A trade-off theory of ownership and capital structure

This paper determines the optimal ownership share held by a unit into a second unit when both face a tax-bankruptcy trade-off. Full ownership is optimal when the first unit has positive debt, because dividends help avoid its default. Positive debt is, in turn, optimal when its corporate tax rate exceeds a threshold, and/or thin capitalization rules place an upper limit on the debt level in the second unit, and/or the Volcker Rule bans bailout transfers to the second unit. Full ownership is no longer optimal only if there is a tax on intercorporate dividend. This theory rationalizes observations on multinationals, financial conglomerates, and family groups.     

Fiscal policy and external adjustment: New evidence

Relatively little empirical evidence exists about countries' external adjustment to changes in fiscal policy and, in particular, to changes in taxes. This paper addresses this question by measuring the effects of tax and government spending shocks on the current account and the real exchange rate in a sample of four industrialized countries. Our analysis is based on a structural vector autoregression in which the interaction of fiscal variables and macroeconomic aggregates is left unrestricted. Identification is instead achieved by exploiting the conditional heteroscedasticity of the structural disturbances. Three main findings emerge: (i) the data provide little support for the twin-deficit hypothesis, (ii) the estimated effects of unexpected tax cuts are generally inconsistent with the predictions of standard economic models, except for the US, and (iii) the puzzling real depreciation triggered by an expansionary public spending shock is substantially larger in magnitude than predicted by traditional identification approaches.     

The effectiveness of taxes in decreasing candy purchases

We use candy purchase data at the household level to analyze changes in candy purchases due to Colorado’s candy tax. Colorado is one of the many states that exempts candy containing flour from their candy tax. To do this, we construct a dataset of monthly household taxed and tax-exempt candy purchases for the years 2009 and 2010 for the Denver, CO and Omaha, NE metros. Difference-in-differences estimates imply that Colorado’s candy tax led to a decrease in taxed candy purchases of at least 11.2%, which would translate into a reduction of household body weight of at least one pound during the first year the tax is in effect. Conversely, we find no effect on the purchase of tax-exempt candy.     

论基于税费改革的农村财务体系再造

党中央积极推行农村税费改革,减轻农民负担,而原有的农村财务体系不适应这一改革的需要。农村税费改革的主要工作,就是改进与之相关的配套政策,规范农村税费制度,理顺国家、集体、农民三者之间的分配关系,从根本上减轻农民负担,保护农村生产力,改善干群关系,并在税费改革的基础上建立健全农村财务体系,推进社会主义新农村建设。     

Environmental taxes and industry monopolization

This paper considers a market with an incumbent monopolistic firm and a potential entrant. Production by both firms causes polluting emissions. The government selects a tax per unit of emission to maximize social welfare. The size of the tax rate affects whether or not the potential entrant enters the market. We identify the conditions that create a market structure where the preferences of the government and the incumbent firm coincide. Interestingly, there are cases where both the government and incumbent firm prefer a monopoly. Hence, the government might induce profitable monopolization by using a socially optimal tax policy instrument.      

Are government transfers harmful to economic growth? A meta-analysis

A common perception is that government transfers are harmful to economic growth. However, existing empirical evidence on this point is mixed. Potential reasons for these conflicting results include differences in the level of economic development of the countries studied, different estimation methods and different measures of government transfers. By conducting a meta-analysis of 149 estimates reported in 23 studies, we sought to understand if – and if so, to what extent – government transfers are harmful to economic growth, as well as how important the abovementioned reasons are in explaining different findings in the literature. We found that government transfers are more detrimental to economic growth in developed countries compared to less-developed countries because such transfers can have a non-monotonic effect on growth. When government transfers are substantial, as they are in developed countries, they tend to reduce growth. We also found that the growth effects of government transfers are sensitive to the measurement of the transfers, i.e., studies that use unemployment benefits instead of social security tend to report a stronger negative growth effect.     

古罗马中央政权、皇权与税金流动的关系——兼述大规模区际税金在西部地中海之流动

地中海东部地区(麗范特)独特的自然地理条件和气候条件孕育了古希腊蔚蓝色的海洋文明,对其西部的古罗马文明产生深远影响。中心是研究大规模区际税金在西部地中海之流动。大规模税金流动是通过地方区际贸易与交易完成的。区际贸易量由资金供给量决定。而资金来自税金和租金。古罗马政治权势集中在大税吏手里。从行省来首都的租金、税金多由皇室、中央精英花销,成为贸易发展的动力源泉。反映出海洋文明对罗马文明的深刻影响。     

对提升直接税比重 均衡税制结构的思考

提高直接税比重是税制改革所需迫切解决的重要议题,从而实现税种配置上的大致均衡。但是,由于征管手段等原因,至今未取得实质性突破。构建直接税体系,更符合税负公平和量能纳税为原则的现代税法核心,因此逐步提高直接税比重,并扬长避短,发挥直接税和间接税的各自优势。     

Rational early exercise of call options: Australian evidence

Alpert (2010) develops a detailed analysis of the conditions for rational early exercise of call options in the presence of taxes. Using Alpert’s analysis as the theoretical framework, we examine the early exercise of call options in Australia over the period from 1 January 2001 to 30 June 2008. We find that exercises occurring on the last cum‐dividend trading day can be fully explained by non‐tax reasons, whilst taxation is a potential explanation for a large proportion of the early exercises that occur at other times.     

Taxes, efficiency, and redistribution: Discriminatory taxation of villages in Ottoman Palestine, Southern Syria, and Transjordan in the sixteenth century

Governments can tax productive activities with either uniform or discriminatory rates among taxpayers. Although discriminatory rates can cause productive inefficiency and require high cost of administration, they can be preferred because of their advantage in distributional flexibility. This paper studies the discriminatory taxation of production in the Fertile Crescent. Using information from the Ottoman tax registers, it examines the basis, distortionary effects, and distributional consequences of discriminatory rates quantitatively. The results challenge widely held beliefs about the basis for discriminatory rates in this region and the Ottoman government’s motivation in adapting systems of taxation in newly conquered lands.