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We investigate whether the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 motivated firms to increase capital investments. Using a unique approach that identifies firm-level tax benefits and incentives introduced by the TCJA, we find that firms that realized tax benefits increased their investment in fixed assets in the following year. Specifically, as a result of the change, an increase in forecasted earnings and an increase in nonrecurring tax benefits stimulated growth in capital investments. We also find that the investment-inducing effect of the TCJA was larger for firms with a higher cost of capital and for those with better alignment between management and shareholder interests. Although our study is not able to explain the long-term consequences of TCJA, it improves upon the previous literature demonstrating that the mixed findings of previous studies may be the result of the unequal distribution of tax benefits among firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change requires urgent global action, but efforts to implement solutions like a carbon tax face deep political polarization, particularly in the United States. This study explores how framing corrective taxes as welfare-enhancing tools might influence public support. Through a pre-registered survey experiment, we manipulate information about the economic benefits of corrective taxes that address negative externalities, assessing their impact on support across political groups. Our findings reveal that this information significantly increases the belief across all groups that the benefits of a carbon tax outweigh its costs and makes increasing social welfare a more salient goal. While Independents show significant positive shifts in support for carbon taxes, moving from weakly negative to weakly positive stances, Republicans remain largely unmoved, likely due to entrenched ideological resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses how good character is used to discount sentences in tax and benefit fraud cases in Aotearoa New Zealand. Four factors are highlighted. The first is a focus on neoliberal priorities that privilege "good citizens" who are primarily tax fraudsters, with the provision of sentence discounts to ensure the offender can remain in employment. The second is sentence reduction, which is primarily visible in tax cases when repayment of the outstanding funds is made. While the average value of benefit fraud is less than a quarter of the average tax fraud, typically, money obtained from benefit fraud is used for living expenses and not available for repayment. Third, only tax fraudsters benefited from anticipated reparation, on the expectation from the court that this would occur after sentencing. Finally, the ways in which prior tax offending is classified leave tax offenders in a stronger position to claim no prior offending and receive a sentence reduction for good character. These factors combine to result in unfair outcomes that benefit tax offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Similar to other countries, Australian firms are increasingly using corporate foundations (CFs) to manage their philanthropic giving. While research has explored the global expansion of CFs, there has been limited understanding on why they are established. This study involving 16 Australian CF managers used qualitative thematic analysis to identify the following four motivational factors that most influence organizational establishment of CFs: 1) centralizing corporate giving; 2) stakeholder influences; 3) financial advantages of foundation structure; and 4) strategic benefits to the establishing firm. The results suggest most Australian firms establish CFs to undertake strategic philanthropy, assisting those in need while capitalizing on the legitimizing social benefits. Many also use it to market activities to their staff, thereby enhancing internal engagement and retention. Yet despite such positive benefits, there is rarely a reduction in principal-agency costs when using a structured CF controlled by corporate executives rather than ad-hoc corporate giving. Furthermore, the decision to establish a CF is often based on normative isomorphism (copying competitors). Additionally, no CFs were established for direct taxation benefits, rather most were focused on the tax benefits associated with employee giving and donations from the general public. The uniqueness of these results, compared with other research, suggests there could be differing motivations to establish CFs based on the organization and the environment of the country where it is located. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important of tax burden stickiness to reveal the special phenomena that the operating conditions of enterprises are not synchronised with the changes of tax burden, but research on overall tax burden stickiness in emerging markets is relatively scarce. This study aims to investigate the suppressing effect of R&D investment on overall tax avoidance and overall tax burden stickiness of Chinese listed companies. We obtain the following conclusions: (1) Overall tax burden stickiness exists among listed Chinese companies. (2) Chinese listed companies have generally significant overall tax avoidance. (3) Overall tax avoidance has a significant positive direct effect, alleviating overall tax burden stickiness, but R&D investment partially offsets the positive influence of overall tax avoidance on overall tax burden stickiness, and the suppressing effect reaches 0.007. Our results illustrate that the implementation of tax planning for R&D projects can reduce R&D investment, so overall tax avoidance will deteriorate overall tax burden stickiness through R&D investment. Therefore, to improve resource utilisation efficiency and tax burden sensitivity to changes in revenue, tax planning should strike a balance between an effective reduction of R&D investment and alleviating tax burden stickiness as operating conditions fluctuate to achieve maximum tax benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the influence of climate risks on the tax shields of US-based firms. The findings show a significant negative correlation between climate risks and debt-related tax shields (DTS), indicating reduced reliance on debt financing due to potential financial risks and regulatory uncertainties. Conversely, non-debt tax shields (NDTS) demonstrate a positive relationship with climate risks, highlighting firms' proactive efforts to seek tax benefits from alternative sources. Additionally, the study uncovers distinct dynamics for high and low-leveraged firms in utilizing tax advantages. The research contributes valuable insights into the intricate interplay of climate risks, tax benefits, and corporate financing decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the impact of changes in tax codes on voluntary giving to universities and colleges. While higher education institutions have drawn attention to individual gifts and philanthropic donations as supplementary financial resources, the recent introduction of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 in the United States reduced tax incentives for charitable contributions, thus raising concerns regarding considerable declines in charitable giving. By using panel data from the Voluntary Support of Education Survey, this research revealed that changes in tax benefits on charitable giving as a consequence of the new tax policy are associated with an overall decrease in the sum of individual donations and the number of individual donors. This loss of voluntary contribution is notably observed in private colleges and universities with an emphasis on research activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing economies, which aim to join the European Union in the upcoming future, entrepreneurial endeavors are important and defining for their economic growth. Most of the time, potential investors are incentivized to choose a particular market through tax benefits, tax exemptions, streamlined registration procedures, tax systems and less red tape. By means of panel data modeling, we investigated the relationship between entrepreneurship and taxation-related matters on a sample of six economies from the Western Balkans region during the period 1991‒2021. Overall, empirical results showed that increasing registration costs hindered the creation of new businesses in the region. Still, if other taxes payable by businesses increased while authorities provided substantial tax reliefs, the creation of new companies would continue. At national level, we found that taxation often fuels entrepreneurship and improves new business density rates. Relevant policy implications are also addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation is one of the first to analyse the relationships between leverage and bankruptcy costs, interest expenses, tax benefits and firm value, in multinational and domestic companies, during periods of crisis and financial stability. The analysed data are related to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) most important emerging markets (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and South Africa) based on a sample of 15,632 observations from public companies for the period 2004–2019 (including the 2008 crisis). The results suggest that multinational companies incur lower bankruptcy costs than domestic ones. Meanwhile, they also become more valuable. Another difference relates to multinationals' ability to raise their leverage levels, even in times of crises, in contrast to domestic companies. Multinational companies also exhibit higher financial negotiation power and may obtain lower interest rates than domestic companies. These findings contribute to the understanding of the financial dynamics demonstrated by multinationals and domestic companies in emerging economies during periods of crisis and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how tax enforcement contributes to the improvement of air quality. We leverage the implementation of the Golden Tax Project III in China as a quasi-natural experiment and employ a difference-in-differences framework to establish causality. The findings indicate that the average SO2 concentration in pilot cities decreased by 2.8%, and the average PM2.5 concentration decreased by 3.2%. Further analysis reveals that curbing the expansion of tax-evading firms and ensuring the government's provision of environmental public goods are mechanisms through which stricter tax enforcement reduces air pollution. These effects are more prominent in cities characterized by a higher proportion of heavy-polluting industries, greater fiscal pressure, and a stronger preference for environmental governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how a carbon tax could reduce fiscal and economic distortions as well as cut carbon emissions in developing-country economies. A computable general equilibrium model is developed to analyze the economic impacts of a hypothetical carbon tax in Côte d'Ivoire, a country in Sub-Saharan Africa with large losses of tax revenues due to informality and leakage. The model represents informal as well as formal production activities. The analysis shows that the economic impacts of a carbon tax and the levels of CO2 reduction vary significantly among alternatives for recycling the carbon tax revenue. A carbon tax with revenues recycled to reduce the existing value-added tax would increase GDP and economic welfare. If the revenue is used to cut the existing tax on labour, the carbon tax would not only increase GDP but also induce the migration of workers from informal to formal activities. The analysis also shows that if energy producers are not excluded from carbon tax revenue recycling, the carbon emission reduction is significantly lower due to a rebound effect. A carbon tax with lump-sum transfers of revenues to households would be progressive as the revenue is equally transferred to all households, but it reduces economic output and does not help reduce informal economic activities. A carbon tax can be beneficial to developing countries by generating fiscal co-benefits through revisions of other taxes. The size of the fiscal co-benefits depends on the carbon tax design. A carbon tax with revenue recycled to cut labour taxes incentivizes informal economic activities to move to the formal sector and to increase economic welfare. Using carbon tax revenues to reduce the value-added tax can reduce tax evasion and increase economic welfare. Unless energy producers are prevented from receiving the benefits of carbon tax revenue recycling, emission reduction is decreased due to a rebound effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture is crucial to reach global and regional climate targets. However, the efficiency of unilateral climate policies aimed at taxing emissions might be hampered by carbon leakage. One way to eliminate leakage is to implement a global carbon tax. In this article, we study the effects of a carbon tax in agriculture on GHG emissions by simulating five policy scenarios using the CAPRI model; (i) an EU tax, (ii) an EU tax complemented with a border carbon adjustment mechanism (BCA), (iii) a global tax, (iv) a global tax scaled by GDP per capita, and (v) a low global tax at 1/10 of the tax level in the other scenarios. For the global scenarios, we also analyse the impact on food consumption and nutrient intake. We find that a global tax of EUR 120 per ton CO2-eq could reduce global agricultural emissions by 19%, but also jeopardizes food security in some parts of the world. A global tax at 1/10 of that rate (EUR 12) achieves a 3.2% reduction. In contrast, a unilateral EU tax of EUR 120 per ton CO2-eq, accompanied with a BCA, reduces global agricultural emissions by only 0.15%. A unilateral carbon tax in the EU causes significant emission leakage. This result depends strongly on differences in emission intensities between regions and on consumer preferences. A EUR 12 global carbon tax achieves a considerably larger global emission reduction than a EUR 120 unilateral EU carbon tax accompanied with a border carbon adjustment. A global carbon tax differentiated by GDP per capita is less effective than a uniform global carbon tax, as producers with higher emission intensities tend to get lower tax rates. Other ways of taking equity into account should be sought when designing climate policies in the agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of immigration on Foreign Direct Investment in 21 African countries between 1990 and 2021. Using random effects, fixed effects, and heteroscedasticity-based identification methods in a dynamic panel model, we found that countries with higher levels of past Foreign Direct Investment inflows and a higher proportion of Foreign Direct Investment-bound immigrants are more appealing to new investors. These findings encourage a critical examination of immigration policy aimed at promptly admitting skilled and enterprising immigrants while remaining committed to ethical principles, promoting social equity, and safeguarding fundamental human rights. IMPACT STATEMENT: Immigrant investors who lead the way serve as strong drivers for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows to African countries. Our examination of 21 nations in Africa reveals that successfully attracting immigrant investors is linked to higher overall FDI. To maximize effectiveness, policymakers should concentrate on four crucial strategies: designing immigration policies that favor entrepreneurs, creating comprehensive support systems for post-investment needs, establishing special economic zones with tax benefits, and simplifying administrative procedures for initial investors. These specific interventions generate a self-sustaining cycle of FDI attraction, utilizing immigrant networks to propel long-term economic growth while upholding high ethical principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates two hypothetical budget-neutral reforms that shift resources from family tax expenditures to family cash transfers. We evaluate these reforms using a structural labor supply model based on the microsimulation EUROMOD model and EU-SILC data. We find that both reforms have an inequality-decreasing impact. However, when looking at labor supply responses for different household types, we show that the reforms have a non-negligible impact, especially for females in couple households. Additionally, we show that females in the middle of the income distribution in particular reduce labor supply in response to the reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the techniques of neutralization (ToN) used by tax evaders and benefit fraudsters in the Aotearoa New Zealand justice system. Using data from court sentencing notes, we code our data into ToN to provide insights into the different excuses and justifications that are used by the two different offender categories. We find overall greater use of ToN by tax evaders (in number of use and in number of kinds), along with greater use of ToN that are legislated mitigating factors, such as claims of a good character. Good character was among the least used ToN among benefit fraudsters. We found limited commonality among the ToN used, with benefit fraud cases more likely to reference anti-social factors (e.g. drugs, gambling, violence or alcohol). Tax offenders were more likely to claim the act was anomalous, while benefit fraudsters were more likely to focus on excusing factors, such as physical or mental health. Tax evaders were also more likely to deny injury from their actions, while a higher proportion of benefit fraudsters were actively making reparation for their offending, despite financial necessity being a common ToN for the offending. Overall, the ToN used by tax evaders supports the literature that suggests that tax evaders, as white-collar criminals, are better able to exploit their existing advantage in the justice system than their benefit fraudster counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Policies aimed at the family are an important tool for governments to achieve various goals to improve society, manage populations, enhance well-being, and reduce inequality, among other things. Choosing an optimal policy design often constitutes a compromise between different goals and priorities. The Croatian tax allowance for dependent children has often been criticised in the literature for its regressivity, and opacity due to a lack of parliamentary oversight. There is room to improve the child benefit allocation. This research investigates whether Croatia could reform its policies on child benefit and tax allowance for dependent children without increasing the budget, based on family policies that have been implemented in Greece, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Sweden and the United Kingdom. EUROMOD, a widely used European tax-benefit microsimulation model, is used to assess the differences in structure and distributional effects of these 'imported' policies in Croatia. The results highlight that imported policies would make support to families with children more equitable and reduce child poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate whether a firm's financial statement comparability is associated with the firm's tax strategy. We hypothesize that external observers (e.g. press, shareholders, analysts, and tax authorities) can better detect a firm's atypical tax strategy when the firm has high financial statement comparability with its industry peers. Detection and its consequent penalties should restrain firm managers from choosing tax strategies that deviate significantly from those of industry peers. Using firms' uncertain tax benefits (UTBs) as a proxy for tax avoidance, we find that the UTBs of firms with high financial statement comparability move toward their industry peers in subsequent periods. Results suggest that comparability reduces tax aggressiveness for high tax-avoidance firms and enhances tax aggressiveness for low tax-avoidance firms, in comparison with those of industry peers. Overall, these findings indicate a strong within-industry harmonization in tax avoidance for firms with high financial statement comparability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the impact of Chinaʻs accelerated depreciation policy (ADP) that was enacted in 2014 on labor share. We explore a firm-level dataset from Chinaʻs industrial enterprise database and estimate the policy effects using a difference-in-differences framework. We find that the ADP apparently reduces the labor share of the treated firms compared to the control firms, which is a net effect jointly driven by the capital deepening and skill structure upgrading channels. Among these two channels, the former is dominant and has negative effects on labor share, while the latter is positively related to the labor share. We also demonstrate that the firms with less financial constraints experience a more profound capital deepening process and a larger decline in labor share after policy enactment. These results suggest that the widespread use of investment tax incentives may be one of the reasons for the decline in global labor share in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we focus on the tax deductibility of mortgage loans, which is a key measure of housing policies in many countries. Several studies have shown that the distribution of the benefits of this measure runs counter to the vertical equity principle. We contribute to the existing literature by addressing the distribution of the tax deductibility of mortgage loans considering the spatial outcomes of this policy. We use Belgian data to measure the impact of this policy on households' income and inequality and poverty in different types of areas. We show that this measure favours suburban households and subsidizes urban sprawl. Exogenous factors such as past housing policies and homeownership determinants play a key role in this phenomenon. We also simulate the distributional impact of three stylized reforms of the deductibility of mortgage loans in Belgium. These simulations show that the distributional outcomes could be improved on both social and spatial sides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are a globally recognized form of real estate ownership that offer tax benefits at a corporate level. Despite their clear advantages, however, a significant share of potentially eligible Real Estate Operating Companies (REOCs) do not opt for conversion to a REIT structure. This paper examines 80 REOC-to-REIT conversions across 13 countries. We find REIT conversions are generally driven by the extent of country-specific tax benefits. They are also more likely following prior conversions by other REOCs, and in countries with a larger share of extant REITs. REIT conversions may be motivated by Net Asset Value (NAV) discounts, especially if management's compensation is highly equity-based. This illustrates the importance of aligning the interests of management and shareholders. On the other hand, relatively restrictive REIT criteria, such as the disclosure and taxation of hidden values during the conversion process, are associated with significantly lower conversion probabilities. Countries that have eased REIT criteria have subsequently seen significantly more conversions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The steady flow of remittances due to financial integration has grabbed the attention of academicians and policy advisors. Despite the growing importance of remittances, the study on the relationship between remittances and financial development in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa remains unexplored. Thus, this paper analyses the effect of remittances on financial development. It also investigates the long-run and short-run relationship between remittances and financial development using annual data of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa from 1990 to 2019. Three different financial development indicators are used: domestic credit to the private sector as a percentage of GDP, bank deposit as a percentage of GDP, liquid liabilities as a percentage of GDP. The study employs the fixed and random effect model, Johansen Cointegration tests, vector error correction model, and Wald tests for analysis. The results suggest a positive effect of remittances on bank deposits. It indicates that a 1% increase in remittances leads to a 4.5% increase in bank deposits. The study also reveals the long-run relationship between remittances and bank deposits and the absence of a short-run relationship between remittances and financial development. The main implications of the study can be predicted as remittances allow the accumulation of savings in the long run and provide the platform for the unbanked recipients to utilize certain financial products and services. The absence of a short-run relationship indicates that remittances are utilized mainly for consumption in the short run. However, it can be recommended that BRICS economies should make every effort to increase the remittance inflows through reduced transaction costs and tax benefits in remittance-led investment or banks to bank deposits with competitive deposit rates for the diaspora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population ageing in advanced economies could have significant macroeconomic implications, unless more individuals choose to participate in labour markets. In this context, the steep increase in the share of older workers who remain economically active since the mid-1990s is an overlooked yet encouraging trend. We identify the drivers of the rise in participation of the elderly relying on cross-country and individual-level data from advanced economies over the past three decades. Our findings suggest that the bulk of the increase in their participation is driven by gains in educational attainment and changes in labour market policies, such as the tax benefit system, and pension reforms. Urbanization and the increasing role of services also contributed, while automation weighed on their participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy makers offer fiscal incentives to encourage companies to invest in renewable technologies. This work considers generation companies that take advantage of fiscal incentives to minimize income tax. Thus, a novel mixed-integer linear optimization model that minimizes total tax payments of a company owning a portfolio of energy projects is designed. The model strategically manages depreciation, tax loss carryforward, and tax incentive use for minimizing discounted income tax. A set of revenue scenarios was employed to analyze model results. The proposed model yields tax savings between 8.2% and 19.2% of the company's taxes. Tax savings are significantly larger for companies with a large generation portfolio; which represents a clear advantage over small generation companies. The proposed model can also be employed by policy makers to adjust future ITA policies by taking advantage of the anticipative knowledge of the optimal tax strategies implemented by generation companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates whether investor-owned (IO) hospitals provide equivalent charity care as not-for-profit (NFP) hospitals in a reduced uncompensated care environment (post Affordable Care Act). Gross revenues, Total Uncompensated Charges (TUC), and a new measure, Standardized Patient Service Benefits (SPSB), are computed for not-for-profit and investor-owned hospitals. The SPSB is calculated based on Diagnostic Related Groups (DRGs) for each discharge and does not allow for local hospital price manipulation. This eliminates pricing differences between hospitals for similar services when evaluating charity care. Using patient discharges classified as charity care, IO hospitals appear to provide more charity care than NFP hospitals when measuring by the TUC. When the TUC is adjusted for the corresponding DRG value (SPSB), the amount of charity care for not-for-profit hospitals exceeds investor-owned hospitals, a reversal from the TUC results. This research adds to the existing body of knowledge by introducing a new standardized measure, SPSB. This method eliminates pricing differences and may be used for ownership comparisons when hospitals charge varying amounts for similar services. Additionally, the results indicate that revenue manipulation may inflate the perceived amount of charity care and potential tax benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We expand the traditional specification of the tax gain from leverage by accounting for the choice between issuing debt and utilizing internal retained earnings equity. Standard analyses focus solely on the choice between debt and external equity. This results in the traditional tax gain from leverage, which equals the corporate tax benefit from debt minus the partially offsetting personal tax disadvantage. Expanding the debt analysis to include internal equity introduces a third tax component to the gain from leverage: a supplemental personal tax disadvantage. This supplemental disadvantage reflects the personal tax cost of distributing internally-generated equity to investors and using replacement debt. It reduces the overall or comprehensive tax gain from leverage and frequently converts it into a tax loss. Therefore, using debt often is costlier than generally assumed. We provide conceptual support for the comprehensive tax gain, plus some initial empirical support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investors ex-ante price the tax shield that Turkish firms would enjoy and react positively to the introduction of a legislation that provides a deduction for new equity issues. Not all firms are equally affected by the equity tax shield. Cumulative abnormal returns prove significantly higher for levered firms who may find it easier to switch from debt to equity financing and for firms that have income to shield from tax. Furthermore, the most levered firms and the firms with the highest income, whom investors ex-ante expect to benefit most from the regulation, do indeed issue more equity to take advantage of the tax benefits of the new regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taxation represents a claim to statehood and plays a vital role in processes of mutual recognition between subjects and the state. Debates on the benefits of taxing the informal economy have stressed the mutual benefits of entering into such formalized contracts of recognition. However, based on eight months of ethnographic fieldwork in Eastleigh, Nairobi, I will show how fixed categories of formality and legitimacy are inadequate for capturing the empirical realities of trade and taxation in Eastleigh and beyond. Rather we need to recognize how practices of trade, taxation and governance are continuously contested and move along continuums of (in)formalization and (il)legitimization. I argue that insights into these processes lead to a broader perspective on contracts of recognition, allowing us to (a) recognize practical contracts constituted within state institutions without adhering to formalized laws and regulations and (b) question the perception of fixed links between formality and legitimacy that implicitly underlie much of the dominant development discourse on taxing the informal economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes a new form of investment attraction recently introduced in Russia—territories of outrunning socio-economic development (TOSEDs). These initiatives provide tax and other benefits to 20 territories in the Far East and to 90 cities in which a considerable number of jobs are concentrated in a single factory (mono-cities). Using secondary sources and interviews, we present the initial legislation for TOSEDs, the evolution of the initial legislation, and the functioning of TOSED residents. We also identify several opportunities for foreign investors who have installed or intend to install their new manufacturing facilities in TOSEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates how regulation related to maintaining state registration and tax beneficial status affects professionalisation, covering paid staff and volunteers with specialist skills, of political parties, advocacy groups and service providing organisations. The article fills a gap in the literature which until now has been mainly concerned with the influence of state funding on professionalisation. To study the consequences of first-time exposure to reporting requirements, eight organisations in two contrasting regulatory regimes, UK and Norway are analysed, on the basis of extensive documents and a series of semi-structured interviews with different organisational actors. The study finds that organisations – irrespective of type - exposed to constraining regulation adjust to reporting requirements through recruitment of specialised personnel. Organisations' financial capacity determines whether the organisation professionalises by taking on specialist volunteers or by taking on paid staff. The study demonstrates the pervasive impact of regulation on organisational maintenance of voluntary membership organisations in contemporary democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare materials collected by individuals, in the past and in our own time, when given to research libraries become important public assets that, as cultural heritage collections, lend distinction to the institutions that receive them and benefit education and scholarship enormously. What motivates collectors to become donors is complex. Institutions seeking such gifts must consider a number of issues and activities when embarking on (or maintaining) an active program seeking gifts-in-kind, including the librarian's personality, development models, institutional realities, challenges (negotiating, tax issues, deeds of gift), headaches (difficult donors, deposits, saying “No”), fulfilling obligations, and de-accessioning gifts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Existing tax schedules are often overly complex and characterized by discontinuities in the marginal tax burden. In this paper, we propose a class of progressive smooth functions to replace personal income tax schedules. These functions depend only on three meaningful parameters, and avoid the drawbacks associated with defining tax schedules through various tax brackets. Based on representative micro data, we derive revenue-neutral parameters for four different types of tax regimes (Austria, Germany, Hungary and Spain). We then analyze the possible implications of a hypothetical switch to smoother income tax tariffs. It turns that smooth tax functions are convenient to eliminate bracket creep, while aggregate income inequality is uniformly reduced to a small extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effects of Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code on commercial real estate (CRE) investors and markets, as well as on U.S. Treasury revenue. We first develop a partial equilibrium model that quantifies for the property owner the present value of tax savings in an exchange versus a fully-taxable sale and the cost in foregone tax revenues to the U.S. Treasury. We estimate that the incremental present value of a CRE exchange, as a percentage of the price of the relinquished property, ranges from less than 1% to approximately 8%. We then discuss the extent to which these incremental net present values (NPVs) can be used as estimates of the likely effects that elimination of CRE exchanges may have on local market values. Finally, we discuss the effects of elimination on U.S. Treasury revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the open private pension plans offered in Brazil, which is one of the four pillars of the Brazilian retirement system. A framework is created to describe and analyze the impact of the transaction costs and tax advantages one can obtain from these financial products. This framework allows us to show and measure the advantages of these products versus other alternatives for long-term investment in the Brazilian financial market. It is shown that private plans are better than direct investment in funds in a high interest rate environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a method for valuation of stochastic future income with three barriers: a default barrier, a pre-default barrier and a refinancing barrier. Between the pre-default and default barriers, there is an ongoing cost of financial distress. In this framework, we derive state-dependent present value factors that can be applied to problems of valuation of firms, optimal financial structure and mitigation of agency conflicts between managers and investors. We illustrate our method with an analysis of the value of tax benefits of a dynamic debt policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the implications of a major financial gift from businessman Philip H. Knight to Stanford University in relation to inequality among institutions in U.S. higher education. Topics include the lack of benefit to low-income students from large donations to elite universities, the tax benefit incentives that affect donations to universities, and the need for better public policy on funding for universities.

This article provides an overview of non-religion-based state constitutional challenges to educational voucher and tax credit/scholarship programs. The first section discusses litigation examining whether education voucher programs violate constitutional provisions requiring the legislature to provide an efficient system of public schools. The second section looks at litigation examining whether educational voucher programs violate constitutional provisions requiring states to provide a uniform system of public schools. The third section summarizes case law in which plaintiffs have claimed that educational voucher programs violate constitutional requirements that state spending serve a public purpose. The fourth section discusses litigation in which courts have addressed whether educational voucher programs violate local control mandates. The fifth section evaluates challenges to education voucher and scholarship tax credits on the grounds that such policies contravene constitutional mandates that prohibit public spending to private schools. The final section identifies key themes that these non-religion-based state constitutional challenges raise for educational vouchers and tax credit programs as well as emerging issues of litigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key component of current school reform efforts focuses on increasing parental choice through voucher systems and programs that provide tax benefits for contributions to scholarship programs for private school tuition. Indeed, proposals to adopt such programs have been or currently are being considered in four-fifths of the states, and about half of the states have already adopted some type of voucher and/or tax benefit program to assist parents in selecting private education for their children. This article provides an overview of the challenges to school voucher and tax benefit programs under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and/or the religion clauses of state constitutions. Specific sections address pertinent Supreme Court decisions, state constitutional religion clauses, state court cases rejecting religious challenges to voucher and tax benefit/scholarship programs, and cases in which such initiatives have been invalidated under the religion clauses of state constitutions. The concluding section focuses on the viability of future religion clause challenges to such programs and implications of legal developments pertaining to the privatization of schooling in our nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on an update on consultation requirements in relation to a Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS), proposed by the Haringey London Borough Council of Haringey in London, England. Topics discussed include the abolition of council tax benefit (CTB), solution to the reduction in central government funding, and consultation response of Reverend Paul Nicolson.

The fixed establishment concept is highly important in supplies of services in European VAT as it determines the country of taxation and applicability of reverse charge. Irrespective of its relevance, the concept itself lacks clarity. Because of this, on the one hand, in many Member States it is vaguely applied in practice. On the other hand, the lack of clarity allows the concept to be misused in seeking various tax benefits. In the light of this, the purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to discuss the preferred treatment of the fixed establishment stemming from the interpretation of the current legislative provisions and practice of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and second, to briefly touch upon the measures for mitigation of the negative effects relating to misuse of the fixed establishment concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been increasing pressure to allow barristers to incorporate. The motivations for the proponents include the potential tax benefits of incorporation. However, detractors suggest that incorporation might be inconsistent with barristers' duties or might insulate barristers from punishment for misconduct. This paper therefore considers whether there is a persuasive reason to prevent barristers from incorporating. The paper shows that incorporation would not be inconsistent with barristers' duties, would not insulate barristers from punishment for misconduct, especially in the presence of barristers' liability insurance, and might facilitate lower legal fees. The paper concludes that barristers should be allowed to incorporate because allowing incorporation would not convey a disbenefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Australia Commissioner of Taxation v Unit Trend Services Pty. Ltd. which deals with tax benefits and anti-avoidance provisions from statutory elections. Topics include the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR), A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act), and the Full Federal Court's decision limits the influence of the Commissioner under the GAAR.

We argue that a general measure of progressivity should consider the ordering of the final incomes and not, as is usual, the ordering before the inclusion of the component being analysed. We also show that the general measure of progressivity is relevant in the decomposition of changes in the overall Gini index by components of income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural conservation easements (ACEs) involve the significant expenditure of public funds through either tax benefits and/or direct public expenditures. The selection of agricultural parcels for conservation should, therefore, maximise net public benefits to the extent possible within financial constraints and the need for agricultural viability to maintain working landscapes. Some programmes select agricultural parcels for conservation easements based only on agricultural viability and/or land cost, however, without explicit consideration of the many other public benefits often associated with ACEs. This paper illustrates application of a method for increasing the public benefits of agricultural conservation easements through a case study in the northern San Joaquin Valley of California. The method is a strategic planning process that incorporates both a GIS-based quantitative assessment and a more qualitative assessment. Such an approach is a supplement to - rather than a substitute for - the more science-based Landscape Evaluation and Site Evaluation (LESA) approach developed by the US Soil Conservation Service (SCS) and cost-minimisation approaches that emphasise economic considerations. However, we show that public land use planning and regulatory policies are essential for agricultural conservation. Acquisition strategies in isolation will not be successful without complementary public regulatory policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Classic views of senior housing choice have correctly noted that household family size shrinks with age and resources devoted to elderly housing consumption can then be redirected to other areas. The debate is about the best way to undertake this change. The alternatives are numerous: Sell and buy smaller vs. sell and rent smaller are special cases of the rent-or-buy decision. Accumulated home equity may be used for retirement leisure, unexpected expenses associated with health matters of different kinds of elder care. The equity need not be withdrawn or exhausted if various reverse amortization mortgage plans are employed. Moving in with younger family members is often discussed but nearly as often dismissed as unsuitable for a host of reasons, nonetheless it must be included in the mix of options. This study looks at an intergenerational solution to the housing problem facing the elderly. It describes how a unique combination of family systems, property rights, investment goals, and tax benefits can produce optimal solutions for some families. A theoretical model is presented wherein an older family member optimizes health, housing and bequest options, while at the same time in the same transaction a younger family member seeks an optimal investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article demonstrates the attitude embodied in the Australian Department of Family and Community Services' policy development process in relation to the family tax benefit care test. Family tax benefits are the latest incarnation of government payment to families with dependent children. Eligible parents can receive this government payment either via the social security system as fortnightly payments or via the tax system as reduced tax or as an annual rebate. A restructure of the old family payments and rebates created family tax benefit, which was implemented by legislation that also introduced the goods and services tax in 2000. Amongst this extensive legislation were three clauses in the A New Tax System Act 1999 that instituted a care test for separated parents. This care test splits the benefit between carers of the same children when there is a pattern of care of over 10 percent per annum. A New tax System Act 1999 creates an anomaly between primary carers depending on family type. The care test, with its new 10 percent minimum rate, creates a different rule for primary carers who are separated from their partner and those who remain in their relationships. The care rate of parents who remain coupled is not relevant, although hopefully the secondary carer contribute significantly more than 36 nights of care a year. The care test is applied before income tests. Even if a non-resident parent is ineligible for the full payment due to a high income, the resident parent will still have their family tax benefit cut at the percentage care rate. The care test reverses the transfer from wallet to purse, taking money from mothers and giving it to fathers. In addition, the family tax benefit of primary carers is reduced when a child support payments exceed approximately $50 a fortnight. A combination of factors, such as a large lump sum of child support, can combine to render a family overpaid and in debt to the government.

Local government finance has recently been the subject of a review, three consultation papers, a White Paper and major reports from both the House of Lords and House of Commons. This article examines current and feasible changes to the system of local government finance with particular reference to the effects they have on marginal and average accountability. Council tax capping, council tax benefit subsidy limitation, business rates and capital expenditure are among the topics discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the association between annual stock returns of firms listed on the Athens Stock Exchange and the tax benefits of mandated fixed assets revaluations that occurred in the years 1982, 1988 and 1992. A significant association is found for the revaluations that occurred in 1992 but not for those that took place in 1988 or 1982. As the tax benefits are probably measured with error, we use the amount of the revaluation to explain stock returns with similar findings. When we extend the period over which we accumulate stock returns from one to two years, the association between stock returns and the amount of the revaluation is significant both in 1992 and in 1982. For the years 1992 and 1982, we also observe a significant association between stock prices and the revaluation amounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small business owners in the United States can organize their businesses as corporations, where the business income is subject to double taxation, or as flow-through entities, where there is only a single tier of taxation. One might assume that the flow-through entity provides more favorable tax benefits. However, if the corporate tax rate is less than the business owner's individual tax rate, a corporation might actually provide more favorable tax benefits. This depends on several factors, including tax rates, the rate of return earned on the business' assets, and on the business owner's investment horizon. We analyze the optimal form, for United States federal income tax purposes, of organizing a small business and develop indifference curves to illustrate the situations where these organizational forms have equivalent tax consequences. The indifference curves allow the small business owner to quickly and more accurately assess the optimal organizational form. Non-tax concerns are also discussed, as well as the applicability of the analyses to other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almeida and Philippon (2007) argue that the present value of the costs of financial distress is considerably larger than previously estimated through failure to recognize that the relevant probabilities to use in this assessment are the risk-adjusted probabilities rather than the historical probabilities. However, Almeida and Philippon have still underestimated the present value of the costs of financial distress through failure to recognize that the costs are expected to grow over time, and correction for this more than doubles their present value. Accordingly, the present value of the tax benefits of debt net of the financial distress costs is now clearly negative rather than marginally positive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]