Why do only some people who support parties actually join them? Evidence from Britain

What makes people join a political party is one of the most commonly studied questions in research on party members. Nearly all this research, however, is based on talking to people who have actually joined parties. This article simultaneously analyses surveys of members of political parties in Britain and surveys of non-member supporters of those same parties. This uniquely enables us to model the decision to join parties. The results suggest that most of the elements that constitute the influential ‘General Incentives Model’ are significant. But it also reveals that, while party supporters imagine that selective benefits, social norms and opposing rival parties’ policies are key factors in members’ decisions to join a party, those who actually do so are more likely to say they are motivated by attachments to their party’s values, policies and leaders, as well as by an altruistic desire to support democracy more generally.     

环境税税目设计的原则与路径——以发展方式转变为背景

排污收费项目如何转化为环境税税目,是费改税的关键环节。对此,应该在坚持效益原则和公平原则的前提下综合各方面因素加以考量。考量的结果是,排污收费项目应以稳妥渐进的方式转化为环境税税目,不宜操之过急;环境税税目也应尽可能多地囊括各类污染,并注意避免税收上的分配不公。由此,环境税才能充分发挥其促进发展方式转变的积极作用。     

略论在涉税犯罪侦查中的税警协作

加强公安机关与税务机关的协作,是当前涉税犯罪侦查中急待研究解决的重要问题。在打击涉税犯罪工作中,税务机关与公安机关应优势互补,采取切实可行的措施,加强协作,以形成打击涉税犯罪的合力。     

The new Basle Accord, internal ratings, and the incentives of banks

The Basle Accord of 1988 regulates how much equity banks must set aside as a cushion against the default risk. In its 1999 proposal for a new Accord, the Basle Committee seeks to introduce different equity ratios for customers of different risk levels. The proposal strongly favors external ratings as a means of risk determination. German banks, on the other hand, demand acknowledgement of their internal ratings.This paper shows that, even if assumed that banks have better diagnosis skill than external rating agencies, external ratings are better able to implement the goals of the Basle Committee than internal ratings. This is due to a lack of incentives to truthfully reveal their diagnosis results. These incentives may be provided by supervision of internal ratings, even if imperfect and only occasional. However, this requires that a fine be imposed if the supervising authority comes to a result different from the internal rating assigned by the bank.     

中国后农业税时代的“非同质性”农民

减免农业税后,处于社会转型期的中国农民越来越是一个“非同质性”的群体。另一方面,农业税的取消,并不意味着中国经历“农民的终结”,中国农民在未来二三代人的时间内是无法终结的。从这个认识出发,有必要认真研究如何面对农民的“非同质性”,研究中国新农村建设的问题。它意味着“一种联合的生活方式”开始。     

技术转移要求、投资鼓励与国际投资环境的关联关系——结合WTO贸易与投资关系工作组的研究报告和晚近国际投资立法进行分析

根据WTO贸易与投资关系工作组近年来对技术转移要求和投资鼓励问题的专题研究 ,结合晚近国际投资立法的相关规定 ,不难发现未来相关国际投资立法的可能发展趋势 :适当的有关技术移转方面的引导措施可以存续 ,强制性技术转移要求应逐步取消 ;投资鼓励措施只能作为吸引和引导外资的辅助性工具 ,制约投资鼓励措施的国际多边规则会逐步出现并日趋严格     

Is tax competition harmful and is the EU an optimal tax area?

This paper examines the issue of harmfulness of tax competition commenting on issues like welfare, growth, redistribution, harmonization and individual freedom. A simple game theoretical ap proach is formulated, where for the first time the two players start from unequal initial conditions, thus influencing strategy and outcomes. Next we propose the new criterion of Optimal Tax Area under which the possibility and feasibility of tax harmonization is examined. The policy implication of our paper is that we do not expect harmonization for direct taxes like corporate taxes in the EU in the near future and if so, harmonization of corporate tax rates on low levels. We conclude that both more theoretic research and empirical evidence are needed before we can answer with certainty whether tax competition is harmful or not. classification A1 . D6 . H0     

论纳税人诚实推定权的入法途径

诚实推定权由纳税人财产权与人格尊严权衍生而来,在立法中加以确认有助于落实税收法定、践行量能课税和提高纳税人遵从度。诚实推定权借鉴了刑法上的无罪推定和民法上的善意推定,其基本内涵是税务机关认为纳税人有少缴税款嫌疑时,应由该机关承担举证责任,证明强度应达到优势证据标准。我国应在修改《税收征收管理法》时,明确表达纳税人享有诚实推定权,同时准确界分纳税人的协力义务和税务机关的举证责任,强调逃税行为必须具备主观故意的要件,合理限定税收检查权。诚实推定权入法将对税收征纳实践产生影响,提高现有“计税依据明显偏低”的认定标准,使纳税人的正当理由诉求更有可能被认可,对逃税行为的界定也将更为精确。     

电子商务平台经营者涉税信息报送义务履行的规范化研究——基于我国《电子商务法》第28条规定的阐释

基于协助税收征管的需要,平台经营者应依法定条件和法定程序向有管辖权的税务部门履行报送平台内经营者涉税信息的义务。我国《电子商务法》设置涉税信息报送义务旨在防范数字经济时代下税收征管的失灵、实现税负的公平负担。该法规定的平台经营者涉税信息报送义务面临履行主体过于宽泛、履行对象含混模糊、履行内容有待明确、履行监督效果欠佳等突出问题。有必要通过我国《电子商务法》施行细则,允许平台委托报送、降低初创型平台报送负担、建立跨境报送国际协调机制,以界分平台经营者职责;经由分层化管理平台内经营者与细分服务领域,以厘清该义务的履行对象范围;通过制定信息报送正面清单、明确报送部门、统一报送时间、流程和方法,以明晰该义务的履行内容;通过丰富事后行政查处机制与强化事前合规指引,以激励该义务的有效履行。     

Fixing Financial Plumbing: Tax,Leaks and Base Erosion and Profit Shifting in Europe

Aggressive tax planning by multinational enterprises (MNEs) costs EU member states between €50-70 billion and €150-190 billion per annum through base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). This tax gap has been blamed on ‘unethical’ companies acting legally, but inappropriately. Action to curtail this behaviour has been made possible by the confluence of two powerful movements: a popular articulation of tax morality as it relates to MNEs and the high issue salience reached as a consequence of the financial crisis and austerity in Europe, an emerging discourse around tax morality, and the efforts of prominent whistleblowers. As a result, domestic governments have removed their ‘soft’ veto and facilitated supranational bodies in innovating on corporate taxation, helping to rebalance the technical and structural superiority of MNEs in the international tax system.