Overview of penal response towards tax compliance in Nigeria

Tax offences and penalties are created to tackle tax non-compliance. Tax penalties bear civil liabilities while tax offences portends criminal sanctions. This paper employs the deterrence theory of penalty to determine whether tax penalties and enforcement agencies are effective in ensuring tax compliance in Nigeria. It is found that the dwindling economic situation in the country has diminished the deterrent effect of pecuniary tax sanctions. Hence, there is need to review the tax statutes. Corroborative effort between tax authorities would facilitate the probability of detection and punishment of tax offenders, thereby improving tax compliance in Nigeria.     

Publics and biobanks in China and Europe: a comparative perspective

We compare public perceptions of biobanks in China and in Europe, reporting similarities and differences in how publics in Europe and China view key issues in the realm of biobank research. Despite many differences in perception, the similarity in the perception of biobanks in China and in Europe is striking. Our research finds that Chinese with lower education levels are less concerned about privacy, while those with higher education levels have preferences in privacy protection that are similar to those in Europe. Transnational research is perceived positively in both regions, but specific historical experiences shape how people approach these issues. While Chinese publics focus on certain effects of international research on the Chinese state, Europeans are mainly concerned about data security and impacts on research. The study is based on 66 focus groups conducted in China (6) and Europe (60), with approximately 700 participants.     

A Personal Eulogy

Two specialists on Russian society and politics analyze how Russians view human rights and the conflict in Chechnya, as well as factors shaping views on these issues within Russia, based on a survey conducted in October 2001. The authors discuss how their results diverge from the findings of other studies of Russian public opinion on issues relating to democracy, consider several explanations for the patterns they observe, and propose some appropriate policy measures.     

A Prodigal Son (Through the Eyes of a Father)

Contemporary music is a category of cultural capital that is employed by symphonies and opera especially inefficiently. Considering its quantity, presumed relevance to social needs, and programming, this is surprising. The authors present a model of the programming decision for an ensemble that indicates that increasing the use of contemporary music's capital stock (i.e., increasing on-stage performances of contemporary music and thus listeners' exposure to and appreciation of it) is more difficult than in other artistic fields. Since redirecting audience attention to this cultural endowment will require retiring many resources from common use, standard recommendations for subsidies should be reassessed.     

Basic Directions of Perestroyka

Three basic directions of the economy's perestroyka (social orientation, uskoreniye of technological readjustment, and restructuring of management in enterprises) are outlined by its leading architect and advisor to General Secretary Gorbachev. The presentation, commencing the first joint Soviet Economy round-table, is followed by questions and comments by American participants relating to sequence, momentum, transition, anticipated consequences and contradictions in the reform. A rejoinder covering such issues as priorities, price formation, adaptation to change, allocation of resources and comparison with the Hungarian and other models, is followed by a concluding exchange of views on competition. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 027, 052, 124.     

5.7 Environmental health service

Independent Local Politics in England and Wales,. W. P. Grant,. Farnborough: Saxon House, 1977, pp. 112. + vi, £7.50.

Organisation: A Guide to Problems and Practice, John Child, Harper and Row, 1977, pp. 243, £4.95 (hardback), £2.95 (paperback).

Emergency Employment—A Study in Federalism, Howard W. Hallman, University of Alabama Press, 1977, pp. 207, $11.50.

Commission for Local Administration in England — A Preliminary Appraisal, N. Lewis and B. Gateshill, R.I.P.A., 1978, pp. 68, £2.20.

Neighbourhoods and the Urban Economy, Benjamin Goldstein and Ross Davis (eds.), Lexington Books, 1977, pp. 160, £8.50.

Fiscal Management and Planning in Local Government, James C. Snyder, Lexington Books, 1977, pp. 306, £8.75.

Productivity in Local Government, Frederick O'R. Hayes, Lexington Books, 1977, pp. 295, £13.75.

Organisation and Staff Resources for Area Improvement, Part 1: General Approach, by The National Building Agency, November 1977, pp. 24, £1.00.