Are the Swiss fixed establishment rules a solution to the VAT grouping issues of the European Union?

The VAT grouping provision in Article 11 of the VAT directive is a recent source of problems for the European Union. Especially the area of cross border head office to branch transactions was in the centre of attention in the recent case law. This thesis investigates the source of these problems and why they appeared in the first place, by analysing the provision and the notions used in Article 11. One of the issues for cases like Skandia and FCE Bank is that the European Union applies the so called single entity principle for foreign branches. This means that a branch in another State is still con-sidered as the same entity as the head office. Due to that, transactions be-tween the head office and branches are usually regarded as internal transac-tions, and therefore as non-relevant for VAT purposes. Other States like Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand do apply a dual entity principle. Under this principle foreign branches which are not in the same State as the head office are considered as their own legal entities, which means that transactions between the foreign branch and the head office are treated in the same way as transactions between a head office and its subsidiaries. After comparing the Swiss and the European approach the thesis tries to analyse what would happen if the European Union implements a dual entity principle comparable to the one which is applied in Switzerland. After look-ing at the advantages and disadvantages of such a change, the conclusion is that the advantage of the simplification of the system would be outweighed by the disadvantages, namely the significantly increased administrative bur-den as well as problems of determining the taxable amount

Preliminary observations on a skin-piercing blood-sucking moth (Calyptra eustrigata (Hmps.) (Lep., Noctuidae)) in Malaya

In the course of entomological investigations in Malaya between 1965 and 1967, it was found that Calyptra eustrigata (Hmps.) (Noctuidae) frequently pierces the skin of mammals to feed on blood, and in this respect differs from those Noctuids that marely imbibe blood from an open wound. Other species of Calyptra are known as fruit-piercing moths, and C. minuticornis (Gn.) which was taken in Cambodia on one occasion at the eye of a buffalo, is also one of the eye-frequenting moths, which imbibe lachrymal secretions of Ungulata, Proboscidea and occasionally of man. C. eustrigata has been observed imbibing blood after piercing the skin of buffalo, Sambar deer, Malayan tapir and nilgai antelope. Caged adults in the laboratory were observed piercing the skin of human fingers offered to them; and imbibition of blood continued for up to and hour. The proboscis, which ends in a sclerotised and strongly barbed point, can penetrate about six millimetres below the surface. The two halves of the proboscis work like two paralled saws moving alternately. While feeding is in progress, droplets of saliva exude at the base of the probiscis and run down the outside. Often some blood is regurgitated, then reabsorbed. The puncture causes itching, which can last for up to an hour, and local hardening of the tissue, which can persist for five weeks. By reason of its mode of feeding, C. eustrigata would appear to be a potential vector of disease, as the saliva and regurgitated fluids might transmit pathogenic agent

An unusually large and persistent male swarm of the stingless bee Tetragonula laeviceps in Thailand (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

At an entrance of a nest of Tetragonula laeviceps (Smith) located in Chiang Mai University campus we observed a male swarm that lasted for at least 40 consecutive days and contained more than 7000 males each time on several days. Surprisingly, harvesting the day’s totality of males did not reduce the swarm size on the following day, thus indicating that most males swarmed only one day, at the end of which they presumably perished from exhaustion away from the nest. Males of other species were also found in the swarm, a behavior corroborated by previous observations with other species elsewhere in Thailand

Prevention of vitamin K deficiency bleeding with three oral mixed micellar phylloquinone doses: results of a 6-year (2005-2011) surveillance in Switzerland

In 2003, the Swiss guidelines to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB) were adapted. As two oral doses (2mg, hour/day 4) of mixed micellar VK preparation had failed to abolish late VKDB, a third dose (week 4) was introduced. This report summarizes the new guidelines acceptance by Swiss pediatricians and the results of a prospective 6-year surveillance to study their influence on the incidence of VKDB. The new guidelines acceptance by Swiss pediatricians was evaluated by a questionnaire sent to all pediatricians of the Swiss Society of Paediatrics. With the help of the Swiss Paediatric Surveillance Unit, the incidence of VKDB was monitored prospectively from July 1, 2005 until June 30, 2011. Over a 6-year period (458,184 live births), there was one case of early and four cases of late VKDB. Overall incidence was 1.09/105 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.4-2.6). Late VKDB incidence was 0.87/105 (95% CI 0.24-2.24). All four infants with late VKDB had an undiagnosed cholestasis at the time of bleeding; parents of 3/4 had refused VK prophylaxis, and in 1/4, the third VK dose had been forgotten. Compared with historical control who had received only two oral doses of mixed micellar VK (18 cases for 475,372 live births), the incidence of late VKDB was significantly lower with three oral doses (Chi2,Yates correction, P = 0.007). Conclusion VKDB prophylaxis with 3 × 2mg oral doses of mixed micellar VK seems to prevent adequately infants from VKDB. The main risk factors for VKDB in breast-fed infants are parental VK prophylaxis refusal or an unknown cholestasi

Introducing the MiniPONS: A Short Multichannel Version of the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity (PONS)

Despite extensive research activity on the recognition of emotional expression, there are only few validated tests of individual differences in this competence (generally considered as part of nonverbal sensitivity and emotional intelligence). This paper reports the development of a short, multichannel, version (MiniPONS) of the established Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity (PONS) test. The full test has been extensively validated in many different cultures, showing substantial correlations with a large range of outcome variables. The short multichannel version (64 items) described here correlates very highly with the full version and shows reasonable construct validity through significant correlations with other tests of emotion recognition ability. Based on these results, the role of nonverbal sensitivity as part of a latent trait of emotional competence is discussed and the MiniPONS is suggested as a convenient method to perform a rapid screening of this central socioemotional competenc