The income from dependent employment and its assessment are a central component of income tax law and the federal budget. The term wage tax often enters public discourse. Philipp A. Stallknecht analyzes the particular need for simplification of the wage tax in the first part. The author focuses on the analysis of the concept of wage and the wage tax deduction procedure. Following this analysis, he develops a systematization in which he incorporates and structures the individual simplification norms of the wage tax from sections 3, 9, and 37a ff. of the Income Tax Act (EStG). In the final part, the author addresses the necessary reform proposals. Among other things, the author advocates for a more defined concept of wage as well as the consolidation of existing flat-rate regulations.