Sarah Godar

Sarah Godar is a researcher at the EU Tax Observatory and DIW Berlin. She holds a Ph.D. from the Institute of Economic Studies, Charles University in Prague. The title of her thesis is: Tax avoidance by multinational corporations: An empirical analysis based on firm-level data [PDF].

From 2017-2021, she was a research associate at the Department of Business and Economics at the Berlin School of Economics and Law (BSEL), supported by the Berlin Equal Opportunity Program (BCP).

Other previous activities include the coordination of the tax justice network Germany (“Netzwerk Steuergerechtigkeit”), and employment as a research associate for the Master's Programme Tax Policy and Tax Administration at BSEL.

She studied Economics and Sociology at the University of Potsdam and graduated in International Economics (M.A.) at the Berlin School of Economics and Law. Her research interests include tax policy, international tax avoidance and offshore financial wealth.

Work in progress

Ducept, J. & Godar, S.: Declining effective tax rates of multinationals: The hidden role of tax base reforms.

While the statutory corporate income tax rate in the European Union remained relatively constant over the last years, the effective tax rate on multinational corporations is on a continued downward trend. In this paper, we argue that tax competition for profits and investments is increasingly driven by tax base reforms. Building a novel database of tax reforms in the European Union, we document the growing trend of adopting tax base narrowing measures. Combining this with the financial accounts of affiliates of multinational enterprises in the European Union, we find indication that tax base-narrowing measures have been more intensive than base-broadening reforms on average.

Faye, S., Godar, S., Zucman, G.: Global Offshore Wealth, 2001-2022.

We construct homogeneous time series of global household offshore wealth covering the 2001–2022 period, during which major international efforts were implemented to curb offshore tax evasion. We find that (i) global offshore wealth remained broadly stable a fraction of global GDP, the equivalent of around 10% of world GDP, (ii) the location of offshore wealth changed markedly, with a decline in the share held in Switzerland and rise of Asian havens (iii) a growing fraction comes from developing countries.

Publications in refereed journals

Godar, S., Aliprandi, G., Faccio, T., Janský, P., Toledo Ruiz, K. (2024). The long way to tax transparency: lessons from the early publishers of country-by-country reports. Int Tax Public Finance 31, 593–634 [link]
Godar, S. (2021). Tax Haven Investors and Corporate Profitability - Evidence of Profit Shifting by German Affiliates of Multinational Firms. FinanzArchiv 77(4): 345-375. [link]
Godar, S., P. Janský (2020). Corporate profit misalignment. Evidence from German headquarter companies and their foreign affiliates. Post-Communist Economies 30(6): 726-750. [link]

Policy reports and discussion papers

Alstadsæter, A., Godar, S., Nicolaides, P., Zucman, G. (2024). Global Tax Evasion Report 2024. EU Tax Observatory. [PDF]
Flamant, E., Godar, S., Richard, G. (2021). New Forms of Tax Competition in the European Union: an Empirical Investigation. EU Tax Observatory Report No. 3, Nov 2021. [PDF]
Godar, S. (2018). The way forward: Taxing multinationals in the EU. Paper prepared for the 24th Conference on Alternative Economic Policy in Europe, Euro Memo Group. [PDF]
Godar, S. (2017). Sind wir nicht alle ein bisschen offshore? Der Schattenfinanzindex wirft Licht auf das internationale Geschäft mit der Geheimhaltung. Kurswechsel 4/2017:36-42. [PDF]
Godar, S., A. Truger (2017). Shifting priorities in EU tax Policies. A stock-taking exercise over three decades. IMK Study No. 55, May 2017, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Düsseldorf. [PDF]
Godar, S., A. Truger (2016). Die Rückkehr der progressiven Steuerpolitik? Steuerpolitische Trends in der EU seit der Krise. Gute Gesellschaft - soziale Demokratie #2017plus, Bonn: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. [PDF]