Is VAT also a corporate tax? Untangling tax burdens and benefits for companies

The Great Financial Crisis has increased concerns about whether corporations are paying a ‘fair’ amount of tax in different countries. This begs the question of what a ‘fair’ amount of tax is. The question is complicated by the continuing lack of clarity about the economic incidence of corporate income tax. Recently, it has been argued that the location of the sales revenue (turnover) of a corporation is relevant in determining the fair allocation. Of course, in many countries there is already a tax based on sales, value-added tax (VAT), also called goods and services tax (GST). This paper explores an illustration, arising from a series of cases before the European Court of Justice, of how VAT can impose a burden on corporations. The illustration raises issues of principle for VAT, but also offers lessons about how we tax corporations, particularly given proposals such as for digital sales taxes in the EU and the idea of a destination-based cash-flow tax included in legislative proposals in the US in 2016. This article explores the puzzles raised by the illustration and shows how it can throw light not only on the nature of VAT but also on the incidence of corporate income tax

Motions of no confidence : parliament’s executive check and checkmate

In the chess game that is multi-party politics a motion of no confidence is an important manoeuvre up the sleeve of any member of the legislature in most parliamentary systems. Not only the motion as such, but also the timing of the motion, may be used to the fullest advantage by opposition parties (and, of course, to the disadvantage of the government in power at the time). Recently there has been renewed interest in the mechanism of motions of no confidence following the constitutional court decision in Mazibuko v Sisulu. A motion of no confidence is an important feature of the parliamentary procedures of the British Westminster system and it is therefore also an important mechanism in many other parliamentary systems which have been modelled on the Westminster system, including South Africa. Usually a motion of no confidence may be introduced in parliament by any member of the legislature and it would then be debated and voted on by parliament. If the motion is adopted this usually entails that the head of government and his or her cabinet members have to resign, since the executive needs the support of the majority of members in parliament to remain in power. The importance of the mechanism of a motion of no confidence is therefore twofold. Firstly, it is one of the most important legislative control mechanisms to ensure accountability of the executive to the legislature. Secondly, it gives effect to the constitutional principle underlying most parliamentary systems that the executive remains in power only with the support of the majority of the members in the legislature. Unfortunately it seems as if the latter principle could be neglected in favour of the former – the Mazibuko judgment being a case in point

Brand Activism and Democratic Legitimacy: Exploring Pitfalls through a Habermasian Analysis

Brand activism has emerged as a prominent practice among corporations, as they publicly take a stand on contentious socio-political issues such as gender inequality, climate change, or discrimination, often through advertising. While extensive research has been conducted on the impact of brand activism as a marketing tool, examining its effects on sales, brand image, consumer attitudes, and authenticity, only a limited number of studies have studied its influence on public debate and processes of democratic legitimation. The latter have portrayed brand activism as an empowering force for the supported social movements, the public sphere, and democratic legitimacy, largely ignoring the consideration of potential negative effects. To address this gap, Habermas’s political theory and Nancy Fraser’s ideas on the resignification of feminist discourse are applied to ‘femvertising’ (feminist advertising). Fraser’s ideas show how feminist values within femvertsing and the cultural progress they spurred, have paradoxically come to legitimate an institutional order that runs counter to feminist visions of a just society. Since this institutional order is based on power structures in which corporations flourish, brand activism should be understood as a form of ‘opinion management’ in the Habermasian sense of the word. Applying Fraser’s ideas moreover shows how brand activism complicates the problems associated with ‘regular’ public relations. By claiming to be activist, yet legitimating existing power structures, brand activism is not merely depoliticizing but also incapacitating resistance from within. These findings demonstrate how brand activism might be detrimental to public opinion formation and the democratic legitimacy of our institutional order, but also that Habermas might be overly optimistic in his confidence in civil society

The auxilia of the Roman Army raised in the Iberian Peninsula

This thesis deals with a group of regiments of the auxilia of the Roman imperial army raised in the Iberian peninsula. Initially the discussion covers general principles concerning the interpretation of evidence connected with the Roman auxiliary army. The following section deals with the stages by which the auxiliary army came to be an official part of the military strength of Rome. Reasons are given for considering separately the auxilia originating in north-west Tarraconensis, and suggestions are made about the dates of formation of the series of regiments raised there. The histories of individual alae and cohorts from the Iberian peninsula are set out under three headings: those from Tarraconensis (excluding the north-west); those from the north-west; and those levied in Lusitania. Their movements are traced through epigraphic and archaeological evidence until the records cease. Finally some general observations are made on the history of the Roman auxiliary army from the study of 20% of its total strength. Two appendices treat matters relevant to the discussion of individual regiments to which reference has been made in the text

The witnesses to Roman military diplomata

Rekrutacija za pomožne enote rimske vojske je potekala predvsem med peregrini in je v največji meri temeljila na prostovoljnem vpisu, zadosten dotok prostovoljcev pa je zagotavljala ugodnost, da so si pridobili rimsko državljanstvo in conubium. Da so ta privilegij lahko izkazali, so vojaki pomožnih enot in veterani rimske flote dobivali od Klavdija dalje diplomata militaria, na katerih so bile pridobljene pravice uradno zapisane. Tekst je bil napisan na notranji strani obeh ploščic in ponovljen na zunanji strani le ene, medtem ko je druga zunanja stran nosila podpise sedmih prič, ki so potrjevale točnost kopije, ekscerpirane iz originala v Rimu. Enaka diplomata, ki so zagotavljala le pridobitev pravice do conubium, so bila izdana veteranom mestnih enot Rima (Praetoriani, Urbani) in jih od drugod ne poznamo (izjema je CIL XVI 133). Tekst diplom je preprost: »Cesar z datumom tribunicia potestas in drugimi naslovi) podeljuje rimsko državljanstvo in pravico poroke onemu, ki služi (ali je služil) v tej in tej enoti« in se nadaljuje s podatki o prejemniku ter datumom podelitve. Diplomata, izdana vojakom pomožnih enot po 1. 193, niso znana, veteranom rim ske flote so jih izdajali najmanj do 1. 250, veteranom mestnih enot pa do 1. 306. Glede na število vojakov, ki so dopolnili službeno dobo, je bilo izdanih od flavijske do sredine antoninske dobe samo za vojake pomožnih enot letno najmanj 2000 diplom. Število diplom vseh vrst, izdanih od Klavdija do Dioklecijana, znaša računamo, od 250 do 500 tisoč. Od teh se jih je ohranilo zelo malo. 257 je objavljenih v CIL XVI (1936) in suplementu XVI (1955). Kar je bilo najdenih po objavi suplementa, objavlja avtor na seznamu 1. Imena prič so ohranjena vsega na 120 diplomah (seznam 2 ). Povprečno se je na 3—4000 prič ohranila imensko po ena, vendar je njih sestava tako dosledna, da je morala biti analogna na vseh izgubljenih. Vrstni red in označbe prič pa kažejo določene spremembe. V prvem obdobju (do 73/74) so vse priče vojaški tovariši in rojaki prejemnika, vendar seznami kažejo, da niso imele nikakršne zveze z vojaško enoto prejemnika. Res je, da so vse v vojaški službi in da so večinoma iz iste province kot prejemnik, niso pa vse iz istega rodu vojske in niti niso bližnji sosedje. Domneva, da so bile diplome izdajane v provincah, ne more biti ne ovržena in ne potrjena. Precizne reference, znane le iz tega obdobja, kažejo, da so priče same preverjale original oz. kopijo. Ob številnih vojakih v samem Rimu ni bilo težko najti primerne osebe za podpis. Navado, da so podpisniki izhajali iz iste province kot prejemnik, je odpravil Vespazijan. Z Vespazijanovo reformo se prenese odgovornost overjanja diplome na pisarje državnega urada. Reforma se krije z letom 73/74. Diploma z dne 21. m aja 74 že nosi ime priče (Atinius Rufus), ki je nato v obdobju desetih let podpisala osem znanih diplom in je m orala imeti funkcijo pisarja. Vendar pa podpisniki diplom vse do Hadrijanove reforme ne podpisujejo v nikakršnem utrjenem zaporedju. V istem času se premeni tudi tekst diplom (cf. Géza Alföldy v Historia 17 [1968] 215 in John Mann v Epigraphische Studien 9 [1972] 233). Tretje obdobje (od 133/138 naprej) označujejo Hadrijanove reforme, prehod v to fazo je posebej prikazan na tabeli 2 A. Najbolj očitna sprememba je strogo določen vrstni red podpisovanja prič po stopnjah, ki jih imajo statuti v scrinium. Aurelius Victor {Epitome de Caesaribus 14, 10—12) navaja, da je vzpostavil Hadrijan sistem imenovanja, tako v civilni kot v vojaški sferi, ki velja še v njegovem času. Reforme v civilni sferi obravnava H. G. Pflaum, v vojaški sferi pa Eric Birley1 Najbolj informativni so glede stopenj v administraciji kodeksi in najbolj pregledno je te podatke zbral A. H. M. Jones.2 V poznem imperiju ima scrinium določeno število nameščencev, statuti in supernumerarii, s tem da ima vsak pisar {exceptor) možnost napredovanja po stopnjah, dokler ne postane proximus in načeluje scrinium. Z njegovim odhodom se vsi statuti povzpnejo za stopnjo navzgor, izpraznjeno najnižje mesto pa je ponujeno naj starejšemu med supernumerarii. Ta sistem se sklada z razvrstitvijo prič na diplomah. Tretjina znanih seznamov prič (tabela 3) pa kaže, da so včasih lahko supernumerarii preskočili nekaj mest in se pojavili kot priče pred nekaj starimi statuti. Vprašanja, kateremu uradu so pripadali podpisovalci diplom, se ne da popolnoma rešiti; najverjetneje so pripadali oddelku v uradu ab epistulis, čigar kompetence je najpopolneje navedel Statius, Silvae, 5, 1, in pojasnil Suetonius, Divi Vespasiani, 4, 1. Analiza imen in podatkov prič na diplomah izkazuje še drugačne spremembe. Pred Vespazijanom so bile vse priče vojaške osebe, katerih status je segal od navadnih vojakov do Eques Romanus. Priče iz flavijskega in Trajanovega časa so, kot kažejo imena, izvirale iz nižjih slojev. Številna so grška cognomina, tedaj še redka med premožnejšimi osebami, ter latinska in provincialna cognomina, običajno vezana, na nižje sloje (Augustalis, Cinnamus, Expectatus, Pietas, Verecundus ipd.). Že v Trajanovem času pride do pomembne spremembe. Nič več se ne pojavljajo cesarska nomina, po 1. 107 se ne pojavljajo več nova nomina in cognomina nižjih slojev, grška cognomina pa so vezana na že znana nomina. Po 1. 134 se te tendence še okrepijo. Novih cesarskih nomina takorekoč ni in grška cognomina so redka. Z redkimi izjemami bi bila imena tedanjih prič lahko na seznamih senatorjev in equites. Teoretično bi bile te osebe lahko osvobojenci, vendar odsotnost cesarskih nomina izključuje to možnost. Najverjetneje so bile priče, podpisane na diplomah, od Hadrijana dalje, osebe z uglednim družbenim položajem, verjetno scribae. Njih status pa se verjetno ni mnogo razlikoval od statusa njih naslednikov v poznem imperiju, z nazivi vicarii, consulares (4. stol.) in clarissimi, comites consistorii (5. stol.). Analize diplom kažejo razvoj malega dela rimske administracije. Same po sebi diplome ne kažejo, v kakšnem obsegu so spremembe, ki so jih zadevale, zajemale celotno rimsko administracijo, vendar pa navedbe Aurelija Viktorja, kodeksov in poznejših tekstov kažejo, da so Hadrijanove in verjetno tudi Vespazijanove reforme zajele celotno administracijo. Če je tako, potem kažejo spremembe pri diplomah vsaj okvirno na vzporedne spremembe v drugih uradih. Analize diplom lahko tako služijo analizam bolj fragmentarnih, predvsem epigrafskih spomenikov, seveda pa tudi preciznejši določitvi novo odkritih in že objavljenih diplom (primer CIL XVI 127)

RESENTIMIENTO E IDEACIÓN SUICIDA EN MUJERES VÍCTIMAS DE VIOLENCIA

La presente investigación es de tipo no experimental cuantitativo transversal, de diseño correlacional, tuvo por objetivo determinar la relación entre resentimiento e ideación suicida en mujeres víctimas de violencia del Centro de Emergencia de la Mujer de Chiclayo, 2018, para la muestra se utilizó un muestreo no probabilístico, en el cual se seleccionaron 50 mujeres que hayan registrado ser víctimas de violencia en el Centro de Emergencia de la Mujer de la Ciudad de Chiclayo, considerando algunos criterios de inclusión y exclusión descritos en el desarrollo de la investigación, a quienes se aplicaron dos instrumentos, la escala de resentimiento de Ramón León y Cecilia Romero (1988), así como la escala de riesgo suicida de Aaron Beck adaptado por Huamani (2008). Luego de obtener los datos de ambas pruebas, se determinaron los resultados haciendo uso del estadístico Gamma, encontrando correlación altamente significativa a un nivel p < 0.01, es decir, mientras mayores niveles de resentimiento, mayor riesgo suicida existe en las mujeres.Tesi

Sustainable conditional tunnel inspection: London Underground UK

Since London underground opened as the world’s pioneer underground railway, the network has grown exponentially to over 402km, servicing more than 1.34 billion customers annually. The rail network is over 150 years and is deteriorating, therefore, it is imperative that innovative maintenance techniques are implemented to inspect the condition of the tunnels and to scope for repair works. Innovation can be difficult to implement due to the size of the London Underground. This study evaluates the practical application and performance of the innovative conditional laser tunnel inspection compared to the currently used traditional method. The results show the accuracy of the lasers, along with the software’s ability to create the scoring for a Principal Inspection report in accordance with the London Underground Standards. Though the initial cost is higher, this would be regained from the saving in maintenance works carried out during the four years between the Principal Inspections