A Review of Tax Experiments: from the Lab to the Field

Tax revenue mobilisation is attracting increasing attention among researchers and policymakers in developed and developing countries alike. There is widespread recognition that increasing tax revenues should be at the core of development strategies, with the aim of reducing dependence on foreign aid, increasing domestic resources to finance development plans, and stimulating transparency and accountability in government–citizen relations. The recent global financial crisis has certainly given momentum to the issue. On the one hand, it made fiscal matters central to the policy debate in developed countries, which resulted in a higher priority in the development debate as well. On the other hand, it made the possibility of scaled-down aid more concrete. For their part, developing countries – and particularly aid-dependent African countries – have been giving higher priority to domestic revenue mobilisation. This has resulted in widespread reforms on the policy side (most notably with the introduction of value added tax, or VAT) and on the administration side (with the establishment of semi-autonomous revenue authorities, among other initiatives, to modernise tax administration).UK Department for International Developmen

Perspectives from the Field: SDC Cooperation for Property Taxation

This paper reviews three projects implemented in the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation’s (SDC) Democratisation, Decentralisation and Local Governance Network (DDLGN) that aim to provide incentives for local governments to increase tax compliance and revenues. The investigation focuses on three projects that aim to improve local revenue mobilisation: (1) a competition among municipalities in Serbia, (2) a performance-based grant system in Kosovo, and (3) a project on municipal social accountability in Mozambique. By doing this, we highlight practical problems and obstacles linked to the collection of property tax, and pragmatic ways in which local tax revenues can be boosted.SDC-DDLG Networ

Higher Education Training in social work in Albania: insights from the experiences ofthe T@sk project - by Giulia Mascagni and Giorgia Bulli

In March 2020, the European Union decided to open accession negotiations with Albania, candidate country since 2014. In order to achieve this important goal in the long path of European integration, Albania had to pursue a set of requirements. Among them, the centrality of human rights affects the implementation of policies aiming at integrating minorities, as well as at granting social rights to unprivileged citizens (La Cava Nanetti 2000, Solidar 2016). In this scenario, the evolution of the professional expertise of Albanian social workers plays a relevant role. In academic and professional terms, social work has a poor tradition in Albania, as in most of post-communist countries (Hoti 2015). In order to face the difficulties of the professional and academic evolution of social work and to facilitate a process of Europeanisation of the Social Services delivery in Albania, the European Commission has funded the project T@sk Towards Increased Awareness, Responsibility and Shared Quality in Social work (2017-2020). The main aim of the project consists in strengthening the delivery of Social Services in Albania through the empowerment of the Higher Education system in social work. The consortium includes all public universities offering BA and MA courses in social work in Albania – University of Tirana, University of Shkoder and University of Elbasan –, and the University of Florence, the UCM of Madrid, the ISCTE of Lisbon and the Professional Order of Social workers of the Tuscany Region as Higher Education institutions of the program countries. The project operates at three levels: peer-to peer theoretical and empirical update amongst the project partners; triangulation of knowledge, transdisciplinary cooperation with the societal stakeholders and digital innovation; selection and dissemination of best practices. The project was concluded in December 2020 and it is possible to elaborate on the main theoretical and empirical framework adopted, on the results achieved, and on the challenges to create a favorable environment for the development of social work profession in Albania. The article sheds light in the pattern of evolution of social work practices in Albania, focusing on the social and cultural background of the country, and describing the main achievements of the T@sk project

Tax Experiments in Developing Countries: A Critical Review and Reflections on Feasibility

This CDI Practice Paper by Giulia Mascagni provides a critical assessment of the literature on tax experiments to date. It examines the main conceptual, methodological and data-related challenges, and provides practical reflections on how to move forward in low- and middle-income countries where this type of research is still underdeveloped. It offers a guide for practitioners on the main challenges in quantitative research on tax compliance and on the methods used tackle them, which may be of interest for evaluation research more generally.UK Department for International Developmen

Comparative genome-wide analysis of repetitive DNA in the genus Populus L.

Genome skimming was performed, using Illumina sequence reads, in order to obtain a detailed comparative picture of the repetitive component of the genome of Populus species. Read sets of seven Populus and two Salix species (as outgroups) were subjected to clustering using RepeatExplorer (Novák et al. BMC Bioinformatics 11:378 2010). The repetitive portion of the genome ranged from 33.8 in Populus nigra to 46.5% in Populus tremuloides. The large majority of repetitive sequences were long terminal repeat-retrotransposons. Gypsy elements were over-represented compared to Copia ones, with a mean ratio Gypsy to Copia of 6.7:1. Satellite DNAs showed a mean genome proportion of 2.2%. DNA transposons and ribosomal DNA showed genome proportions of 1.8 and 1.9%, respectively. The other repeat types accounted for less of 1% each. Long terminal repeat-retrotransposons were further characterized, identifying the lineage to which they belong and studying the proliferation times of each lineage in the different species. The most abundant lineage was Athila, which showed large differences among species. Concerning Copia lineages, similar transpositional profiles were observed among all the analysed species; by contrast, differences in transpositional peaks of Gypsy lineages were found. The genome proportions of repeats were compared in the seven species, and a phylogenetic tree was built, showing species separation according to the botanical section to which the species belongs, although significant differences could be found within sections, possibly related to the different geographical origin of the species. Overall, the data indicate that the repetitive component of the genome in the poplar genus is still rapidly evolving

Decoding the Genomic Landscape of Pomegranate: A Genome-Wide Analysis of Transposable Elements and Their Structural Proximity to Functional Genes

Transposable elements (TEs) significantly drive dynamic changes that characterize genome evolution. However, understanding the variability associated with TE insertions among different cultivars remains challenging. The pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) has yet to be extensively studied regarding the roles of TEs in the diversification of cultivars. Herein, we explored the genome distribution of TEs and its potential functional implications among four pomegranate cultivars, ‘Bhagwa’, ‘Dabenzi’, ‘Taishanhong’ and ‘Tunisia’, whose genome sequences are available. A total of 8404 full-length TEs were isolated. The content of TEs varied among the cultivars, ranging from 41.67% of ‘Taishanhong’ to 52.45% of ‘Bhagwa’. In all cultivars, the Gypsy superfamily of retrotransposons accounted for a larger genome proportion than the Copia superfamily. Seventy-three full-length TEs were found at the same genomic loci in all four cultivars. By contrast, 947, 297, 311, and 874 TEs were found exclusively in ‘Bhagwa’, ‘Dabenzi’, ‘Taishanhong’, and ‘Tunisia’ cultivars, respectively. Phylogenetic clustering based on the presence of TE insertions in specific loci reflected the geographic origins of the cultivars. The insertion time profiles of LTR-REs were studied in the four cultivars. Shared elements across the four cultivars exhibited, on average, a more ancient insertion date than those exclusive to three, two, or one cultivars. The majority of TEs were located within 1000 bp from the nearest gene. This localization was observed for 57% of DNA TEs and 55% of long-terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTR-RE). More than 10% of TEs resulted inserted within genes. Concerning DNA TEs, 3.91% of insertions occurred in introns, while 2.42% occurred in exons. As to LTR-REs, 4% of insertions occurred in exons and 1.98% in introns. Functional analysis of the genes lying close to TEs was performed to infer if differences in TE insertion can affect the fruit quality. Two TE insertions were found close to two genes encoding 4-coumarate--CoA ligase, an enzyme involved in the phenylpropanoid pathway. Moreover, a TIR/Mariner element was found within the exon of a gene encoding anthocyanidin reductase in the ‘Tunisia’ genotype, crucial in the biosynthesis of flavan-3-ols and proanthocyanidins, strictly correlated with the nutraceutical properties of pomegranate. Although functional and metabolomic studies are essential to elucidate the consequences of TE insertions, these results contribute to advancing our comprehension of the role of TEs in pomegranate genomics, providing insights for crop breeding

How an ancient, salt-tolerant fruit crop, Ficus carica L., copes with salinity: a transcriptome analysis

Although Ficus carica L. (fig) is one of the most resistant fruit tree species to salinity, no comprehensive studies are currently available on its molecular responses to salinity. Here we report a transcriptome analysis of F. carica cv. Dottato exposed to 100 mM sodium chloride for 7 weeks, where RNA-seq analysis was performed on leaf samples at 24 and 48 days after the beginning of salinization; a genomederived fig transcriptome was used as a reference. At day 24, 224 transcripts were significantly upregulated and 585 were down-regulated, while at day 48, 409 genes were activated and 285 genes were repressed. Relatively small transcriptome changes were observed after 24 days of salt treatment, showing that fig plants initially tolerate salt stress. However, after an early down-regulation of some cell functions, major transcriptome changes were observed after 48 days of salinity. Seven weeks of 100 mM NaCl dramatically changed the repertoire of expressed genes, leading to activation or reactivation of many cell functions. We also identified salt-regulated genes, some of which had not been previously reported to be involved in plant salinity responses. These genes could be potential targets for the selection of favourable genotypes, through breeding or biotechnology, to improve salt tolerance in fig or other crops

Characterisation of LTR-Retrotransposons of Stevia rebaudiana and Their Use for the Analysis of Genetic Variability

Stevia rebaudiana is one of the most important crops belonging to the Asteraceae family. Stevia is cultivated all over the world as it represents a valid natural alternative to artificial sweeteners thanks to its leaves, which produce steviol glycosides that have high sweetening power and reduced caloric value. In this work, the stevia genome sequence was used to isolate and characterise full-length long-terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTR-REs), which account for more than half of the genome. The Gypsy retrotransposons were twice as abundant as the Copia ones. A disproportionate abundance of elements belonging to the Chromovirus/Tekay lineage was observed among the Gypsy elements. Only the SIRE and Angela lineages represented significant portions of the genome among the Copia elements. The dynamics with which LTR-REs colonised the stevia genome were also estimated; all isolated full-length elements turned out to be relatively young, with a proliferation peak around 1–2 million years ago. However, a different analysis conducted by comparing sequences encoding retrotranscriptase showed the occurrence of an older period in which there was a lot of LTR-RE proliferation. Finally, a group of isolated full-length elements belonging to the lineage Angela was used to analyse the genetic variability in 25 accessions of S. rebaudiana using the Inter-Retrotransposon Amplified Polymorphism (IRAP) protocol. The obtained fingerprints highlighted a high degree of genetic variability and were used to study the genomic structures of the different accessions. It was hypothesised that there are four ancestral subpopulations at the root of the analysed accessions, which all turned out to be admixed. Overall, these data may be useful for genome sequence annotations and for evaluating genetic variability in this species, which may be useful in stevia breeding

Selective anti-leukaemic activity of low-dose histone deacetylase inhibitor ITF2357 on AML1/ETO-positive cells

n/