Tax Levels, Structures, and Reforms: Convergence or Persistence

One of the central issues in comparative law and political economy is whether the forces of globalization will result in the convergence of public policies across countries. Noting in particular that taxes collected still cover a considerable range across industrialized countries -from a low of 20% of GDP to a high of 50% - some have argued that globalization has not resulted in a loss of tax sovereignty. However following a review of the evidence, in this Article we conclude that globalization has had significant but subtle effects on tax levels and structures. Moreover these pressures will make it increasingly difficult for countries to raise revenue to finance new public needs and to structure their tax systems in order to achieve a more socially acceptable distribution of income than what market forces dictate. Tax levels in most countries have remained essentially flat over the past twenty years, but there is a host of reasons for thinking they would have continued to rise were it not for the pressures of globalization. Statutory corporate tax rates have declined dramatically and, although corporate tax revenues have remained robust, this has been due to factors unrelated to deliberate tax policy choices. Personal marginal tax rates have also declined sharply and tax revenues have been increasingly raised by regressive consumption taxes. These trends stem from tax competition brought on by the forces of globalization, not from changing ideas or other political variables. In this Article we conclude that in order to prevent tax competition from completely eroding the ability of countries to fashion their own tax systems, there will have to be considerable cooperation among the major countries and some harmonization of aspects of their tax systems, particularly as they apply to footloose factors of production

GAAR in Action: An Empirical Exploration of Tax Court of Canada Cases (1997-2009) and Judicial Decision Making

This article presents a modest, exploratory empirical study of Canada’s general antiavoidance rule (GARR) in action. The study examines the entire body of GAAR cases decided by the Tax Court of Canada in the period 1997-2009, as well as certain personal and societal attributes of the judges who decided these cases. The findings support three tentative conclusions. First, GAAR has been a game changer, albeit a modest one, with respect to the courts’ approach to tax-avoidance cases. Second, while considerable uncertainty remains with respect to the application of GAAR, a pattern in judicial decisions appears to be emerging. Third, there are indications that a judicial smell test is at play in some GAAR decisions, in particular, judicial decision making in GAAR cases appears to have been influenced by the judge’s attributes, including experience on the Tax Court, gender, preappointment experience, and regional ties. Because the data sets examined in the study are very small, these findings are by no means conclusive. Nevertheless, the hope is that they will help to advance empirical understanding of GAAR in action

GAAR in Action: An Empirical Exploration of Tax Court of Canada Cases (1997-2009) and Judicial Decision Making

This article presents a modest, exploratory empirical study of Canada’s general antiavoidance rule (GARR) in action. The study examines the entire body of GAAR cases decided by the Tax Court of Canada in the period 1997-2009, as well as certain personal and societal attributes of the judges who decided these cases. The findings support three tentative conclusions. First, GAAR has been a game changer, albeit a modest one, with respect to the courts’ approach to tax-avoidance cases. Second, while considerable uncertainty remains with respect to the application of GAAR, a pattern in judicial decisions appears to be emerging. Third, there are indications that a judicial smell test is at play in some GAAR decisions, in particular, judicial decision making in GAAR cases appears to have been influenced by the judge’s attributes, including experience on the Tax Court, gender, preappointment experience, and regional ties. Because the data sets examined in the study are very small, these findings are by no means conclusive. Nevertheless, the hope is that they will help to advance empirical understanding of GAAR in action

Scaling up mental healthcare in the Republic of Niger: priorities for and barriers to service improvement

As part of a pilot programme to scale up community mental health services, local health centre directors, community health workers and key informants were interviewed in two neighbouring political districts of Niger. Major priorities for improving services included training staff on the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, collaborating with traditional healers, educating the community about the origins of psychiatric illness and building infrastructure for medication delivery. Barriers to care included long distances for travel to the nearest hospital and lack of funding for home-based visits by health workers. This study was the first step in Niger's plan to implement the World Health Organization's Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) at a national level.</jats:p

Integrating Dispersion Modeling, Receptor Modeling and Air Monitoring to Apportion Incinerator Impacts for Exposure Assessment

An approach combining air quality measurements, GIS technique, receptor and dispersion modeling to apportion the impact of incinerator sources to individuals living in surrounding neighborhoods is presented. This technique is applied to a Health and Clean Air Study investigating the respiratory effects of air emissions associated with 3 types of waste incinerators-biomedical waste and municipal waste incinerators, and a hazardous waste burning furnace. Six communities were grouped in three pairs with one study community surrounding each waste incinerator source and one community located a few kilometers away as a control. Human subjects recorded their peak respiratory flow rate twice a day along with other information in a diary for 35 days per year for three years. Simultaneously, at an ambient monitoring site in each community, PM 2.5, PM 10, acid gases and trace metals were measured twice a day along with hourly windspeed and direction at a 10 meter tower. Subjects and sampling towers were physically gridded with a GIS technique. The Chemical Mass Balance receptor modeling was used with air quality data to determine the contribution of the incinerator source to each monitoring site. The dispersion modeling predictions were compared with CMB source contribution estimates and the air monitoring measurements to scale modeling estimates and to separate incinerator source contributions. The air quality assessment will be used to investigate relationships with the peak flow measurements.Master of Science in Public Healt

Tax Levels, Structures, and Reforms: Convergence or Persistence

One of the central issues in comparative law and political economy is whether the forces of globalization will result in the convergence of public policies across countries. Noting in particular that taxes collected still cover a considerable range across industrialized countries -from a low of 20% of GDP to a high of 50% - some have argued that globalization has not resulted in a loss of tax sovereignty. However following a review of the evidence, in this Article we conclude that globalization has had significant but subtle effects on tax levels and structures. Moreover these pressures will make it increasingly difficult for countries to raise revenue to finance new public needs and to structure their tax systems in order to achieve a more socially acceptable distribution of income than what market forces dictate. Tax levels in most countries have remained essentially flat over the past twenty years, but there is a host of reasons for thinking they would have continued to rise were it not for the pressures of globalization. Statutory corporate tax rates have declined dramatically and, although corporate tax revenues have remained robust, this has been due to factors unrelated to deliberate tax policy choices. Personal marginal tax rates have also declined sharply and tax revenues have been increasingly raised by regressive consumption taxes. These trends stem from tax competition brought on by the forces of globalization, not from changing ideas or other political variables. In this Article we conclude that in order to prevent tax competition from completely eroding the ability of countries to fashion their own tax systems, there will have to be considerable cooperation among the major countries and some harmonization of aspects of their tax systems, particularly as they apply to footloose factors of production

The Incentive Mechanism with RFID Technology for Suppliers to Design Environmentally-Friendly Electrical and Electronic Equipment

AbstractTaiwan EPA has promulgated Resource Recycling Act in 2002, which is formulated to conserve natural resources, reduce waste, promote recycling and reuse of materials, mitigate environmental loading, and build a society in which resources are used in a sustainable manner. [1] Since 1998, the recycling of waste large household appliances such as televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, and air conditioners, etc. has been implemented; waste electric fans and waste computer keyboards were also included in 2007. Although recycling in Taiwan initiated early, whether waste electrical and electronic equipment recycling is just the process of decomposition, recycling, incineration, and landfill, rather than extending the product lifespan, need further studies to confirm that.The Recycling Fund Management Board takes charge of the operation of recycling mechanism in Taiwan. The funds mostly paid by the businesses as the recycling, clearance and disposal fees. Such fees now are unified under the same products specifications. The existed system can’t provide products under the same specifications but with longer lifespan more preferential fees, which means that there is no incentive for the suppliers to improve the design of products.With Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) inserted in, the household appliances will not only have the basic information about the product, but also can keep track of the purchase and maintenance record, as well as the disposal date and location, during the use stage of that product. Such record provides information on the service life of the product, and the recycling fees paid by businesses could be returned relative to the lifetime to the consumers accordingly. The new mechanism incentives the suppliers to consider the product durability in design and manufacture stages that helps achieve the goal to make products decomposable, recyclable, and lifetime extended

Outcomes in Baby Deliveries among Pregnant Ebola Survivors

Greater El Monte Community Hospital (GEMCH), the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services assisted in the first documented case of Ebola survivor delivery in the United States. A descriptive qualitative review of GEMCH’s events and the limited documented cases of outcomes of baby deliveries among EVD survivors is discussed. Limited resources and capacity in many developing countries impact adversely on the outcomes of the EVD survivors and their neonates. Three lessons for public health workers emerge: (1) the need for the United States to strengthen their capability to manage EVD cases and other highly contagious and severe infectious diseases; (2) the revealing that EVD survivors can deliver normal, EVD free babies when using the recommended guidelines; (3) The need for health care workers to adopt and share the practical procedures in the Recommended Guidelines by the CDC and LADPH from this event are useful and can be shared with the medical fraternity. This case illustrates that EVD survivors can be equally accepted and treated with success at designated health facilities. Demystifying Ebola and eliminating social stigma surrounding the disease is crucial in this undertaking