Are Overlapping Local Governments Competing With Each Other When Issuing Debt?

Local public services are produced through various overlapping jurisdictions. This study examines how the issuance of municipal general obligation bonds is affected by the tax policies of overlapping local governments. The findings challenge the hypothesis that the shared tax base would be overused in a common-pool resource scenario. Instead, the empirical results show that the issuance of general obligation bonds is more likely in jurisdictions where counties and school districts make more intensive use of the property tax. These findings highlight the importance of the signals local governments receive from their overlapping neighbors regarding voters’ demand for additional public spending.     

The use of 3D visualization for sustainable tourism planning

This paper describes the results of using 3D visualization (3DV) in sustainable tourism planning (STP) during the Comcot project in Estonia. Organizers were interviewed on the characteristics of 3DV for STP and on how participants were involved in discourse using 3DV. The study describes experiences from the Setu, Maidla, and Võrtsjärv lake regions of Estonia. The content analysis of the interviews suggested that the precise selection of visualization objects, detalization levels, and user interface characteristics may significantly influence the quality of STP sessions and help to optimize time, financial, and human resources allocated for a project. The coherent design of the 3DV tool and the neutral moderator positively affect the level of participant involvement in STP and support a trusted platform for community decision making.     

Untangling Housing Cost and Transportation Interactions: The Location Affordability Index Model—Version 2 (LAIM2)

Abstract

It is now accepted that to have an understanding of housing affordability one must consider not only housing costs, but also the transportation costs associated with that household location. To make this information readily accessible to the public, the United States government created an Internet resource, the Location Affordability Portal – Version 2 (www.locationaffordability.info), to provide housing and transportation costs for every neighborhood in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Although the statistical model at the heart of this resource was designed for predictive accuracy, its design and parameter estimates can provide additional insights into the interaction of housing cost and transportation choices (and thus its cost). This study describes the development and explores the policy implications (and limitations) of this structural equations model, the Location Affordability Index Model – Version 2 (LAIM2).     

Environmental Harm or Natural Hazard? Problem Identification and Adaptation in U.S. Municipal Climate Action Plans

A number of cities in the United States have devised climate action plans (CAPs) to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, few of these plans address strategies to adapt to the long term effects of climate change that will occur in the near and distant future. The research presented in this article examines why cities choose to embed adaptation provisions in their CAPs. Our study codes the content of CAPs for all cities (N = 98) in the United States with populations greater than 50,000. We find cities that frame problems associated with climate change in the language of hazards are more likely to include adaptation strategies in their CAPs than cities that focus on other types of environmental harm. Our findings suggest that more robust efforts to plan for climate change will require the activation of communities of interest beyond those that have been instrumental in setting the current climate agenda.     

依法行政 规范管理 构建和谐计生

石阡县以贯彻落实"一法三规一条例"为主线,以稳定低生育水平为目标,坚持依法行政、规范管理,使全县人口计生工作步入了法制化轨道,塑造了"和谐计生"新形象,为全县经济社会快速发展营造了良好的人口环境。     

综合利用社会资源 建立利益导向机制

思南县通过加强部门协作,健全各项制度,转变工作思路和方法,充分利用社会资源,不断完善政策体系,建立计划生育利益导向机制,塑造了"和谐计生"新形象,为构建"和谐思南"营造了良好的人口环境。     

论税收立法听证制度的构建

2006年9月27日全国人大常委会就个人所得税法修改中的工薪所得费用扣除标准问题举行的听证会,是全国人大及其常委会立法史上首次召开立法听证会,其本身所具有的制度价值和社会意义显然已经超越了个税法修改的本身。文章认为,税法的制定迫切需要一种体现民主参与和科学决策的程序性制度,立法听证制度引入税收立法则是民主法治建设的必然走向。     

论骗取出口退税犯罪案件的主要手段及侦查对策

骗取出口退税犯罪是我国实行出口退税政策之后出现的一种新的经济犯罪形式。近年来,这种犯罪发展很快且愈演愈,严重扰乱了税收秩序,并使国家蒙受了巨大的经济损失。为此,笔者就骗取出口退税案件的特点、手段及侦查对策谈点看法。     

The Contribution of the “Dutch School” in Public Finance to the Theory of Personal Income Taxation (1870–1920)

Hansen's dissertation (1996) is an impressive, highly valuable, and thorough study on the problems of income taxation in Germany. These problems were also extensively discussed in Dutch economic literature around 1900. Several authors took part in the discussion, and some were also involved as politicians. They are referred to as the Dutch School in public finance. The discussions in the Netherlands were of a distinctive character as far as the tax rate (progression) is concerned. With regard to the tax base (the concept of income) there is in the case of the reform of the income tax in 1915, via in particular Treub, close affinity to that thinking in Germany, that is so eminently analyzed by Hansen.     

从偷税罪到逃税罪的立法演变分析

偷税罪在我国的刑事立法中经历了一个从无到有,由抽象、笼统、单一、欠缺到具体、明确、科学、完善的历史发展过程。《刑法修正案(七)》对刑法典第201条规定的偷税罪从行为方式、构罪标准、法定刑等多方面进行了重大修改,并实行有条件的初犯补税免罪机制。同时,罪名也被修改为逃税罪。