What is the beer coaster myth in German tax returns?

The beer coaster myth describes an idea to simplify tax returns so drastically that they would theoretically fit on a single beer coaster. The concept emerged from a tax reform debate in the early 2000s and became a symbol of the desire for a simpler tax system that persists today. No government ever implemented it—instead, German tax law ranks among the world's most complex, filled with numerous exceptions, special rules, and cross-references between statutes. How complicated the subject truly is shows partly in the fact that the Federal Tax Court decides a substantial portion of cases in favour of taxpayers.