A Tributação Pessoal dos Rendimentos Familiares em Cabo Verde – Estudo do Caso São Vicente

A transição para o modo de tributação único, a nível de rendimentos, constituiu uma modificação profunda na base de incidência e nas regras de determinação da matéria colectável dos impostos sobre os rendimentos, de forma a exprimir uma nova relação contribuinte – fisco, baseada numa maior transparência e simplificação dos procedimentos por parte da Administração Fiscal, mas também duma maior responsabilização dos contribuintes pelos seus comportamentos e declarações. Este trabalho teve como propósito estudar a forma como os rendimentos familiares são tributados, nomeadamente, a incidência na tributação de sujeitos passivos singulares, referindo assim o periodo da tributação, os métodos utilizados na determinação da matéria colectável e as taxas aplicadas. Para tanto, foram reunidos estudos teóricos e práticos a nível da tributação dos rendimentos de pessoas singulares, nomeadamente os principios e as regras praticados. Foi feito um estudo de caso sobre apuramento de imposto dos contribuintes casados dois titulares, a partir de formulários modelos 6A da Repartição de Finanças São Vicente, e o objecto desse estudo foi separar os rendimentos desses contribuintes e fazer o apuramento do respectivo imposto em separado. Os resultados do estudo apontam uma vantagem bastante satisfatória para os contribuintes no que diz respeito ao apuramento do imposto em separado. The transition to the unique taxation method, in the level of incomes, is a deep modification in the incidence base and in the determination rules of the basis of tax assessments of income taxes, in a way to express a new taxpayer – Exchequer relationship, based on a greater transparency and simplification of the procedures by Fiscal Administration, and a bigger responsabilization of taxpayers for their behaviours and declarations as well. The aim of this survey was to study how household incomes are taxed, namely: the incidence in the taxation of passive single persons, referring, thus, the taxation period, the methods used to determinate the basis of tax assessments and the applied taxes. For that, theoretical and practical studies were collected in the level of single persons incomes taxation, namely the principles and rules practised. A case study about tax verification of married taxpayers two holders was made, from São Vicente Financial Department’s 6A model forms, and the aim of this study was to separate the incomes of these taxpayers and make the verification of the respective tax separately. The results of this study points out a very satisfying advantage to taxpayers regarding the tax verification separately.

State capacity and military conflict

In 1500, Europe was composed of hundreds of statelets and principalities, with weak central authority,no monopoly over the legitimate use of violence, and overlapping jurisdictions. By 1800, only ahandful of powerful, centralized nation states remained. We build a model that explains both the emergenceof capable states and growing divergence between European powers. We argue that the impactof war was crucial for state building, and depended on: i) the financial cost of war, and ii) a country sinitial level of domestic political fragmentation. We emphasize the role of the "Military Revolution",which raised the cost of war. Initially, this caused more cohesive states to invest in state capacity, whilemore divided states rationally dropped out of the competition, causing divergence between Europeanstates. As the cost of war escalated further, all states engaged in a "race to the top" towards greater statebuilding.

Do agglomeration economies reduce the sensitivity of firm location to tax differentials?

Low corporate taxes can help attract new firms. This is the main mechanism underpinning the standard 'race-to-the-bottom'view of tax competition. A recent theoretical literature has qualified this view by formalizing the argument that agglomeration forces can reduce firms' sensitivity to tax differentials across locations. We test this proposition using data on firm startups across Swiss municipalities. We find that, on average, high corporate income taxes do deter new firms, but that this relationship is significantly weaker in the most spatially concentrated sectors. Location choices of firms in sectors with an agglomeration intensity at the twentieth percentile of the sample distribution are estimated to be twice as responsive to a given difference in local corporate tax burdens as firms in sectors with an agglomeration intensity at the eightieth percentile. Hence, our analysis confirms the theoretical prediction: agglomeration economies can neutralize the impact of tax differentials on firms' location choices.

Supply side interventions and redistribution

In this paper we study the welfare impact of alternative tax schemes on laborand capital. We evaluate the e_ect of lowering capital income taxes on thedistribution of wealth in a model with heterogeneous agents, restricting ourattention to policies with constant tax rates.We calibrate and simulate the economy; we find that lowering capital taxeshas two effects: i) it increases effciency in terms of aggregate production, andii) it redistributes wealth in favor of those agents with a low wage/wealth ratio.We find that the redistributive effect dominates, and that agents with a lowwage wealth ratio would experience a large loss in utility if capital income taxeswere eliminated.

Cost system design and cost management in the Spanish public sector

Cost systems have been shown to have developed considerably in recent years andactivity-based costing (ABC) has been shown to be a contribution to cost management,particularly in service businesses. The public sector is composed to a very great extentof service functions, yet considerably less has been reported of the use of ABC tosupport cost management in this sector.In Spain, cost systems are essential for city councils as they are obliged to calculate thecost of the services subject to taxation (eg. waste collection, etc). City councils musthave a cost system in place to calculate the cost of services, as they are legally requirednot to profit , from these services.This paper examines the development of systems to support cost management in theSpanish Public Sector. Through semi-structured interviews with 28 subjects within oneCity Council it contains a case study of cost management. The paper contains extractsfrom interviews and a number of factors are identified which contribute to thesuccessful development of the cost management system.Following the case study a number of other City Councils were identified where activity-based techniques had either failed or stalled. Based on the factors identified inthe single case study a further enquiry is reported. The paper includes a summary usingstatistical analysis which draws attention to change management, funding and politicalincentives as factors which had an influence on system success or failure.

A Problemática dos Impostos Diferidos na revalorização dos activos fixos tangíveis

A nível da contabilidade tem-se assistido, nos últimos tempos, esforços no sentido de uma “ Harmonização Global” como forma de acompanhar o fenómeno da globalização, não obstante, existem temas, como o dos Impostos diferidos, que não reúnem consenso entre autores. Os impostos diferidos aparecem como o elo de ligação entre a contabilidade e a fiscalidade, no que se refere as divergências de tratamento destas duas áreas em relação a certas operações, sendo uma delas a revalorização de activos. A revalorização dos activos, na medida em que aumenta a base contabilística dos activos, dá origem a impostos diferidos caso a base fiscal não for ajustada. Assim sendo, há que contabilizar o efeito fiscal decorrente dessa revalorização, em consonância com contabilização do excedente de revalorização. A questão dos impostos diferidos aparece na medida em que o imposto sobre o rendimento passa a ser contabilizado através do método dos efeitos fiscais, em detrimento do método tradicional, o método do imposto a pagar. O método dos efeitos fiscais, assim como o tradicional, apresenta desvantagem, mas é o que melhor permite a apresentação de uma imagem mais verdadeira e apropriada sobre as operações das empresas. A revalorização dos activos fixos tangíveis é uma das operações que tem um tratamento mais adequado utilizado o método dos efeitos fiscais. Em Cabo verde, a revalorização de activos fixos tangíveis é aceite para finalidade de tributação, se for pedida a devida autorização para a sua realização às Finanças. Partindo de um estudo de caso onde não foi efectuado a autorização pelas finanças para efectuar a revalorização dos activos fixos tangíveis, demonstramos que existem impactos significativos nas demonstrações financeiras da empresa em estudo, na sua posição financeira e no seu desempenho, por via da contabilização do imposto diferidoIn level of accounting we have witnessed, in recent times, efforts in the sense of "Global Harmonization" as a means of keep up with the phenomenon of globalization, nevertheless there are themes such as the deferred taxes, which do not congregate consensus among authors. Deferred taxes appear as the link between accounting and taxation, in respect a differences of treatment of these two areas to certain transactions, one of this is the revaluation tangible fixed assets. The revaluation of the tangible fixed assets increases the accounting base of assets and originates a deferred tax if the tax base is not adjusted. Therefore, we must account for the tax effect arising from this revaluation, in line with the accounting revaluation surplus. The issue of deferred taxes appears in consequences of accounting for income tax is accounted by the method of tax effects, over the traditional method, the method of tax payable. The method of tax effects, as well as the traditional method presents disadvantage, but it is the better in allows the presentation of true and fair view of the company's operations. The revaluation of tangible fixed assets is one of the operations that utilized the tax effects, have appropriate treatment. In Cape Verde, the revaluation of tangible fixed assets is accepted for tax purposes, if requested permission for its accomplishment to Finance. Based on a case study which has not been authorized by the finance to effect the revaluation of tangible fixed assets, we demonstrate that there are significant impacts on the financial statements of the company under study in its financial position and performance, through accounting deferred tax.

Os impostos diferidos no contexto Cabo-Verdiano: Impacto nas demonstrações financeiras

A contabilização dos impostos diferidos surge do facto da legislação fiscal e das normas contabilísticas poderem ser diferentes no que respeita ao reconhecimento e mensuração de activos, passivos, gastos e rendimentos. Para eliminar o efeito das diferenças de carácter temporal, das demonstrações financeiras, foram criadas normas contabilísticas que disciplinam a contabilização do imposto sobre o rendimento, através do reconhecimento de activos e passivos por impostos diferidos. Seguindo esta tendência, Cabo Verde introduziu, através do SNCRF - Sistema de Normalização contabilística e de relato financeiro, a NRF 22Imposto sobre o rendimento, que exige a contabilização de impostos diferidos nas diferenças temporárias entre a contabilidade e a fiscalidade. No entanto esta norma não está sendo observada, devido, na opinião de vários profissionais da área, a complexidade do assunto “imposto diferido”. Por esta razão, traçamos como objectivos deste trabalho, explicar a problemática dos impostos diferidos, evidenciando a importância do seu reconhecimento nas demonstrações financeiras. Concluímos que, a não contabilização de impostos diferidos pode pôr em causa a informação contida nas demonstrações financeiras e, consequentemente, as decisões que se toma com base nelas.The accounting of deferred taxes arises from the fact that tax legislation and accounting standards may differ regarding to the recognition and measurement of assets, liabilities, expenses and income. To eliminate the effect of the temporary differences in the financial statements, accounting standards have been established to regulate the accounting of income tax trough the recognition of assets and liabilities by deferred taxes. Following this trend, Cape Verde has introduced through the SNCRF - Standardization System of Accounting and Financial Reporting, the standard NRF 22 - Income Tax, which demands the recognition of deferred taxes in the temporary differences between accounting and taxation. However according to the opinion of some professors, this standard is not being observed due to the complexity of the subject "deferred tax". For this reason, we defined the following objectives for this work: explain the issue of deferred taxes, evidencing the importance of its recognition in the financial statements. We have concluded that, the not accounting of deferred taxes may jeopardize the information contained in the financial statements and consequently, the decisions made based on them.

Is altruism important for understanding the long-run effects of social security?

This paper quantifies the effects of social security on capital accumulation and wealth distribution in a life cycle framework with altruistic individuals. The main findings of this paper are that the current U.S. social security system has a significant impact on capital accumulation and wealth distribution. I find that social security crowds out 8\% of the capital stock of an economy without social security. This effect is driven by the distortions of labor supply due to the taxation of labor income rather than by the intergenerational redistribution of income imposed by the social security system. In contrast to previous analysis of social security, I found that social security does not affect the savings rate of the economy. Another interesting finding is that even though the current U.S. social security system is progressive in its benefits, it may lead to a more disperse distribution of wealth.

Female labour supply in Spain: The importance of behavioural assumptions and unobserved heterogeneity specification

We estimate four models of female labour supply using a Spanish sampleof married women from 1994, taking into account the complete form of theindividual s budget set. The models differ in the hypotheses relating tothe presence of optimisation errors and/or the way non-workers contributeto the likelihood function. According to the results, the effects of wagesand non-labour income on the labour supply of Spanish married women dependon the specification used. The model which has both preference andoptimisation errors and allows for both voluntarily and involuntarilyunemployed females desiring to participate seems to better fit the evidencefor Spanish married women.

La imposición de los carburantes de automoción en España: algunas observaciones teóricas y empíricas

This article deals with the taxation of private car fuels in Spain,analyzing its theoretical foundations and carrying out a comparativestudy of tax design and tax levels. Moreover, we estimate a demandsystem of car fuels with data from Encuesta Continua de PresupuestosFamiliares, which allows for microsimulation of various tax reforms. Inparticular, we evaluate and assess the effects of the new Spanish taxon car fuel sales and of the application in Spain of the EU directiveon harmonization of energy taxes.

Credible redistributive policies and migration across US States

Does worker mobility undermine governments ability to redistribute income? Thispaper analyzes the experience of US states in the recent decades. We build a tractablemodel where both migration decisions and redistribution policies are endogenous. Wecalibrate the model to match skill premium and worker productivity at the state level,as well as the size and skill composition of migration flows. The calibrated modelis able to reproduce the large changes in skill composition as well as key qualitativerelationships of labor flows and redistribution policies observed in the data. Our resultssuggest that regional di¤erences in labor productivity are an important determinantof interstate migration. We use the calibrated model to compare the cross-section ofredistributive policies with and without worker mobility. The main result of the paperis that interstate migration has induced substantial convergence in tax rates acrossUS states, but no race to the bottom. Skill-biased in-migration has reduced the skillpremium and the need for tax-based redistribution in the states that would have hadthe highest tax rates in the absence of mobility.

A Tributação de Prestação de Serviços em Cabo Verde

O presente trabalho investiga a tributação dos serviços em Cabo Verde, trata-se de uma questão importante do ponto de vista financeiro, uma vez que a economia aberta e insular de Cabo Verde é uma grande consumidora de serviços prestados por operadores económicos não residentes. Por outro lado trata de uma questão interessante do ponto de vista jurídico, porque parece actualmente faltar norma de incidência que permite a sujeição destes rendimentos ao Imposto Único sobre os Rendimentos Cabo-verdiano. Em face disto poder-se-ia porventura afirmar que as normas de incidência que servem para fundamentar a tributação dos rendimentos derivados de prestação de serviços a não residentes se encontram nas disposições orçamentais que fixam a própria taxa liberatória de 20% aplicável ao rendimento auferido por não residentes, mesmo que não tenham estabelecimentos estáveis. De resto, não é com base no regulamento do IUR mas com base nas leis do Orçamentos do Estado que a administração fiscal Cabo-verdiana tem vindo a proceder á liquidação deste imposto. As taxas liberatórias previstas nas leis orçamentais não podem nunca aplicar-se a rendimentos que se encontrem fora do âmbito de incidência objectiva, subjectiva ou territorial do IUR. Depois de estudado o tratamento que o direito interno cabo-verdiano faz dos rendimentos derivados de prestação de serviços vale a pena olhar brevemente também ao tratamento que eles merecem no contexto do direito internacional e, muito em particular, da convenção para evitar a Dupla Tributação (CDT) em matéria de imposto sobre o rendimento e prevenir a evasão fiscal, celebrada entre Cabo Verde e Portugal no ano de 1999 e actualmente em vigor.

Endogenous constitutions

We present a theory of the choice of alternative democratic constitutions, a majoritarian or a consensual one, in an unequal society. A majoritarian democracy redistributes resources from the collectivity toward relatively few people, and has a relatively small government and low level of taxation. A consensual democracy redistributes resources toward a broader spectrum of social groups but also has a larger government and a higher level of taxation. We show that a consensual system turns out to be preferred by society when ex ante income inequality is relatively low, while a majoritarian system is chosen when income inequality is relatively high. We also obtain that consensual democracies should be expected to be ruled more often by center-left coalitions while the right should have an advantage in majoritarian constitutions. The implications for the relationship between inequality and redistribution are discussed. Historical evidence and a cross-sectional analysis support our results.

Openness, government size and the terms of trade

This paper investigates the relationship between trade openness and the size of government, both theoretically and empirically. We show that openness can increase the size of governments through two channels: (1) a terms of trade externality, whereby trade lowers the domestic cost of taxation and (2) the demand for insurance, whereby trade raises risk and public transfers. We provide a unified framework for studying and testing these two mechanisms. First, we show how their relative strength depends on a key parameter, the elasticity of substitution between domestic and foreign goods. Second, while the terms of trade externality leads to inefficiently large governments, the increase in public spending due to the demand for insurance is optimal. We show that large volumes of trade may result in welfare losses if the terms of trade externality is strong enough while small volumes of trade are always beneficial. Third, we provide new evidence on the positive association between openness and the size of government and test whether it is consistent with the terms of trade externality or the demand for insurance. Our findings suggest that the positive relationship is remarkably robust and that the terms of trade externality may be the driving force behind it, thus raising warnings that globalization may have led to inefficiently large governments.

Solving heterogeneous-agent models by projection and perturbation

The paper proposes a numerical solution method for general equilibrium models with a continuum of heterogeneous agents, which combines elements of projection and of perturbation methods. The basic idea is to solve first for the stationary solutionof the model, without aggregate shocks but with fully specified idiosyncratic shocks. Afterwards one computes a first-order perturbation of the solution in the aggregate shocks. This approach allows to include a high-dimensional representation of the cross-sectional distribution in the state vector. The method is applied to a model of household saving with uninsurable income risk and liquidity constraints. The model includes not only productivity shocks, but also shocks to redistributive taxation, which cause substantial short-run variation in the cross-sectional distribution of wealth. If those shocks are operative, it is shown that a solution method based on very few statistics of the distribution is not suitable, while the proposed method can solve the model with high accuracy, at least for the case of small aggregate shocks. Techniques are discussed to reduce the dimension of the state space such that higher order perturbations are feasible.Matlab programs to solve the model can be downloaded.