From tax expenditures to rebates: an 'output based equity' approach for Australia's retirement policies

Australia's retirement policies are geared to shifting reliance from the Age Pension to private superannuation, predominately via the use of tax expenditures. This article examines tax expenditures in this area and concludes that inequities and inefficiencies abound. Reform is required. It is argued that the functions of revenue collection and social support should be separated, and the use of tax expenditures in superannuation should be discarded. A rebate system1 or a spending initiative, is proposed. This 'output based equity' approach will address fairness and equity issues at the time of retirement - when full benefits are received.

Fiscal Federalism and Tax Equalization: The potential for progressive local taxes

We construct an empirically informed computational model of fiscal federalism, testing whether horizontal or vertical equalization can solve the fiscal externality problem in an environment in which heterogeneous agents can move and vote. The model expands on the literature by considering the case of progressive local taxation. Although the consequences of progressive taxation under fiscal federalism are well understood, they have not been studied in a context with tax equalization, despite widespread implementation. The model also expands on the literature by comparing the standard median voter model with a realistic alternative voting mechanism. We find that fiscal federalism with progressive taxation naturally leads to segregation as well as inefficient and inequitable public goods provision while the alternative voting mechanism generates more efficient, though less equitable, public goods provision. Equalization policy, under both types of voting, is largely undermined by micro-actors' choices. For this reason, the model also does not find the anticipated effects of vertical equalization discouraging public goods spending among wealthy jurisdictions and horizontal encouraging it among poor jurisdictions. Finally, we identify two optimal scenarios, superior to both complete centralization and complete devolution. These scenarios are not only Pareto optimal, but also conform to a Rawlsian view of justice, offering the best possible outcome for the worst-off. Despite offering the best possible outcomes, both scenarios still entail significant economic segregation and inequitable public goods provision. Under the optimal scenarios agents shift the bulk of revenue collection to the federal government, with few jurisdictions maintaining a small local tax.

Tax rates, San Diego County, California /

Vol. for 1918 includes a table of tax rates in San Diego County from 1874 to 1918.

Information relative to the assessment and collection of taxes.

Mode of access: Internet.

Using the tax system to collect fines

In this article we consider the possibility that fines could be collected through the tax and social welfare systems in the same way as higher education contributions and child support payments are currently administered. We argue that the existing system of fine collection and enforcement leads to high default rates and reduces the usefulness of fines as a sanction. We consider a range of models for the implementation of an income-related fine collection system, and discuss their possible implications for issues including judicial independence, the time taken to repay fines and aggregate fine revenue.

Federal tax deductibility for local taxes and its effect on local revenue policies

This dissertation analyzes whether and how changes in federal tax policy affect local tax policies, specifically, the elimination of the federal deductibility of state and local taxes for individual taxpayers by the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86) in 59 California cities. Two methods are used in the study: a survey of local revenue officials and a time event time-series/cross sectional sales tax reliance study.^ The reliance study uses a covariance model to pool cross-section and time-series observations. The results of the reliance study indicate a statistically significant overall decline in sales tax reliance after 1986. The results of the survey indicate that local policy makers generally do not believe that federal deductibility is an important factor when considering raising local sales taxes. Further analysis shows that local revenue officials claiming federal deductibility is not an important factor are associated mostly with cities that registered no significant decline in sales tax reliance after 1986. Similarly, local revenue officials claiming federal deductibility is an important factor when considering local tax policy are associated mostly with cities that suffered a significant decline in sales tax reliance after 1986.^ Of that group, further analysis shows that the declines in sales tax reliance are associated mostly with cities located in the southwestern part of the state. When compared to other cities in the state, an analysis of variance reveals that there are a series of statistically significant factors associated with southwestern cities which may contribute to the decline in sales tax reliance following the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. ^

An after tax economic analysis of home equity conversion for the elderly

The FHA program to insure reverse mortgages has brought additional attention to the use of home equity conversion to increase income to the elderly. Using simulation, this study compares the economic consequences of the FHA reverse mortgage with two alternative conversion vehicles: sale of a remainder interest and sale-leaseback. An FHA insured plan is devised for each vehicle, structured to represent fair substitutes for the FHA mortgage. In addition, the FHA mortgage is adjusted to allow for a 4 percent annual increase in distributions to the homeowner. The viability of each plan for the homeowner, the financial institution and the FHA is investigated using different assumptions for house appreciation, tax rates, and homeowners' initial ages. For the homeowner, the return of each vehicle is compared with the choice of not employing home equity conversion. The study examines the impact of tax and accounting rules on the selection of alternatives. The study investigates the sensitivity of the FHA model to some of its assumptions.^ Although none of the vehicles is Pareato optimal, the study shows that neither the sale of a remainder interest nor the sale-leaseback is a viable alternative vehicle to the homeowner. While each of these vehicles is profitable to the financial institution, the profits are not high enough to transfer benefits to the homeowner and still be workable. The effects of tax rate, house appreciation rate, and homeowner's initial age are surprisingly small. As a general rule, none of these factors materially impact the decision of either the homeowner or the financial institution. Tax and accounting rules were found to have minimal impact on the selection of vehicles. The sensitivity analysis indicates that none of the variables studied alone is likely to materially affect the FHA's profitability. ^

Sales tax enforcement: An empirical analysis of compliance enforcement methodologies and pathologies

Most research on tax evasion has focused on the income tax. Sales tax evasion has been largely ignored and dismissed as immaterial. This paper explored the differences between income tax and sales tax evasion and demonstrated that sales tax enforcement is deserving of and requires the use of different tools to achieve compliance. Specifically, the major enforcement problem with sales tax is not evasion: it is theft perpetrated by companies that act as collection agents for the state. Companies engage in a principal-agent relationship with the state and many retain funds collected as an agent of the state for private use. As such, the act of sales tax theft bears more resemblance to embezzlement than to income tax evasion. It has long been assumed that the sales tax is nearly evasion free, and state revenue departments report voluntary compliance in a manner that perpetuates this myth. Current sales tax compliance enforcement methodologies are similar in form to income tax compliance enforcement methodologies and are based largely on trust. The primary focus is on delinquent filers with a very small percentage of businesses subject to audit. As a result, there is a very large group of noncompliant businesses who file on time and fly below the radar while stealing millions of taxpayer dollars. ^ The author utilized a variety of statistical methods with actual field data derived from operations of the Southern Region Criminal Investigations Unit of the Florida Department of Revenue to evaluate current and proposed sales tax compliance enforcement methodologies in a quasi-experimental, time series research design and to set forth a typology of sales tax evaders. This study showed that current estimates of voluntary compliance in sales tax systems are seriously and significantly overstated and that current enforcement methodologies are inadequate to identify the majority of violators and enforce compliance. Sales tax evasion is modeled using the theory of planned behavior and Cressey’s fraud triangle and it is demonstrated that proactive enforcement activities, characterized by substantial contact with non-delinquent taxpayers, results in superior ability to identify noncompliance and provides a structure through which noncompliant businesses can be rehabilitated.^

The IRS Collection Division: Contacts and Settlements

In his study -The IRS Collection Division: Contacts and Settlements - by John M. Tarras, Assistant Professor School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management, Michigan State University, Tarras initially states: “The collection division of the internal revenue service is often the point of contact for many hospitality businesses. The author describes how the division operates, what the hospitality firm can expect when contacted by it, and what types of strategies firms might find helpful when negotiating a settlement with the IRS.” The author will have you know that even though most chance meetings with the IRS Collection Division are due to unfortunate tax payment circumstances, there are actually more benign reasons for close encounters of the IRS kind. This does not mean, however, that brushes with the IRS Collection Division will end on an ever friendlier note. “…the Tax Reform Act of 1986 with its added complexity will cause some hospitality firms to inadvertently fail to make proper payments on a timely basis,” Tarras affords in illustrating a perhaps less pugnacious side of IRS relations. Should a hospitality business owner represent himself/herself before the IRS? Never, says Tarras. “Too many taxpayers ruin their chances of a fair settlement by making what to them seem innocent remarks, but ones that turn out to be far different,” warns Professor Tarras. Tarras makes the distinction between IRS the Collection Division, and IRS the Audit Division. “While the Audit Division is interested in how the tax liability arose, the Collection Division is generally only interested in collecting the liability,” he informs you. Either sounds firmly in hostile territory. They don’t bluff. Tarras does want you to know that when the IRS threatens to levy on the assets of a hospitality business, they will do so. Those assets may extend to personal and real property as well, he says. The levy action is generally the final resort in an IRS collection effort. Professor Tarras explains the lien process and the due process attached to that IRS collection tactic. “The IRS can also levy a hospitality firm owner's wages. In this case, it is important to realize that you are allowed to exempt from levy $75 per week, along with $25 per week for each of your dependents (unless your spouse works),” Professor Tarras says with the appropriate citation. What are the options available to the hospitality business owner who finds himself on the wrong side of the IRS Collection Division? Negotiate in good faith says Professor Tarras. “In many cases, a visit to the IRS office will greatly reduce the chances that a simple problem will turn into a major one,” Tarras advises. He dedicates the last pages of the discussion to negotiation strategies.

Predicting success or failure of tax -base revenue sharing attempts: A comparative analysis

To promote regional or mutual improvement, numerous interjurisdictional efforts to share tax bases have been attempted. Most of these efforts fail to be consummated. Motivations to share revenues include: narrowing fiscal disparities, enhancing regional cooperation and economic development, rationalizing land-use, and minimizing revenue losses caused by competition to attract and keep businesses. Various researchers have developed theories to aid understanding of why interjurisdictional cooperation efforts succeed or fail. Walter Rosenbaum and Gladys Kammerer studied two contemporaneous Florida local-government consolidation attempts. Boyd Messinger subsequently tested their Theory of Successful Consolidation on nine consolidation attempts. Paul Peterson's dual theories on Modern Federalism posit that all governmental levels attempt to further economic development and that politicians act in ways that either further their futures or cement job security. Actions related to the latter theory often interfere with the former. Samuel Nunn and Mark Rosentraub sought to learn how interjurisdictional cooperation evolves. Through multiple case studies they developed a model framing interjurisdictional cooperation in four dimensions. ^ This dissertation investigates the ability of the above theories to help predict success or failure of regional tax-base revenue sharing attempts. A research plan was formed that used five sequenced steps to gather data, analyze it, and conclude if hypotheses concerning the application of these theories were valid. The primary analytical tools were: multiple case studies, cross-case analysis, and pattern matching. Data was gathered from historical records, questionnaires, and interviews. ^ The results of this research indicate that Rosenbaum-Kammerer theory can be a predictor of success or failure in implementing tax-base revenue sharing if it is amended as suggested by Messinger and further modified by a recommendation in this dissertation. Peterson's Functional and Legislative theories considered together were able to predict revenue sharing proposal outcomes. Many of the indicators of interjurisdictional cooperation forwarded in the Nunn-Rosentraub model appeared in the cases studied, but the model was not a reliable forecasting instrument. ^

Variables affecting government debt: A comparison of certificates of participation, tax -exempt revenue bonds and tax -exempt general obligation bonds

This dissertation analyzed and compared variables affecting interest rate and yield of certificates of participation, tax-exempt revenue bonds and tax-exempt general obligation bonds. The study employed qualitative and quantitative analysis methods. ^ Qualitative research methods included surveys, interviews and focus groups. The survey solicited debt load information from 67 Florida school districts (21 responded) and addressed the question which districts used certificates of participation and why. Eight individuals with experience dealing with all three debt instruments were interviewed. A follow-up focus group of six school district financial officers gathered additional data. Results from the qualitative methods revealed school districts used certificates of participation based on millage authority amount available relative to overall tax base. Also identified was the belief of a significant difference in certificates of participation costs and the other two debt instrument types. ^ The study's quantitative methods analyzed 1998 and 1999 initial issues of Moody's AAA rated certificates of participation, tax-exempt revenue bonds and tax-exempt general obligation bonds. Through an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), the study examined interest rates and yields while controlling for the covariates of credit enhancement, issue size, and maturity date. The analysis identified no significant difference between interest rates of certificates of participation and tax-exempt general obligation bonds (p < 0.05). There was a significant difference between interest rates of tax-exempt revenue bonds and tax-exempt general obligation bonds. This study discerned no significant difference between yield on certificates of participation and tax-exempt general obligation bonds. It identified a difference in yield between both certificates of participation and tax-exempt general obligation bonds compared with tax-exempt revenue bonds. ^ The study found COPs to have lesser overall costs than RV bonds. COPs also have a quicker entry into the market resulting in construction cost savings. The study found policy implications such as investment portfolio limitations and public choice issues about using COPs as a mechanism to grow government. ^

Essays in book -tax income differences and analyst forecasts /recommendations

Prior research suggests that book-tax income differences (BTD) relate to both firms' earnings quality and operating performance. In this dissertation, I explore whether and how financial analysts signal the implications of BTD efficiently. This dissertation is comprised of three essays on BTD. The three essays seek to develop a better understanding of how financial analysts utilize information reflected in BTD (derived from the ratio of taxable income to book income). The first essay is a review and discussion of prior research regarding BTD. The second essay of this dissertation investigates the role of BTD in indicating the consensus and dispersion of analyst recommendations. I find that sell recommendations are positively related to BTD. I also document that analyst coverage has a positive effect on the standard deviation of consensus recommendations with respect to BTD. The third essay is an empirical analysis of analysts' forecast optimism, analyst coverage, and BTD. I find a negative association between forecast optimism and BTD. My results are consistent with a larger BTD being associated with less forecast bias. Overall, I interpret the sum of the evidence as being consistent with BTD reflecting information about earnings quality, and consistent with analysts examining and using this information in making decisions regarding both forecasts and recommendations.

CIL 6.40890/ IG 14.951 – Bronze tablet with a bilingual ‘senatus consultum’ granting a tax exemption and other privileges to Asklepiades of Klazomenai and other Greek naval captains

Photographs

Report of the Tax Study Committee to the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of South Carolina.

This is a report by the Committee that was created by House Resolution 1691 of 1965 for the purpose of studying the State's tax laws relating to the assessment and collection of ad valorem taxes by the political subdivisions of the state. The Committee found that some statutory requirements relating to reporting and assessment of property for local tax purposes were being ignored for practical reasons, and that, in the opinion of the Committee, actual practice was sometimes productive of better results than existing legal requirements. In those cases, the Committee has recommended changes in the law so that legal requirements will coincide with desirable practice.

Report of the Tax Study Committee to the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of South Carolina

This is a report by the Committee that was created by House Resolution 1691 of 1965 for the purpose of studying the State's tax laws relating to the assessment and collection of ad valorem taxes by the political subdivisions of the state. The Committee found that some statutory requirements relating to reporting and assessment of property for local tax purposes were being ignored for practical reasons, and that, in the opinion of the Committee, actual practice was sometimes productive of better results than existing legal requirements. In those cases, the Committee has recommended changes in the law so that legal requirements will coincide with desirable practice.