The definition, measurement, and evaluation of tax expenditures and tax reliefs

Technical paper prepared for the National Audit Office © National Audit Office 2014Tax reliefs and tax expenditures are two closely related and overlapping concepts. The distinction between tax reliefs and tax expenditures is a subtle one and can only be clear after careful description of the two concepts. The first part of the report discusses how to define and categorise these concepts. Section 1 focuses upon the issue of how to define a tax expenditure and, therefore, how to distinguish a tax expenditure from a tax relief. This analysis is necessary since there is no consistency of definition in existing work or in practice. After a review of existing definitions a new definition of tax expenditures is proposed with the intention that it is useful for guiding categorisation. Section 2 reviews a number of alternative categorisations of tax expenditures and tax reliefs. Recommendations are made on the use of categorisations for the purposes of review and evaluation. The final section discusses characteristics that identify tax expenditures for review and proposes triggers for review

Estimating Small Area Income Deprivation: An Iterative Proportional Fitting Approach

Small area estimation and in particular the estimation of small area income deprivation has potential value in the development of new or alternative components of multiple deprivation indices. These new approaches enable the development of income distribution threshold based as opposed to benefit count based measures of income deprivation and so enable the alignment of regional and national measures such as the Households Below Average Income with small area measures. This paper briefly reviews a number of approaches to small area estimation before describing in some detail an iterative proportional fitting based spatial microsimulation approach. This approach is then applied to the estimation of small area HBAI rates at the small area level in Wales in 2003-5. The paper discusses the results of this approach, contrasts them with contemporary ‘official’ income deprivation measures for the same areas and describes a range of ways to assess the robustness of the results

Critical Casimir effect and wetting by helium mixtures

We have measured the contact angle of the interface of phase-separated $^{3}$He-$^{4}$He mixtures against a sapphire window. We have found that this angle is finite and does not tend to zero when the temperature approaches $T_t$, the temperature of the tri-critical point. On the contrary, it increases with temperature. This behavior is a remarkable exception to what is generally observed near critical points, i.e. "critical point wetting''. We propose that it is a consequence of the "critical Casimir effect'' which leads to an effective attraction of the $^{3}$He-$^{4}$He interface by the sapphire near $T_{t}$.Comment: submitted july 13 (2002), published march 20 (2003

Meaning behind measurement : self-comparisons affect responses to health related quality of life questionnaires

Purpose The subjective nature of quality of life is particularly pertinent to the domain of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) research. The extent to which participants’ responses are affected by subjective information and personal reference frames is unknown. This study investigated how an elderly population living with a chronic metabolic bone disorder evaluated self-reported quality of life. Methods Participants (n = 1,331) in a multi-centre randomised controlled trial for the treatment of Paget’s disease completed annual HRQOL questionnaires, including the SF-36, EQ-5D and HAQ. Supplementary questions were added to reveal implicit reference frames used when making HRQOL evaluations. Twenty-one participants (11 male, 10 female, aged 59–91 years) were interviewed retrospectively about their responses to the supplementary questions, using cognitive interviewing techniques and semi-structured topic guides. Results The interviews revealed that participants used complex and interconnected reference frames to promote response shift when making quality of life evaluations. The choice of reference frame often reflected external factors unrelated to individual health. Many participants also stated that they were unclear whether to report general or disease-related HRQOL. Conclusions It is important, especially in clinical trials, to provide instructions clarifying whether ‘quality of life’ refers to disease-related HRQOL. Information on selfcomparison reference frames is necessary for the interpretation of responses to questions about HRQOL.The Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorates, The PRISM funding bodies (the Arthritis Research Campaign, the National Association for the Relief of Paget’s disease and the Alliance for Better Bone Health)Peer reviewedAuthor final versio

How Big Will Our Farms Get? Report No. 2

Ten years ago, a study similar to the one reported here indicated that 240 acres were large enough to realize most of the cost economies coming from farm size alone. But machinery improvements since have changed the picture

Farm planning for maximum profits on the Cresco-Clyde soils in northeast Iowa, and comparison of farm and nonfarm incomes for beginning farmers (An application of linear programming)

This study is one of a series being made on different soil areas in Iowa. The purpose of these studies is to determine optimum plans for beginning farmers. from benchmark situations in each of the soil localities studied. The specific soil area selected for this study is the Cresco-Clyde soils in northeastern Iowa: The farm chosen to represent this soil area is located in Howard County. Farm size is 160 acres, with 135 acres cultivated. Service buildings on the farm include: sufficient storage space for all crops raised on the farm; 720 square feet of floor space for fattening hogs plus sufficient farrowing space in portable farrowing houses; barn space for 20 dairy cows; and poultry housing adequate for 200 hens with brooder house space for a corresponding number of baby chicks

Farm size and cost relationships in relation to recent machine technology: An analysis of potential farm change by static and game theoretic methods

This study includes estimates of the relation of more recent machine technology to per-unit costs of crop production for farms of different sizes. The types of new machine technology of particular interest include large-capacity equipment such as 4- and 6-row corn planting and cultivating equipment and picker-sheller harvesting machines. A hypothesis generally held by persons concerned with agriculture is that these large-capacity machines, with high fixed costs which must be spread over more acres, stand to cause an important increase in farm size. This study is based on data for the Carrington-Clyde soils in northeast Iowa and the Ida-Monona soils in western Iowa. Cost functions are estimated for farms of different sizes or acreages by budgeting procedures. More specifically, cost curves are derived as a function of acreage per farm. Losses in crop production resulting from untimely field operations are considered as costs for different acreages and are related to particular machine combinations. Parametric linear programming is used to permit analyses of livestock optimum enterprises and to consider the effect of subjective discounting of returns on size considerations. For decision making under risk and uncertainty, game theory models were employed to incorporate consideration of weather variations on optimal machinery-land or farm-size relationships

Taxing the Informal Economy: The Current State of Knowledge and Agendas for Future Research

This paper reviews the literature on taxation of the informal economy, taking stock of key debates and drawing attention to recent innovations. Conventionally, the debate on whether to tax has frequently focused on the limited revenue potential, high cost of collection, and potentially adverse impact on small firms. Recent arguments have increasingly emphasised the more indirect benefits of informal taxation in relation to economic growth, broader tax compliance, and governance. More research is needed, we argue, into the relevant costs and benefits for all, including quasi-voluntary compliance, political and administrative incentives for reform, and citizen-state bargaining over taxation

Combinations of rotations and fertilization to maximize crop profits on farms in north-central Iowa (An application of linear programming)

One problem of farmers is to reorganize the use of their resources as new farming techniques are developed. While not a new technique itself, heavy fertilization of grain crops has not been widespread in Iowa. Recent agronomic research and farmer experience indicate, however, that heavy fertilization rates can be profitable under existing price ratios. Fertilization is a relatively simple practice but it can have complex effects on profitable farm organization. One of the major impacts of heavy fertilization is on the rotation system. Grasses and legumes grown in rotation can serve in a complementary capacity to grains.2 As complementary crops, grasses and legumes increase profits to the extent that they (1) provide nitrogen to subsequent grain crops, (2) provide organic matter and improve soil tilth, (3) help control insects and diseases and (4) control erosion. Heavy fertilization substitutes for legumes of the rotation in providing nitrogen for subsequent grain crops. It also may substitute for forages in furnishing organic matter. An acre of heavily fertilized corn, for example, can furnish an equal or a greater weight of plant residues than an acre of clover or alfalfa under particular soil and climatic situations such as in north-central Iowa. Under these conditions, the questions arise: What rotation should be used when corn can be fertilized at heavy rates? Are the profit differences small or great from different crop rotations and fertilization rates? Does the optimum combination of rotations and fertilization rates differ between farms of different size which have varying amounts of operating funds and labor