Integrated resorts and hotel (gambling) service enterprises in Singapore,Macau and Australia: the changing policy landscape

In 2006, Singapore passed legislation allowing the establishment of integrated resorts (IRs) with extensive gaming facilities on the island nation. The Singaporean government was motivated to open two massive IRs in 2010 by the twin objectives of achieving a dramatic elevation in the position of the services industry within their national economy, and to increase state income through lucrative gaming taxes. The Singapore government's decision to take this developmental step was directly influenced by the expansion of Macau into the largest global gambling entity in the world, now dwarfing Las Vegas across all key indicators including revenue and visitor numbers. Macau's position at the pinnacle of Asian gambling, attracting the massive Chinese market, is now beyond dispute. Combined, both Macau and Singapore have altered the IRs services landscape of Asia and Australasia. The economic success of the two Asian gambling giants has seen notable policy responses from national and regional governments. In Australia these policy responses have led to decisions to build new IRs and massively redevelop existing facilities up to a new standard of service aimed at competing with the new facilities operating in Singapore and Macau.     

An Impulse Response Function for Corporate Taxes in Barbados

For many years, corporate taxes have been an important source of Government revenue in Barbados. The variables, namely, rate of corporate tax, real income and the rate of interest were selected when applying an impulse response function to the model for corporate taxes. The function revealed the following results after respective new equilibria were attained: First, corporate taxes would contract if the rate of corporate tax had experienced an upward shock. Second, corporate tax inflows would rise sharply from an upward shock to real income. Finally, an upward shock to the rate of interest would result in a steep contraction in corporate taxes.     

Determinants of Personal Income Taxes for Barbados

The purpose of this study was to identify determinants of personal income taxes in Barbados and, using the Engle-Granger two-step procedures with annual data from 1976 to 2008, ascertain how these variables would impact on the dependent variable in the long and short run. The study showed that in the long run, the variables that would impact upon personal income tax receipts were marginal tax rate, real per capita income, and the rate of unemployment, while in the short run, personal income taxes were affected by current real per capita income in addition to lagged values of real per capita income, the marginal tax rate, and the rate of unemployment, respectively.     

Need money? roll the dice

In 1990, the Mississippi Legislature legalized dockside casino gaming as a surrogate tax system for the state. Since the establishment of the first casino in 1992, the casino industry has become an important component in the state's revenue picture. During fiscal years 1993, 1994, and 1995, gaming taxes and fees accounted for 1.6, 4.1, and 5.04 percent of Mississippi's general fund revenue, respectively. In addition, certain localities have benefitted from the industry as well. Beyond the direct revenue received through local taxation, casino gaming has substantially increased both property tax revenue and sales tax collections. The Mississippi Gaming Commission believes, however, that long-term revenue stability depends on developing resort destinations as opposed to a continued reliance on day-trippers.

Colonists who balked at paying taxes to local governments were willing to purchase lottery tickets by those same governments⁽¹⁾ (yesterday).

Government no longer possesses the capacity to secure the cooperation of the citizenry in meeting the requirements of public need. Consequently, it uses a buffer to take resources from the citizenry without invoking their wrath⁽²⁾ (today).     

Simulated impact of an industrial electrical rate reduction on the pittsburgh region

The City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County have electrical rates which are approximately 20-23 percent above the national average and are among the highest in the U.S. The following report examines the potential impact on the Pittsburgh Region of an industrial electrical rate reduction of 15 percent in Allegheny County. Simulations show that the reduction will slow the rate of decline in manufacturing employment and cause modest increases in employment growth in other sectors of the local economy. However, the rate reduction will have almost no impact on real disposable income per capita in the Region and will also have no recession dampening effect on the Region when the nation experiences a 10 percent, two-year decline in the demand for all durable goods. All simulations are run using the 1994 Pittsburgh REMI Model.     

U.S. treasury department studies of federal- state-local fiscal relations: the context,the major themes,and the outcome

This article provides an assessment of the condition of the literature on several major issues of Federal-State-local fiscal relations. The assessment is provided in the context of a three-volume report on Federal-State-local fiscal relations recently published by the U.S. Treasury Department. The author was a major participant in the studies who generally views them favorably, but who also raises his real concerns about a number of matters.

This article summarizes and evaluates certain aspects of the economic theory of federalism, the intellectual underpinnings of the report. This article addresses the institutional context in which the report was written, which helped shape its approach, content, and conclusions. The report itself generally lacks detailed recom-mendations.

Three main themes of the report are addressed in detail in this article. These are: (a) issues relevant to programs of general-purpose fiscal assistance, which include the adequacy of any potential improvements that might be made in measures of the fiscal capacity of State and local governments; (b) the role, if any, for tax subsidies to State and local governments through the deductibility of State and local taxes in the computation of individual Federal income taxes, and the exemption from Federal income taxes of interest paid on bonds and notes issued by State and local governments; and (c) the projection of the long-term outlook for the fiscal condition of the State-local sector on a current services basis, compared with projections of the long term outlook for the Federal government.     

Meeting the challenge: state revenue raising

Recent trends in state tax revenue reveal that overall reliance of states on taxes have been declining for the last 43 years. Faced with reduction in tax revenues, states have restructured their tax systems to meet public demand for more services. State income taxes are the one type of tax that has risen consistently. What causes state policy makers to rely on this type of tax? This research addresses this question.     

Globalisation and Developing Countries – a Shrinking Tax Base?

This paper evaluates the impact of globalisation on tax bases of countries at varying stages of development. We see globalisation as a process that induces countries to embrace greater trade and financial integration. This in turn should shift their tax revenue from ‘easy to collect’ taxes (tariffs and seigniorage) towards ‘hard to collect’ taxes (value added and income taxes). We find that trade and financial openness have a positive association with the ‘hard to collect’ taxes, and a negative association with the easy to collect taxes.     

The economic impact of the denver broncos football club on the denver metropolitan economy

The purpose of the study was to assess the economic impact of the Denver Broncos Football Club on the Denver Metropolitan Area economy. Primary data required to determine the economic impact was collected from three main sources. First, a two page survey questionnaire was mailed to 9,519 randomly selected season ticket holders with 4,810 returned questionnaires. The City and County of Denver provided financial management information reports for all home games as the second source of primary data. Finally, the Denver Broncos administration provided financial information pertaining to operational expenditures. The total industrial output or economic impact was calculated at $ll7,80l,500 for the economic activity associated with the Denver Broncos Football Club for the 1989-1990 season. Direct economic impact was shown to be $64,282,200 and indirect and induced effects corresponding to the multipliers generated by the model was an additional $53,519,300. Employee compensation was $47,213,300 and property income provided $16,732,000 to the Denver metropolitan economy. Indirect business taxes totaling $7,118,300 went to local, county, state and federal government. The economic activity produced 1,828 jobs directly and indirectly resulting from Broncos activity in the metropolitan area.     

The effect of green taxes and carbon tax shifting on the state of Minnesota

Although it is well established that taxes have a distortionary and negative effect on the economy, not all taxes are equally deleterious. This study examines the effect of a revenue neutral tax on Carbon Emissions, using the Energy 2020 and REMI models. The revenue raised by the carbon tax is off-set by corresponding reductions in other taxes (property and payroll taxes). The results indicate that the carbon emissions tax may or may not be as negative to economic growth as the taxes that they replace were. Therefore, it is possible to tax pollution, and only minorly slow or even stimulate the economy     

The Determinants of Gender Differences in Income in Trinidad and Tobago

The present study employs 1993 Continuous Sample Survey of the Population data for Trinidad and Tobago to investigate the causes of gender income differentials. The findings suggest that such differentials are not well explained by differences in levels of human capital and other measured factors valued by the labour market. This result is robust to the disaggregation of the data into African, Indian and Other ethnic groups thereby raising the possibility of gender discrimination. African and Indian women's incomes would increase by over 20 per cent with the returns to the measured factors of their male, ethnic counterparts. Women would benefit from having men's industry distribution of jobs, but not men's occupational distribution. African women appear to be significantly more disadvantaged relative to their male counterparts than are Indian or Other women.     

Reforming Serbia’s Local Government Finance System*

Abstract

Approximately 30 percent of all local government revenues in Serbia come from shared sales taxes. In the immediate future, the Government will have to replace sales taxes with a value added tax in order to meet EU norms. This will require a fundamental overhaul of Serbia’s intergovernmental finance system because unlike sales tax, the VAT cannot be shared on an origin basis. This paper outlines the origins of Serbia’s current intergovernmental finance system, summarizes its strengths and weaknesses, and then, in light of the necessity of change, sketches a set of reform proposals. These include creating a formula-based equalization grant funded by a fixed percentage of national budget revenues; introducing the legal possibility for block grants, categorical grants, and grants for delegated functions to fund the devolution of new responsibilities to local governments and to support specific (investment) programs; and restoring local government control over Serbia’s ad valorem property tax.     

Financing Local Government

There has been much debate in the UK over the implications for local government accountability of the high proportion of central funding of local government. The question has received particular attention recently as a key issue in the government's 'Balance of Funding' review. Two forms of accountability can be distinguished: average accountability and marginal accountability. This paper provides an analysis of the relationship between the balance of funding and these two concepts of accountability and concludes that increasing the proportion of local funding would be beneficial. One method of addressing problems caused by high central funding would be to introduce a local income tax alongside council tax, enabling the central grant to be reduced. The paper examines practical issues involved in the introduction of such a tax.     

Structuralism versus Monetarism : A note on evidence

This paper illustrates, with a ten year simulation, possible effects of Malaysia's national buffer stock for natural rubber on the level and stability of export earnings, export tax revenue, producer income and world price. Employing rubber market parameters based on inference and empirical tests and buffer stock operating costs and policies similar to those of the current Malaysian buffer stock, it is shown that capital requirements for effective control exceed those at the disposal of the buffer stock manager while control may be expected to stabilize price at the expense of export earnings and producer income stability. These unfavourable effects can be neutralized in part by the increase in receipts obtained with a sufficiently narrow controlled price range or by an increase in demand emanating from reduced price risk. Under the apparent wider range of the buffer stock, losses in export earnings and producer income, as well as capital expenses and the terminal deficit of the stock authority are each less than 1 per cent of export earnings and producer income. The maximum short run capital requirement is about 2.5 per cent of these latter magnitudes. The arguments presented indicate that internationalization of the buffer stock would increase the benefits and decrease the costs in terms of the proportion of producer income and export earnings, compared to the existing national device.     

Foreign Direct Investment and economic transition: Panacea or pain killer?

This article sets out to make an assessment of the relationship between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and economic growth in transition countries through a review of the empirical record to date. The first part reviews the phases of transition in combination with policy efforts to attract FDI. In the second part, different growth studies across levels of analysis are juxtaposed to better understand the overall growth impact of FDI in transition countries. Since foreign firms have a large direct effect on performance at the level of the firm it is often assumed that they automatically contribute to the economic growth of host countries. The missing link in this discussion is the concept of ‘trickle down’. Superior direct effects in terms of productivity and profitability are hypothesised to trickle down to the host country both as spillovers, or catalysing effects on local firms, and through the expected increase in income that such direct and indirect effects in combination will generate through labour income and taxes. The review shows that such trickle down effects are quite fragile in terms of being demonstrated to exist in transition countries. Combined with widespread usage of tax holidays, subsidies and acquisition discounts, it is not certain that positive direct effects equate with economic growth in these countries.     

Economic variables and rural‐urban migration: Some thoughts on the Todaro hypothesis

Using data from 433 firms operating along Uganda’s charcoal and timber supply chains, we investigate patterns of bribe payment and tax collection between supply chain actors and government officials responsible for collecting taxes and fees. We examine the factors associated with the presence and magnitude of bribe and tax payments using a series of bivariate probit and Tobit regression models. We find empirical support for a number of hypotheses related to payments, highlighting the role of queuing, capital-at-risk, favouritism, networks, and role in the supply chain. We also find that taxes crowd in bribery in the charcoal market.     

A Survival Analysis of U.S. Municipalities in Fiscal Distress

This article uses survival analysis to investigate fiscal distress in U.S. municipalities. We hypothesize that fiscal distress is positively correlated with revenue concentration and debt usage, and negatively correlated with administrative costs and entity resources. We develop a model that can predict the likelihood of fiscal distress and correctly classify up to 86 percent of the sampled governments. The model enables users to analyze the impact of a change in the risk factors. Fiscal distress can be reduced most effectively by increasing tax revenues as a percent of total revenues or decreasing total debt as a percent of total revenues.     

Releasing Constraints to Growth or Pushing on a String? Policies and Performance of Mexican Micro-Firms

Using firm-level data from Mexico, this paper investigates the firm characteristics associated with participation in credit markets, access to training, tax payments and membership in business associations. We find that firms which participate in these institutions exhibit significantly higher profits. Moreover, firms that borrow from formal or informal sources and those that pay taxes are significantly more likely to stay in business but firms that received credit exhibit lower rates of income growth. These results persist when firm characteristics that are arguably correlated with unobserved entrepreneurial ability are controlled for. Our findings suggest that the significant within-country differences in firm productivity observed in developing economies are due in part to market and government failures that limit the ability of micro-firms to reach their optimal sizes.     

The joint demand for health care,leisure, and commodities: Implications for health care finance and access in Vietnam

This paper explores linkages between the demand for health care providers and the consumption of food, non-food goods, and leisure in Vietnam, using a mixed continuous/discrete dependent variable model. Cross-price elasticities calculated from the model suggest there are strong substitution effects between health care, leisure, and certain commodities. The model allows us to explore the implications of replacing user fees with alternative forms of health care finance, such as commodity taxes. In particular, the results suggest financing public health care services with a non-food sales tax rather than user fees would be more progressive and would improve access to care.     

Patterns and issues in health care collective bargaining

Unionization of health care facilities has grown significantly over the last twenty years. More than 20 percent of American hospitals have one or more union contracts and an equal percentage of the industry's labor force is represented for collective bargaining purposes. Union membership is concentrated in the Northeast, Upper Midwest and Pacific Coast and is to be found particularly among large metropolitan hospitals. Although many different unions are actively organizing in the health care industry four labor organizations predominate: American Federation of State, County, Municipal Workers; Service Employees International Union; National Union of Hospital and Health Care Workers - District 1199; and the American Nurses Association.

One of the obstacles to union growth for many years was the absence of Federal legal regulation of labor relations. In 1974 Congress amended the so-called Taft Hartley Act to cover private nonprofit hospitals, the largest component of the industry. Since 1974 the application of Federal labor law has resolved old problems that arose from the lack of a basis to handle recognition disputes but at the same time created new issues. Among these issues are such legal questions as the legitimacy of the ANA to act as a labor organization, the proper bargaining classification for registered nurses, and the proper role in labor relations for hired consultants.

The growth of unions in health care raised concern that collective bargaining would impose onerous new burdens on an industry already hard pressed financially. Research indicates, however, that the impact on hospital costs have not been great -- perhaps on the order of an increase of 10 percent over what would be the case in the absence of unions. The greatest effects seem to be in the area of fringe benefits, working conditions, and the provision for grievance machinery.

Special problems have arisen in conjunction with the unionization of registered nurses. This particular category of health care workers occupies a strategic position in the hospital's work force. After a slow start nurse bargaining activity has come rapidly particularly as nonnursing unions such as 1199, SEIU, and the American Federation of Teachers have forced the ANA to respond to their efforts to make inroads among nurses.

Union growth in the industry seems to have stabilized for the time being without the prospect for much change in the remaining years of the decade. Incidence of conflict has been relatively low compared to other industries and this also shows little likelihood of change. While some visible signs of conflict over representation rights still remain collective bargaining is moving rapidly into an era of mutual accommodation.