Changing the Score: Arias, Prima donnas, and the Authority of Performance by Hilary Poriss

Brauner discusses and critiques Poriss\u27 book

What the BEPS?

Unprecedented attention to aggressive international tax planning has shaken the earth under the most powerful players in the world of international tax policy design. The media exposure of what Bloomberg’s calls “The Great Corporate Tax Dodge,” combined with the ever-growing discontent of civil society with the magnitude of contribution of the largest multinational enterprises to the society within which they operate, has recently forced the politicians to take action. Leaders of the strongest world economies demanded a revision of the rules of the international tax regime that would generate more revenues for their challenged coffers and would restore public trust in the system. In what is now commonly known as the Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (“BEPS”) project, the OECD has established three principles: (1) promotion of collaborative rather than competition based solutions; (2) take a holistic view of the challenges and their corresponding solutions rather than an ad hoc approach; and (3) permit the consideration of innovative solutions even when they conflict with the traditional premises of the current international tax regime. This Article reviews the progress of the BEPS project and its compatibility with the fundamental principles for reform set by the OECD with a view to influence the discourse and the outcome of the project. This Article focuses on the importance of the paradigm shift from the current emphasis on competitiveness and the perfection of competition to a collaborative international tax regime, demonstrating the desirability of such a shift and suggesting how the OECD should go about making that shift

What the BEPS

Unprecedented attention to aggressive international tax planning has shaken the earth under the most powerful players in the world of international tax policy design. The media exposure of what Bloomberg\u27s calls “The Great Corporate Tax Dodge,” combined with the ever-growing discontent of civil society with the magnitude of contribution of the largest multinational enterprises to the society within which they operate, has recently forced the politicians to take action. Leaders of the strongest world economies demanded a revision of the rules of the international tax regime that would generate more revenues for their challenged coffers and would restore public trust in the system. In what is now commonly known as the Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (“BEPS”) project, the OECD has established three principles: (1) promotion of collaborative rather than competition based solutions; (2) take a holistic view of the challenges and their corresponding solutions rather than an ad hoc approach; and (3) permit the consideration of innovative solutions even when they conflict with the traditional premises of the current international tax regime. This Article reviews the progress of the BEPS project and its compatibility with the fundamental principles for reform set by the OECD with a view to influence the discourse and the outcome of the project. This Article focuses on the importance of the paradigm shift from the current emphasis on competitiveness and the perfection of competition to a collaborative international tax regime, demonstrating the desirability of such a shift and suggesting how the OECD should go about making that shift

The Role of Welfare in New Parents’ Lives

Welfare caseloads have declined substantially since the landmark PRWORA legislation of 1996, which was designed to shift the burden of supporting needy families from government to families themselves. These caseload declines have been well documented, and characteristics of recipients following the implementation of PRWORA can be gleaned from administrative and agency records. Less readily available is documentation of recent rates of welfare dependency for specific population subgroups. Mothers giving birth in the aftermath of the 1996 legislation are of particular interest since they are more likely than other potential recipients to meet work requirements and hit time limits before their children are in school.

International Tax Law Between Loyalty, Exit, and Voice

Discourse on the merits and pitfalls of multilateral cooperation for advancing justice in international tax law have recently re-emerged in the literature. Some tax scholars, even while criticizing global projects like the OECD/G20 initiatives on base erosion, profit shifting and the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy, insist that cooperative efforts herald a step in the right direction. Others contest the feasibility of international cooperation or its value for developing countries. Drawing on Albert Hirschman’s oft-cited framework for actor behaviour under institutional malperformance, this article shows that there are three alternatives for those discontented with the status quo: to remain loyal despite disagreeing (cooperation); exit and perhaps form a competing regime (competition); or try to change the existing rules by speaking up (un-cooperation). The article concludes that the interaction of these options (contested cooperation) is an integral part of today’s transnational tax law order. Le discours sur les mérites et les écueils de la coopération multilatérale pour faire progresser la justice dans le droit fiscal international a récemment refait surface dans la littérature. Certains fiscalistes, même s’ils critiquent des projets mondiaux comme les initiatives de l’OCDE/G20 sur l’érosion de la base d’imposition, le transfert de bénéfices et les défis fiscaux liés à la numérisation de l’économie, insistent sur le fait que les efforts de coopération constituent un pas dans la bonne direction. D’autres contestent la faisabilité de la coopération internationale ou sa valeur pour les pays en développement. S’appuyant sur le cadre souvent cité d’Albert Hirschman pour le comportement des acteurs en cas de mauvaise performance institutionnelle, cet article montre qu’il existe trois alternatives pour ceux qui sont mécontents du statu quo : rester loyal malgré le désaccord (coopération); abandonner le régime et peut-être en former un nouveau (concurrence); ou essayer de changer les règles existantes en les dénonçant (non-coopération). L’article conclut que l’interaction de ces options (coopération contestée) fait partie intégrante de l’ordre juridique fiscal transnational actuel

Elementarne konstrukcije konika u hiperboličnoj i eliptičnoj ravnini

In the Euclidean plane there are well-known constructions of points and tangents of e.g. an ellipse c based on the given axes of c, which make use of the Apollonius definition of c via its focal points or via two perspective anities (de la Hire\u27s construction). Even there is no parallel relation neither in a hyperbolic plane nor in an elliptic plane it is still possible to modify many of the elementary geometric constructions for conics, such that they also hold for those (regular) non-Euclidean planes. Some of these modications just replace Euclidean straight lines by non-Euclidean circles. Furthermore we also study properties of Thales conics, which are generated by two pencils of (non-Euclidean) orthogonal lines.U Euklidskoj ravnini poznate su konstrukcije točaka i tangenata za npr. elipsu c zadanu osima, pri čemu se koristi Apolonijeva definicija za c preko fokusa ili dva afiniteta (de la Hireova konstrukcija). Iako ne postoje paralelne relacije s hiperboličnom niti eliptičnom ravninom, ipak je moguće modificirati mnoge elementarne konstrukcije vezane za konike tako da one vrijede za (regularne) neeuklidske ravnine. U nekim modikacijama samo je euklidski pravac zamijenjen s neeuklidskom kružnicom. Također će se proučiti svojstva Talesovih konika koje su generirane s dva pramena (neeuklidskih) okomitih pravaca

Innovative Verantwortungsgemeinschaften durch nachhaltigen und Ökologi-schen Landbau – Beispiele aus Mecklenburg-Vorpommern und Kalifornien

The term Innovation is nowadays more frequently used together with so called High technologies like Genetic engineering (BBAW 2005) and only rarely for rather soft and social-environmentally sound practices like organic farming (NIGGLI 2002). Some regions in Europe and North America try hard to protect their innovative regional development concepts of which organic farming is an important part. They improve their networking activities on a local, regional and sometimes even global level. The following paper highlights such innovative example regions in California and the Ger-man state Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania