The medical expense deduction and income levels: Progressive or regressive?

The medical expense deduction (MED) allows taxpayers to deduct from taxable income a proportion of their out-of-pocket medical insurance and health care expenses. Because the rate of subsidy is equal to the marginal tax rate previous studies have found MED to be a regressive tax mechanism biased toward benefiting higher-income taxpayers. The authors demonstrate, using GINI coefficients, that MED makes the tax structure more progressive than it would otherwise be and increases equality of after-tax incomes.     

Tax policy and entrepreneurship: empirical evidence from Sweden

This paper examines the relationship between income taxes and the decision to become self-employed using data from Sweden. By making it possible to track a large number of individuals over extended time periods and across a number of tax rate changes while controlling for important additional determinants, available tax-return information from Sweden allows for statistical estimation of the influence that income taxes have on the probability of becoming self-employed. The changing tax rate structure combined with the fact that the Swedish tax system does not provide additional tax benefits to small-business entrepreneurs compared with those who work as employees provides a powerful setting through which to examine the tax rate structure’s influence on individuals’ choice to become self-employed. Contrary to many earlier studies based on US data, this paper finds that both average and marginal taxes have a negative impact on the decision to become self-employed.     

Can state tax policies be used to promote entrepreneurial activity?

Despite a recent flurry of empirical research on the effects of taxes on small business activity, state-level taxes faced by entrepreneurs have been overlooked by most of the existing literature. Using a 50-state panel of tax policy information spanning the years 1989 through 2002, our analysis reveals that state tax policies generally do not appear to have quantitatively important effects on entrepreneurial activity. When we find statistically important effects, we find that higher individual income tax rates, the existence of a state-level estate, inheritance or gift tax, and a higher weight on the sales factor in the state corporate income tax apportionment formula all slightly reduce a state’s share of the national entrepreneurial stock. Results also indicate that states with more progressive personal income tax structures and states that have more aggressive corporate income taxes through the imposition of a combined reporting requirement both tend to have slightly higher entrepreneurship rates. The composition of state tax portfolios is not found to be a significant determinant of state entrepreneurship.     

个人所得税制调节居民收入分配问题的思考——基于美国经验的视角

个人所得税是我国调节居民收入分配的主要税种,然而目前该税种存在逆向调节趋势明显、分类征收模式导致总体累进性下降、费用扣除标准内外有别、占财政收入的比重过低、缺乏完备的信息技术支撑体系等问题,不利于实现公平分配,亟需完善。总结美国个人所得税制可资借鉴的经验,在于强调纳税人利益至上原则、满足参与约束和激励相容约束条件、加大对收入分配的调节力度,以及人性化的税收设计理念。根据＂十二五＂规划纲要所提出的改革目标,进一步改革我国个人所得税制需要从采用混合所得税制、科学设置课税单位和费用扣除标准、合理设置累进税率、将资本利得纳入征税范围、推动个人隐性收入显性化等方面入手,并做好相关配套改革。     

海峡两岸对所得避免双重征税的法律构造

台湾地区"所得基本税额条例"的第12条第1项第1款自2010年1月1日起生效,确立了属地兼属人的混合税收管辖原则,使得海峡两岸税收管辖权的冲突问题凸显,也为构造对所得避免双重征税的法律制度提供了重要的实践契机。中国大陆开征的个人所得税与企业所得税和台湾地区开征的综合所得税与营利事业所得税的纳税人和征税对象绝大部分重合,这就使得海峡两岸对所得双重征税存在很大的可能及避免之必要。两岸对所得避免双重征税的法律制度,包括大陆与台湾地区的单边抵免规则和两岸短期内必须谈签的双边税收安排。     

Double income taxation as a response to tax competition in the EU

The following article discusses the undesired consequences of tax competition and presents a proposal for tax reform derived from a very general normative basis: the idea of exchange between governments and taxpayers and the principle of equality. The aim is to tie tax competition to jurisdictional competition in general and thereby maintain tax competition as a productive procedure instead of abolishing it by harmonising tax systems. Surprisingly, systematic double taxation of income, as factor income following the source principle and as citizens' income following the residence principle, is one element of the solution. The other is unitary taxation of business income.     

关于银行业税费负担的思考——以荆州银行业为例

当前,基层银行业不仅税负过高,而且税外收费过多。导致银行业税费负担沉重的原因在于:税收制度不合理、税收政策不公平、税收负担不均衡、税外收费不规范。必须变革税制设计思想,简税种、宽税基、低税率、少优惠、严征管,在标本兼治上规范税外收费行为。     

Multinationals,Intra-Firm Trade and the Taxation of Foreign-Source Income

Most countries use the tax credit scheme instead of the tax deduction scheme to alleviate double taxation of foreign earnings. Under the tax deduction scheme, double taxation is alleviated by treating foreign taxes paid as business cost deductible against domestic income rather than allowing them to be credited against the taxes levied by the home country (as is the case under the tax credit system).This paper examines how the two tax systems affect trade between affiliates of a multinational firm.     

Taxation and entrepreneurship in a welfare state

Does tax policy affect the rate of self-employment in a modern welfare state? This question is analyzed empirically based on Swedish data for the entire postwar period. Available tax data indicate that payroll taxes have had a negative influence on the unincorporated rate of self-employment, though the effect is modest. No effects from regular labor income taxation or capital gains taxation are found. The paper improves upon earlier studies in that it tries to separate the effects of different taxes and uses cointegration techniques. A further extension is that it studies a Scandinavian high-tax welfare state. Earlier time-series studies analyzing self-employment and taxation have, with few exceptions, been based on data from countries with relatively low tax levels and less comprehensive welfare systems, notably the USA and the UK.     

Die falschen Angriffe auf das Ehegattensplitting

These articles debate the pros and cons of the full income-splitting tax procedure. Ernst Niemeier defends this taxation scheme, because in his opinion it is not aimed at furthering families or children but making sure that a couple does not have to pay more taxes than two singles. He argues that there are constitutional reasons to treat equal incomes equally, which he refers to as “horizontal justice”. Furthermore, he rejects evidence of a negative labour supply effect on the second earner. A team of authors at the DIW find his argumentation not at all convincing. First, they say, determining tax justice or ability to pay is ultimately a political question and cannot be determined by scientists or the courts. Thus, a constitutional determination of marriage taxation on the existing full income-splitting procedure is excessive. Second, the empirical evidence of negative labour supply effects of full income splitting for the second earner can simply not be denied. Niemeier argues why such supply effects cannot exist.     

会计审计与质量审核的完整性及差异分析

本文论述了会计审计与质量审核的完整性及差异分析.对财政部门履行财政监督职责,以确保财政资金分配和使用的合规性;税务部门履行税收监督职责,以确保纳税人纳税的及时性、完整性.指出了质量管理中相对于经济管理的不足和可以借鉴与改进的方向,以便使质量审核活动更有效率和更简化.     

个人所得税纳税筹划探讨

随着我国税收法律法规的健全和人民收入水平的不断提高,越来越多的人们开始关注个人所得税。纳税人在期望税收成本最低的情况下,通过减少应纳税所得额、利用股权投资等纳税筹划方式来减少所缴纳的个人所得税,以达到税收成本最低的目的,从而提高个人实际的经济收益。     

Entrepreneurship,export orientation,and economic growth

In this paper the relationship between a country’s prevalence of new ventures and its rate of economic growth is investigated, while taking into account new ventures’ export orientation. It is generally acknowledged that new venture creation as well as export activity may both be important strategies for achieving national economic growth. However, to our knowledge no attempt has been made to investigate empirically the role of export-driven new ventures in economic growth. We focus on the national level and use data for a sample of 34 countries over the period 2002–2008. Our results suggest that, on top of a positive relation between entrepreneurial activity in general and subsequent macroeconomic growth, there is an additional positive effect of export-oriented early-stage entrepreneurship in higher-income countries. However, there is no such additional effect in lower-income countries.     

新税制环境下企业流转税纳税筹划探析

纳税筹划比税务筹划的概念更适合于纳税人.三大流转税涉税业务多,发生频率高,是企业的主体税种.在新一轮税制改革环境下,增值税可以运用销售方式、结算方式、选择供货单位等方法筹划;消费税可以通过设立独立的销售机构、运用价格临界点、避免从高计税等途径来筹划;营业税则可采用分解营业额、合理签订合同、单设企业等方式予以筹划.纳税企业需恰当运用税收政策,规避税务风险,降低纳税成本,不断提高税务管理水平.     

Extending William Baumol’s theory on entrepreneurship and institutions: lessons from post-Second World War Greece

Abstract

This article examines William Baumol’s theory about the interaction between taxation and entrepreneurship and proposes an extension to it. The analysis shows that the traditional form of Baumol’s model, focusing mainly on the level of taxes, cannot be used in order to explain what happened in the Greek case. Utilising historical evidence from the mid 1950s to the late 1980s, this article confirms that problematic tax rules create difficulties for entrepreneurship and can lead to unproductive forms of it, as Baumol suggests. However, the focus here is on aspects of the system of taxation that Baumol’s model, examining solely tax rates and levels of taxation, neglected. It is shown that, as far as Greek entrepreneurship is concerned, the adverse effects of the system of taxation came not from the level of taxes, but mostly from a series of issues that increased its perceived unfairness and illegitimacy. Some of such issues were the complexity and frequent change of legislation, the insufficient organisation of the tax bureaus as well as the lack of adequate training and arbitrariness of the members of tax services. The evidence presented here suggests that Baumol’s model can be enriched by taking into consideration these aspects of taxation too.     

黑龙江省税收流失测算

税收流失不仅严重影响到国家财政收入的规模,而且在税收流失的过程中产生的一系列不良的经济效应,会逐渐渗透到经济发展的各方面。黑龙江省国有经济比重大,税收流失的内在机理、形式以及影响都有其自身的特点,其税收规模与经济增长呈正相关,税收流失规模低于全国水平,但其流失规模有增加的趋势。应规范政府职能,在一定时期内捋清税费关系,减轻纳税人的额外负担。抓住时机进行税制改革,使纳税人税收负担趋于合理。进一步完善征收管理法,加大对偷逃税款的惩罚力度,提高纳税人违法成本。     

Challenging Masculinity in CSR Disclosures: Silencing of Women’s Voices in Tanzania’s Mining Industry

Guilt is a powerful emotion that is known to influence ethical decision-making. Nevertheless, the role of guilt cognitions in influencing restorative behaviour following an unethical action is not well understood. Guilt cognitions are interrelated beliefs about an individual’s role in a negative event. We experimentally investigate the joint impact of three guilt cognitions—responsibility for a decision, justification for a decision, and foreseeability of consequences—on a taxpayer’s decision to make a tax amnesty disclosure. Tax amnesties encourage delinquent taxpayers to self-correct to avoid severe penalties that would result if their tax evasion were discovered. Our findings suggest a three-way interaction effect such that taxpayers are likely to make tax amnesty disclosures when they foresee that they will be caught by the tax authority, unless they can diffuse responsibility for their evasion and justify their evasion. Implications for tax policy and tax professionals are discussed.     

State Income Taxes and Interstate Migration

This paper examines the comprehensive IRS data set of state-state migration flows for evidence that differences in state income tax rates are associated with migration patterns. Using annual data on moves between every pair of states, pooled time-series cross-section regressions indicate that in the 1992–2010 period states with higher top marginal income tax rates experienced relatively greater outmigration of taxpayers and gross income. To illustrate the magnitude of the tax effect, we estimate that by 2010 cumulative losses since the enactment of New Jersey’s 2004 “millionaires’ tax” were as much as 42,000 taxpayers and $6.9 billion in annual adjusted gross income. These results suggest that sustained, relatively high income tax rates could gradually erode a state’s population and revenue base.     

The Role of Refund Expectations in Savings: Evidence from Volunteer Income Tax Preparation Programs in the United States

Millions of households in the United States receive federal income tax refunds annually, many for substantial amounts. Consumers can use the proceeds of income tax refunds for spending and saving, but tests of prior programs to encourage savings show low take‐up rates. This field study shows that the majority of tax filers make no estimate of their refund amount in advance, but that consumers who are able to estimate their refund in advance of completing their tax returns tend to be reasonably accurate in their estimates. Moreover, taxpayers who estimate their refunds before filing their taxes are more likely to save their refunds than those who do not. These results highlight the importance of expectations and planning with respect to savings decisions.     

Who bears the burden of international taxation? Evidence from cross-border M&As

Cross-border M&As can trigger additional taxation of the target's income in the form of non-resident dividend withholding taxes and acquirer-country corporate income taxation. This paper finds that this additional international taxation is fully capitalized into lower takeover premiums. In contrast, acquirer excess stock market returns around the bid announcement date do not appear to reflect additional taxation of the target's income. These findings suggest that international taxation is considered to be burdensome and that the incidence of this taxation is primarily on target-firm shareholders.