The tax base in transition : the case of Bulgaria

The transition from socialism characteristically reduces existing tax revenues at the same time that it increases the need for government spending. An increasing need for revenue combined with an eroding tax base creates a transition-related fiscal gap and a challenge for tax policy. The solution, say the authors, is not to lay a heavier tax burden on new private firms. The issue is how to meet revenue needs without inhibiting private sector development. Large-scale tax evasion in the private sector - the de facto outcome in Bulgaria and in many other transitional economies - may be a good incentive for development of private enterprise, but it is illegal and inequitable to wage-earners and salaried workers. The chief means of increasing tax revenue are to: (1) reduce tax rates to decrease the benefit of evasion; (2) improve tax administration (to increase tax coverage and better dectect evasion); and (3) increase penalties for evasion. These three measures effectively decrease the benefits and increase the cost of tax evasion to economic agents. It takes time to improve tax administration, however. Given administrative limitations, what should the tax structure be? The authors contend that an administratively feasible system designed to encourage development of the private sector during the transition should: (i) be simple, not complex or oversophisticated; (ii) be administratively implementable with current resources; (iii) impose a low tax burden on all economic agents; (iv) rely on broad tax bases with minimum exemptions; (v) begin the long-term improvement of tax administration; and (vi) limit the severity of tax penalties in the transition from an authoritarian to a democratic regime. In theory, reducing the cost of compliance and increasing the expected cost of noncompliance should reduce tax evasion and increase tax revenue. In practice, small businesses and self-employed citizens tend to evade taxes, providing an effective zero tax base. The government has little to lose from reducing taxes on the self-employed but, to be equitable, it should reduce taxes for everyone. As a general rule, say the authors, economies in transition should impose lower tax burdens than are imposed in mature western market economies. It may also reduce the perception of"exploitation"by giving the impression of a more modest government consistent with the dynamic private sector led economy.Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,National Governance,Municipal Financial Management

Review of R and D on Water Hyacinth Utilization in the Philippine Republic

The operations of a Filipino inventor were observed with a view toward determining the technical-economic potential of his hyacinth utilization concepts if the highly fibrous portion of the plant were separated from the other components. Subjects of particular interest include: (1) water hyacinth harvesting techniques, volumes and costs; (2) hyacinth defibering processes; and (3) uses of hyacinth materials for production of animal feeds, paper fibers, particle boards, acoustic and insulation boards, various vitamins and minerals (especially Vitamin A), food products, pesticides, and medicinal and pharmaceutical products

Nondestructive assessment of penetration of electron-beam welds

Empirical method correlates penetration of an electron-beam weld with external measurements of the weld. Empirical polygon accurately confirms full-penetration welds while a second, larger polygon provides for penetration of welds near the tip

Genetic Health and Population Viability of Reintroduced American Marten in Michigan

American marten (Martes americana) were extirpated from Michigan’s Lower Peninsula (LP) in 1911, and subsequently from the Upper Peninsula (UP) in 1939 due to habitat loss and unregulated trapping. The species was later reintroduced in the UP in the mid-1950s, and to the LP in the mid-1980s. Previous research has determined the small founding sizes used in the LP reintroductions have resulted in losses of genetic diversity, while research in the UP has produced discordant results concerning the effects of the reintroduction methods on genetic health and population structure. Since past research of marten in the LP, no additional reintroductions have occurred to mitigate further diversity loss, and little is known of the current status of marten genetic health or long-term population viability. The objectives of this research were to reevaluate the current genetic health of marten in Michigan, and determine the long-term population viability of marten in the Manistee National Forest (MNF). Microsatellite markers were used to calculate estimates of genetic health, and population viability analysis (PVA) was performed to determine viability over the next 100 years. Results of this research indicate the reintroduced marten populations in Michigan’s LP display evidence of genetic diversity loss due to small founding size and isolation in a fragmented habitat. Marten exhibited low levels of allelic richness, effective breeding size, and showed increases in inbreeding levels when compared to previous marten research. Marten in Michigan’s eastern UP also displayed signs of reduced genetic diversity, which was congruent with previous findings indicating population structuring reflective of multiple source locations. PVA indicated the MNF population was likely to maintain demographic viability, but would lose genetic viability within the next 100 years, although the use of non-population specific reproduction and survival rates may have overestimated viability results. It is recommended further research take place to identify factors that may be limiting population growth in marten populations of the LP. A translocation of marten to the LP populations is also recommended to mitigate further genetic diversity loss and preserve long-term viability of marten in Michigan

Heller, Citizenship, and the Right to Serve in the Military

District of Columbia v. Heller could prove a turning point not in the law governing the right to keep and bear arms, but governing the right to serve in the military. Heller\u27s reasoning, notwithstanding the Court\u27s efforts to constrain its analysis from reaching a right to serve, should lead to a reconsideration of military service as a broadly-held and long-recognized constitutional right. Because of the political meaning of military service and the changes that have altered the role and make-up of the military in the United States, the Second Amendment ought to be read, in the wake of Heller, as protecting American citizens\u27 right to military service. This Essay furthers that argument by exploring two critical contexts in which Heller was written: the link between full citizenship and military service and the demographic, technological, and geopolitical changes that have remade the U.S. military since its colonial origins. Today\u27s Second Amendment, like today\u27s military, must protect far more than it once did. All qualified citizens-regardless of gender or sexual orientation-hold the right to military service