Tax compliance: An investigation using individual taxpayer compliance measurement program (TCMP) data

In this paper, we analyze the tax compliance behavior of U.S. taxpayers by using a 1979 data set that combines information from a random sample of individual tax returns, each of which has been thoroughly audited, IRS administrative records, and sociodemographic data from the Census. We find evidence that both audits and tax code provisions affect compliance. However, the effects are significant for only low-and high-income groups. Interestingly, work on the underground economy also suggests that it is these two groups that are least compliant. Our results for audits suggest that the ripple or general deterrent effect of audits may be substantially larger than the direct revenue yield of audits for high-income taxpayers. Our results for allowable subtractions from income imply that the 1986 Tax Reform Act changes that lowered allowable subtractions may have procompliance effects.     

Parliamentary crisis and the removal of the speaker: The case of Trinidad and Tobago

The 1995 Speaker crisis in Trinidad and Tobago raised fundamental issues relating to Presiding Officers of Commonwealth Parliaments. The issue of the control of the office by the majority party in the context of removal and whether such action is a contempt of Parliament is addressed. Additionally, the role of the courts in settling internal parliamentary disputes is examined. This article argues that the courts have a role in parliamentary procedure owing to the existence of a Bill of Rights in the Constitution. However, unsavoury precedents established by the Speaker during the crisis need to be reversed by subsequent Speakers in order for the House to function with some degree of order. The application of Westminster parliamentary traditions and conventions in Commonwealth Parliaments is examined in theory and in the context of the crisis itself.     

Demographic aspects of the Greek household: The case of Preveza (18th century)

The demography of the Greek household is investigated within the context of the town of Preveza. The size, age, and sex composition and structure of the household are also considered. Two detailed censuses of the town are used: the first carried out in 1719, and the second, around 1780. The mean household size has been calculated: 4.24 for 1719 and 4.36 for c. 1780. Analysis of the data shows a clear predominance of males, particularly among the young, and of simple family households. Results presented here need to be seen in the light of other regions of Greece, since few studies yet exist.     

The internet and offending behaviour: A case study

Abstract

Summary: The COPINE Project at the Department of Applied Psychology, seeks to address children's vulnerability in relation to the Internet and child pornography. As part of the project, offenders convicted of downloading such images have been interviewed. This paper considers existing models of offender behaviour alongside literature relating to Internet use. A single case study is used to illustrate a process-focused model of offending, using interview material to demonstrate how the offender represented and accounted for his behaviour. The offender in question had no history of engaging in sexual behaviour with actual children, but his case illustrated many of the stages described by offenders in their involvement with pornography, including: setting events, engagement, collecting behaviour, and the emergence of relationships.     

Assessing the consequences of corporate discretion on regulatory compliance: the case of motor vehicle safety in Canada

What are the consequences of discretion when government shares the responsibility for regulatory compliance with the industry subject to regulation? Do differing underlying goals affect implementation? This article examines the implementation of Canada's Motor Vehicle Safety Act for fiscal years 1974–75 to 1981–82. Since the law creates opportunities for the exercise of discretion and those responsible for implementation (government versus industry) do not share the same underlying goals, one can expect that who implements the act will be of considerable importance. The data suggest that when incentives for compliance differ, discretion creates the opportunity for substantially different outcomes. Notable differences exist in the characteristics of recalls that manufacturers initiated and those that Transport Canada influenced.     

“营改增”效用的税法评判:以税收正义为中心

税收正义是税收立法、执行和司法的基本原则和价值追求,同时也是一种判定税制设计及运行是否合理与正当的价值基准抑或分析工具。营改增作为税制改革的重要一环,不仅具有避免重复征税、完善抵扣链条、实现企业税负降低的积极功效,其践行增值税税收中性的品格更是有助于匡税收之本原,正税收正义之名。截止目前,营改增既有显著成绩的取得,亦有诸如税负不公等有违税收正义之处。以税收正义审视和省思改革有利于保障改革的合理化与正当化。财税法治、国家治理与税收正义高度耦合,营改增改革应以财税法治进行制度保障,以国家治理思维改进社会管理方式,通过完善税率设计、税收比例和税收优惠措施来寻求税制改革的正义解,实现并保障税收的正义性。     

Pervasive developmental disorders and criminal behaviour: a case control study

The prevalence and pattern of criminal behaviour in a population of 313 former child psychiatric in-patients with pervasive developmental disorders were studied. The patients were divided into three subgroups and compared with 933 matched controls from the general population. Age at follow-up was between 25 years and 59 years. An account of convictions in the nationwide Danish Register of Criminality was used as a measure of criminal behaviour. Among 113 cases with childhood autism, .9% had been convicted. In atypical autism (n=86) and Asperger's syndrome (n=114) the percentages were 8.1% and 18.4%, respectively. The corresponding rate of convictions in the comparison groups was 18.9%, 14.7%, and 19.6% respectively. Particular attention is given to arson in Asperger's syndrome (p= .0009).     

Communal response to criminal behavior in the kibbutz during periods of crisis

This research examines whether the situation of crisis which has been developing in the majority of secular kibbutzim since the eighties has influenced the attitudes of kibbutz members towards criminal behavior. Previously, the kibbutzim were accustomed to dealing with any deviant behavior in their midst, with the exception of serious crime, by means of their own internal control institutions. Our assumption is that there would be a greater tendency among members of kibbutzim in crisis, as compared to those in a situation of stability, to see criminal behavior as a disturbing, even threatening, social phenomenon, and to turn to outside agencies, such as the police. In order to examine this hypothesis, we selected 230 kibbutz members from six well-established secular kibbutzim in the center of the country, which differ from each other with regard to levels of crisis which in turn determined by means of specific economic and social criteria. Our findings show that criminal behavior is more prevalent in the kibbutz than the members themselves believe. The more stable the kibbutz, the more the members continue to rely on their own conventional methods of dealing with criminal behavior, while the more severe the crisis situation, the greater the tendency to pass the responsibility for the offender to outside agencies.     

论出口退税制度的法理基础--税收中性与税收调控的结合

中性税收,作为针对税收超额负担提出的一项原则,在实践中指导着税制的设计。出口退税是一项国际上通行的税收规则,它既要符合税收中性的要求,又要实现税收的调控职能。我国于2004年1月正式实施的新的出口退税制度既完善了总体税制又体现了国家的产业政策,力图实现税收中性与税收调控的有机结合。     

HIPAA privacy: the compliance challenges ahead

This Article reviews the HIPAA Privacy Standards' impact on healthcare organizations. It discusses whether a healthcare organization is a "Covered Entity" under the regulations, what information the Privacy Standards protect, what restrictions the regulations place on the use and disclosure of protected health information, what individual rights the Privacy Standards create, and what agreements they require between healthcare organizations and their business associates. The author provides relatively extensive guidance to organizations that are embarking upon their voyage of compliance with these broadly applicable regulations, but notes that the full extent of necessary compliance remains unclear, pending DHHS issuance of the next iteration of the rulemaking in this area. The Article was finalized in January 2002, before HHS issued any modifications to the Privacy Standards.     

Procedural justice during police-citizen encounters: The effects of process-based policing on citizen compliance and demeanor

Purpose

Theories of procedural justice have facilitated the development of a process-based approach to policing which emphasizes the fairness of the manner in which the police exercise their discretion. The study examines whether procedurally fair behavior by the police affects two types of citizen behavior during encounters: citizen disrespect toward the police and citizen noncompliance with police requests.

Methods

This study uses data from systematic social observations of police-citizen encounters to examine procedural justice factors on citizen behavior. Because of the reciprocal nature of police-citizen interactions, an instrumental variable is used in the statistical analysis to help address the causal relationship between police force and citizen disrespect.

Results

The statistical analyses find limited support for procedural justice factors. Two types of procedurally fair behavior by the police, police demeanor and their consideration of citizen voice, are significant in reducing citizen disrespect and noncompliance, respectively.

Conclusion

Procedural justice factors have limited and inconsistent impacts on the two types of citizen behavior, and future research should address the limitations of this study and evaluate process-based policing with more data from social observations of police-citizen encounters.     

Popular Perceptions of Income Tax Law in the Nineteenth Century: A Local Tax Rebellion

The Exeter tax rebellion of 1871 is taken as a model to examine popular perceptions of income tax law at a time of national discontent. The discontent was with the administration of the tax rather than its substance. In a complex commercial society the statutory system of local lay Commissioners, possessing neither sufficient time nor expertise, was inadequate to make assessments or determine appeals. In practice the expert Crown official, the Surveyor, dominated the process, though the law gave him merely a supervisory role. The popular resentment of the Commissioners paradoxically confirmed the desire to retain that body as an independent buffer between the State and the taxpayer. The rebellion reflected the tensions of the age, illustrating the confidence of the Victorian middle class and its questioning of the traditional property-owning classes in the lay administration of justice.     

Accidental electrocution during autoeroticism: a shocking case

A case of atypical autoerotic death is described. An 18-year-old white man clad in two brassieres was found dead in his bedroom by his brother. Two wet green terry cloths were under the brassiere cups, connected to the house current via two metal washers and a bifid electrical cord. Literature depicting nude women was found near the victim. Autopsy revealed second-degree and third-degree burns of the mammary regions. Death was attributed to accidental self-electrocution. The authors will discuss typical and atypical forms of autoerotic death.     

希腊刑罚制度要论

希腊的近当代刑罚制度源于德国 ,其 1 95 1年刑法典规定的主刑有死刑、监狱禁闭、监禁、禁闭于精神治疗机构、拘禁、财产刑。监禁刑可转换为罚金刑 ,可缓期执行。在某些情况下 ,法院可赦免被定罪人。服监禁刑者 ,可以有条件假释。希腊刑法还规定了劳动减刑和刑罚执行机构     

The catathymic crisis: An explanation of the serial killer

Various explanations have been proposed to explain the motivation of serial killers. This article proposes that the theory of the Catathymic Crisis is an explanation that adds light to the “serial” nature of serial murder as well as an explanation of why and how a person can become a serial killer. The theory of Catathymic Crisis was presented in 1937 by Dr. Frederic Wertham as an explanation for some types violent and seemingly motivationless crimes. Dr. Wertham's theory describes a five stage process in which (1) a thinking disorder occurs within the mind of the criminal, (2) a plan is created to commit a violent criminal act, (3) internal emotional tension forces the commission of the criminal act, which leads to (4) a superficial calmness in which the need to commit the violent act is eliminated and normal activity can be conducted and (5) the mind adjusts itself and understands that the thinking process that caused the commission of the criminal act was flawed and the mind makes adjustments in order to prevent further criminal activity. The serial killer never reaches the fifth stage but returns to the second and operates in a cycle between stage two and four. This article advocates that the Catathymic Crisis explains why the serial killer needs to commit murder, why that need develops and why there is an escalating nature of the criminal activity by the serial killer.