina Elschner, Dieter Endres, Alexandra Bartholmeß, Daniel Dreßler, Lisa Evers, Maria Theresia Evers, Katharina Nicolay, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer, Katharina Richter and Uwe Scheuering (2012), Effective Tax Levels using the Devereux/Griffith Methodology, Mannheim. Download
Nicolay, Katharina, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer and Christoph Spengel (2012), Konsequenzen einer zinsbereinigten Bemessungsgrundlage für die Steuerbelastung deutscher Unternehmen und das Steueraufkommen, DIE FAMILIENUNTERNEHMER - ASU, Mannheim. Download
Devereux, Michael P., Christina Elschner, Dieter Endres, Christoph Spengel, Alexandra Bartholmeß, Daniel Dreßler, Katharina Nicolay, Jost Henrich Heckemeyer and Benedikt Zinn (2009), Effective Tax Levels Using the Devereux/Griffith Methodology, Mannheim und Oxford. Download
Spengel, Christoph, Andreas Oestreicher, Christina Elschner, Timo Reister, Christof Ernst, Michael Grünewald, Katharina Nicolay, Jens Prassel and Lina Cui (2008), Study on the Impact of Reforms of Corporate Income Taxation Systems at the EU Level on the Size of the Tax Bases of the EU Companies, using the Model “European Tax Analyzer”, EU-Kommission, Mannheim und Göttingen. Download
Projects
Current Projects
- Project Duration 01.06.2021 - 01.06.2022Effective Levels of Company Taxation within an Enlarged European Union and Related Supporting Services – Update 2021
- Project Duration 01.01.2021 - 30.09.2022Implications of the Modified Nexus Approach on Effective Tax Burdens and Tax Planning Strategies of Multinational Enterprises
- Project Duration 01.06.2018 - 30.11.2022Taxation in the Era of Digital Transformation
Finished Projects
- Project Duration 01.07.2020 - 01.07.2021Effective Levels of Company Taxation within an Enlarged European Union and Related Supporting Services – Update 2020
- Project Duration 01.01.2020 - 30.06.2021Titel des Projekts (Englisch): Two Decades of Effective Tax Rates - Trends in Europe
- Project Duration 01.11.2019 - 31.07.2021Reporting Behavior and Transparency in European Banks’ Country-by-Country Reports
- Project Duration 04.06.2019 - 04.06.2020Effective Levels of Company Taxation within an Enlarged European Union and Related Supporting Services – Update 2019
- Project Duration 22.05.2018 - 21.05.2019Effective Levels of Company Taxation within an Enlarged European Union and Related Supporting Services – Update 2018
- Project Duration 01.05.2018 - 31.12.2019Can European banks’ country-by-country reports reveal profit shifting?
- Project Duration 01.10.2017 - 30.04.2018Benchmark Study: Tax Attractiveness for Digital Business Models – Update 2018
- Project Duration 01.08.2017 - 31.07.2018Tax Transparency: Does it pay to be transparent? On the Dynamics of Voluntary Tax Disclosure
- Project Duration 01.08.2017 - 31.10.2018Effective Levels of Company Taxation within an Enlarged European Union and Related Supporting Services, Update 2017
- Project Duration 01.06.2017 - 15.05.2018Work 4.0 – Opportunities and Challenges for Luxembourg
- Project Duration 01.03.2017 - 31.08.2018Impact of Country-by-Country Reporting on Banks' Profit Shifting Behaviour and Firm Value
- Project Duration 01.03.2017 - 31.08.2018US Tax Reform Proposals - Implications and Evaluation
- Project Duration 25.06.2016 - 24.06.2017Effective Levels of Company Taxation within an Enlarged European Union and Related Supporting Services, Update 2016
- Project Duration 15.06.2016 - 31.05.2017Structure and Volume of the Market for Digital Services with a Focus on Companies from third Countries
- Project Duration 01.06.2016 - 31.03.2017Development of an Effective Tax Rate Measure for the European Tax Analyzer
- Project Duration 01.04.2016 - 31.12.2016Benchmark study: Tax attractiveness for digital business models
- Project Duration 01.03.2016 - 28.02.2017International Profit Shifting: Its main Channels and Countermeasures
- Project Duration 01.01.2016 - 30.09.2017Structure of Tax Systems in Europe – an Analysis of the Developments in the Member States of the European Union (and other Countries)
- Project Duration 28.10.2015 - 28.10.2016The Effects of Fundamental Tax Reforms on Effective Taxation
- Project Duration 25.06.2015 - 24.06.2016Provision of effective tax rates in the context of an enlarged European Union, Update 2015
- Project Duration 01.03.2015 - 28.02.2016International Profit Shifting: Its main Channels and Countermeasures
- Project Duration 01.01.2015 - 30.04.2017Tax determinants of corporate charitable giving
- Project Duration 01.09.2014 - 29.02.2016Structure of Tax Systems in Europe – An Analysis of the Developments in the Member States of the European Union (and other Countries)
- Project Duration 01.09.2014 - 29.02.2016Tax Accounting and Corporate Decision Making
- Project Duration 01.08.2013 - 31.05.2015Effective Levels of Company Taxation Within an Enlarged European Union and Related Supporting Services
- Project Duration 01.07.2012 - 30.04.2017Confluence – Taxation Database
- Project Duration 01.01.2012 - 31.10.2013Common Corporate Tax Base and Common Company Tax Base: Economic Impact Assessment
- Project Duration 01.12.2011 - 31.03.2012Assessing the impact of an allowance for corporate equity on the tax burden of German firms and the aggregate tax revenue
- Project Duration 01.07.2011 - 31.07.2012Effective tax rates at the industry-level in selected European countries
- Project Duration 01.01.2011 - 31.12.2012Effective Levels of Company Taxation within an Enlarged European Union and Related Supporting Services
- Project Duration 15.01.2009 - 31.10.2009The role of taxes on non-income values in the German tax system
- Project Duration 01.01.2009 - 30.09.2011Development of a microsimulation model for the evaluation of corporate tax reforms under consideration of reform-induced behavioural responses of firms
- Project Duration 16.12.2008 - 31.12.2010Effective Levels of Company Taxation within an Enlarged European Union and Related Supporting Services
- Project Duration 01.11.2008 - 30.11.2009Company Taxation in the Asia-Pacific region, India and Russia
- Project Duration 01.01.2006 - 31.12.2010Taxation of multinational groups in Europe
Events
Expert Seminars
Department

Function
Deputy