The EU own resources system — Reform needs and options

The most prominent and debated issues in the negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework for the EU for the period 2014–2020 were the overall budget volume, the structure of expenditures and the continuation of the rebates for (some) net contributor countries. However, the system of the EU’s own resources was hardly addressed in the negotiations, although it is one of the most important obstacles to reform. This article reviews the most important deficits of the current system of own resources and assesses the most substantial reform proposal which has been advocated for years by the European Commission, namely to fi nance part of the EU budget through EU taxes.     

Inter-nation divergence within the EU and options for a progressive revenue system

At the level of the European Union (EU) policies to support real convergence across member states are limited to public expenditure, whereas the revenue side of the EU budget is largely neglected. After discussing convergence as a policy goal, this article identifies the most important shortcomings of the EU's current fiscal system with respect to the reduction of spatial disparities. Alternatives to the current European revenue system are then examined with a view to their appropriateness for realizing inter-nation progressivity.     

Assessing the performance of alternative investments using non-parametric efficiency measurement approaches: Is it convincing?

DEA-based performance assessment in the alternative investment fund industry is often motivated by the fact that DEA is capable of simultaneously handling multiple input (risk) and multiple output (return) measures, thereby still offering a single real number as a performance index without utilizing subjective weights to aggregate these inputs and outputs. This paper aims at investigating whether DEA-based performance indexes previously used to assess alternative investment fund performance are actually able to satisfy these properties, and to contrast the findings using a DEA-based performance index with those using a traditional financial performance index.     

Conflict between engineers and marketers: the experience of German engineers

An effective interface between engineering and marketing is considered to be vital for the successful development and commercialization of new products. Studies in the US, Japan and the UK have, however, identified that conflict between engineers and marketers can act as a barrier to effective cooperation. This study aims to further our understanding in this important area by studying conflict between engineers and marketers, from the engineer's perspective, in German companies. This study has found that German engineers recognize the importance of trust, good understanding, common knowledge, integration and teamwork in building a good relationship with marketers. Although the levels of integration between the two functions and the quality of the relationship were found to be relatively low, so too was the level of perceived conflict. The main sources of conflict between German engineers and their marketing colleagues are differences in education and training and different goals and priorities. Both managers and educators of engineers and marketers need to understand how the differences in education and training influence the relationship, and to develop courses, which will help the two functions to become more sensitive to each other's needs.     

Using voice analysis for analyzing bargaining processes in industrial marketing

Marketing processes on capital goods markets are often characterized as bargaining processes. Bargaining behavior is influenced by cognitive as well as activating factors. This article is concerned with the development of a new concept to measure the activation component by using voice analysis as an activational indicator. Literature concerning voice analysis is reviewed and two experiments are reported to support the hypothesis that the voice pitch may be used as a valid activational indicator.     

Steuerflucht und Steueroasen

The current debate on tax planning has to distinguish between tax evasion and aggressive tax planning. While tax evasion is illegal and requires the enhanced exchange of information, measures against aggressive tax planning seem to be very complex and complicated. Tax havens’ benefits from tax haven activities are inversely related to the intensity of competition among tax havens. Once the set of tax havens narrows, each havens’ share of the business increases and its margins go up. This competition aspect makes initial successes easy but final success very difficult. Nevertheless, some authors argue that action against tax flight is inevitable. As tax flight is a multilateral phenomenon, coordinated initiatives by country groups appear particularly promising. Here the EU should be in the vanguard. Only automatic information exchange generates the transparency and leeway needed to eliminate income tax evasion and to permit countries to devise tax codes at their own discretion. Despite the European trend towards lower corporate taxes, an empirical analysis shows that German multinationals have increased their tax haven activities. Recent research suggests that this development might be explained by the increased usage of anti-tax avoidance measures by high-tax countries. The substitutive nature of different tax-avoidance schemes indicates that only a coordinated closing of loopholes for profit shifting would reduce the demand for tax-haven operations significantly.