What explains the Differences in the Tax Burden Between Swiss Cantons?

In the present article, we empirically analyse a series of competing hypothesis that try to account for the considerable disparity in the tax burden between Swiss cantons. Three hypotheses focus on differences in spending levels: The first explains differences in the tax burden with differences in citizens' demand for government services. The second emphasizes the differences in efficiency between cantonal administrations, whereas the third insists on the more or less easy access to cantonal instruments of direct democracy. However, when confronted to the data, none of these three expenditure‐based hypotheses are confirmed by our cross‐sectional estimations. On the contrary, our regressions lend support to the hypotheses which highlights the differences in tax revenues between cantons. These results suggest that it is not differences in government spending which account for the disparity in cantonal tax levels, but differences in the cantonal endowment with resources. This indicates that some financial equalization on the cantonal level might strengthen the equity of Switzerland's tax system.     

Reforming Greece’s Tax Administration during the Financial Crisis: The Paradox of Power Asymmetry

ABSTRACT

This article examines the depoliticisation of Greece’s tax administration under the post-2010 bailout agreements in light of three alternative models of domestic change. It shows that one model (external incentives model that is based on power asymmetry) accounts for the direction of the reform but not how far the reform ended up going. There is little evidence in support of the second model (social learning) because of the absence of genuine programme ownership and evidence in support of the third model (lesson-drawing) is limited to the diagnosis of the problem. The final outcome was unintentionally shaped by key choices made by Greek governments in line with the literature on conditionality.     

Cross-state learning and service delivery in India’s federal system

ABSTRACT

This paper attempts to place the issue of cross-state learning and borrowing experiences in service delivery in India in the specific context of political incentives in India’s federal democracy as well relating it to the findings of the comparative literature on subnational policy diffusion in federal systems. It presents four types of borrowing experiences from a selection of six case studies of the past few years, and point towards ways in which learning/borrowing across states can be usefully incorporated into policy.     

V.A.T., Taxation and Prostitution: Feminist Perspectives on Polok

Debates concerning the taxation of prostitution have occurred in taxation law and in feminist literature. This article will integrate the case of Polok v. C.E.C. [2002] E.W.H.C, 156; [2002] S.T.C. 361, within the feminist legal canon. The case is discussed in the context of the argument of the European doctrine of fiscal neutrality, which dictates that, regardless of legality as amongst member states, if an activity is levied to V.A.T. in one member state, V.A.T. should be levied on it in all member states. The doctrine of sovereignty accepts the possibility that the integrity of the V.A.T. system may be compromised by the levying of tax on illegal activities, in terms of the cooperation between tax and other aspects of the U.K.’s legal system. European law, feminist law, commodification and the marketplace are all considered within the context of these principles. The article also considers the place of Polok within standard feminist texts on prostitution. Different paradigms of prostitution define different aspects of prostitution as ‘problems’, and the article considers the implications within a feminist reconstruction of Polok of this. The article suggests that the challenge for a feminist analysis of Polok is to remain within the realm of European tax and competition law, and to render the perspective of the employees of the Polok taxpayers part of the substance of the deliberations of the case.     

农村税费改革必须突破“黄宗羲定律”的怪圈

在中国历史上,多次税费改革最终都没有解决好乱收费、滥收费这一顽症,始终徘徊在"黄宗羲定律"的怪圈中.农村税费改革是农村改革的核心和关键,确保改革突破"黄宗羲定律"怪圈,首先要完善财税体制,尽快在全国范围内取消农业特产税,也要改变农村税费"孤军深入"的困境,形成农村税费改革与其它相关改革良性互动的局面.     

缩小居民收入差距的税收对策

征收个人所得税是缓解我国居民收入差距悬殊矛盾的有效办法.但目前我国个人所得税征管制度不够完善,常常出现"管得住工薪阶层,管不住新生贵族"的现象.当前只有加大税收征管力度,增强公民的纳税意识,"锁定"关键纳税人,才能充分发挥个人所得税在缩小居民收入差距方面的独特作用.     

Selective Sexual Harassment: Differential Treatment of Similar Groups of Women Workers

If male workers categorize different groups of women coworkers and, subsequently, treat them differently, the experiences of women from one of these groups would not be indicative of the experiences of women from another group. When this different treatment involves hostile environment sexual harassment of one group, but not the other, then the law must recognize the possibility of "selective sexual harassment." Without this understanding of the nuances of the workplace dynamics, a court could mistake the women of the unharassed group as representing "reasonable women" and the women of the harassed group as simply oversensitive. This paper draws on empirical data to demonstrate such a situation and advocates for a version of the "reasonable victim" standard to facilitate a closer analysis of hostile environment sexual harassment suits.     

论唐代税收体系和结构的发展变化

以德宗建中元年租庸调制的废弃和两税法的实行为分界,唐代税收体系和税收结构呈现出前后两个时期的鲜明特点。唐前期的租庸调制继承并总结了北魏隋朝以来的租调制,唐后期两税法和多种工商业税的推行则全面开启了征收资产税的法制化新里程。唐代国家税收体系和税收结构总体呈现出的由租庸调农业税为主向多元资产税并存的转化变动特点,对宋代以后的国家税收形态产生了重大的影响,也体现了唐代社会乃至中古封建社会的经济变动和社会发展。     

涉税信息共享权限规范研究

税收是国家履行其职能的前提条件,是实现公平正义的方式之一。然而,在我国的税收征管过程中,征纳双方之间的涉税信息具有严重的不对称性,它已经成为国家税款应收尽收的最大障碍。因此,立法者必须以涉税信息共享权限规范的形式赋予税务机关共享由其他部门和机构掌握的纳税人涉税信息的权力。通过在理论上对涉税信息共享权限规范的含义、属性、特征、分类、意义进行深入的研究,以便形成圆满的涉税信息共享权限规范体系,为税务机关涉税信息共享权力的获得和行使奠定理论基础,切实保障国家税收收入。     

税收流失规模:地下经济视角的分析

运用现金比率法和收支差异法对我国地下经济和税收流失的规模进行测估,我国目前由于地下经济的存在而导致严重的税收流失,这提醒我们对税收的重点、税制改革的方向以及税制结构的调整等一系列问题,需要重新加以思考.