The claim to the tax domain: examining the activities of accountants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries

This paper examines the activities of UK accountants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its aim is to determine the nature of their work in relation to taxation, by looking chiefly at the contemporary evidence provided by The Accountant, the accountants' professional journal. First published in 1874, this journal provides information on tax and other activities at a time when accountants were establishing their credentials as a new profession. The paper considers issues surrounding income tax in this period, as the complexities associated with it provide the wider context and backdrop for accountants' activities. It then specifically considers why and how accountants met the increasing need for tax advice and claimed this work domain as part of their professional jurisdiction. The paper then goes on to consider the role of lawyers in taxation during the same period

Research methods in taxation history

This paper is an attempt to consider the research methods used in taxation history, which is an area that has attracted increased academic interest in recent years. The paper looks at the various routes that may provide an entry into studying taxation generally and at the inherently interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary nature of the subject. If taxation is researched through different disciplinary lenses, the focus of research changes, which brings to the forefront questions about the most appropriate research methods to use – questions which become more complex when taxation history is considered, along with fact that the different disciplines have their own histories which may themselves impact on taxation history research. The paper looks in detail at social science research methods, also legal research (as ‘different’ from other social science disciplines to which taxation is linked), as well as history and legal history, to evaluate research methods used in those areas. It shows that tax history can be researched in several ways from different perspectives, which show an underlying rigour and more similarity than is at first apparent

Ethics in tax practice: A study of the effect of practitioner firm size

While much of the empirical accounting literature suggests that, if differences do exist, Big Four employees are more ethical than non-Big Four employees, this trend has not been evident in the recent media coverage of Big Four tax practitioners acting for multinationals accused of aggressive tax avoidance behaviour. However, there has been little exploration in the literature to date specifically of the relationship between firm size and ethics in tax practice. We aim here to address this gap, initially exploring tax practitioners’ perceptions of the impact of firm size on ethics in tax practice using interview data in order to identify the salient issues involved. We then proceed to assess quantitatively whether employer firm size has an impact on the ethical reasoning of tax practitioners, using a tax context-specific adaptation of a well-known and validated psychometric instrument, the Defining Issues Test

King John\u27s tax innovation -- Extortion, resistance, and the establishment of the principle of taxation by consent

The purpose of this paper is to present a re-evaluation of the reign of England\u27s King John (1199-1216) from a fiscal perspective. The paper seeks to explain John\u27s innovations in terms of widening the scope and severity of tax assessment and revenue collection. In particular, the paper seeks to highlight the significance of Hubert Walter as the king\u27s financial adviser. He exercised a moderating influence in the first half of John\u27s reign and was the guiding hand in the successful introduction of innovative measures designed to increase revenues. These became extreme after his death in 1205, when John lacked his counsel. It is further suggested that the Magna Carta was a direct reaction to such financial severity. Many of the clauses in Magna Carta refer specifically to John\u27s tax innovations and severity. Linked to this, the paper argues that these events were critical to the establishment of the principle of taxation by consent. As a result of the innovative and extreme nature of John\u27s fiscal measures, it is our contention that John is a significant influence in moving away from deep-rooted feudal systems to the beginnings of what we would now understand as a national taxation system. This occurred against the background of a period of transition in state finance from a domain-based to a tax-based state

The role of income tax in the genesis of the tax profession

This paper has two main aims: first, to show how and why, from a functionalist perspective, income tax, especially after 1842, contributed to the development of the accounting profession; and, second, to show how, by this, the seeds of a specialist tax profession were sown. It examines the nature of the legal and commercial difficulties associated with income tax as revealed by the academic literature, then goes on to use newspaper and other press reports and articles to show how accountants were involved in helping to resolve such difficulties on a day-today basis. It does this for a key period of development for both income tax and the accounting profession: between 1798 and 1900. The examination of press materials reveals that accountants' involvement in income tax not only helped towards the development of the profession, but, arguably, drove the development of accounting principles and sowed the seeds for a more specialist tax profession to emerge

Towards a general theory of tax practice

This article works towards developing a general theory of tax practice by identifying the type of individuals who provide tax services and examining the nature of the fragmented market in which they operate. The empirical studies in the tax practitioner literature have been considered with a view to determining what exactly tax practitioners do and how they interact and deal with the persons on whose behalf they work. This is done with a view to developing a conceptual analysis of their work. Negotiation theory (Wall, 1985) is then posited as a general theory that fits many aspects of tax practitioners and their work, when analysed in this way

Ethics and taxation : a cross-national comparison of UK and Turkish firms

This paper investigates responses to tax related ethical issues facing busines

Blockchain, business and the fourth industrial revolution:Whence, whither, wherefore and how?

Blockchain is one the most remarkable technological innovations of the 21st century. The most notable application of blockchain is in the development and operation of cryptocurrencies (e.g. bitcoin, ethereum, among others). Besides the financial services industry, blockchain is also considered in other sectors such as international trade, taxation, supply chain management, business operations and governance. However, blockchain has not been examined comprehensively in all areas of relevant literature. This article conducts a survey of the literature to gain an understanding of the opportunities and issues presented by blockchain in various business functions. The article begins by providing a discussion regarding how the blockchain technology operates. The paper takes a broad focus in its analysis of the prospects of blockchain for various business functions, including banking and the capital markets, corporate governance, international trade, and taxation. The paper demonstrates how organisations and regulators can leverage blockchain to upscale business operations, enhance efficiency and reduce operational costs. The key drawbacks of blockchain that stakeholders need to bear in mind before adopting the technology are also highlighted. The article also reflects on how organisations can tap into blockchain to reap the full potential of the fourth industrial revolution

Governance disclosure quality and market valuation of firms

This study develops a ‘comply or explain’ index which captures compliance and quality of explanations given for non-compliance with the corporate governance codes in UK and Germany. In particular, we explain, how compliance and quality of explanations provided in non-compliance disclosures, and various other internal corporate governance mechanisms, affect the market valuation of firms in the two countries. A dynamic generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator is employed as the research technique for our analysis, which enabled us to control for the potential effects of endogeneity in our models. The findings of our content analysis suggest that firms exhibit significant differences in compliance, board independence and ownership structure in both countries. The ‘comply or explain’ index is positively associated with the market valuation of UK firms suggesting that compliance and quality governance disclosure is value relevant in the UK. Institutional blockholders’ ownership is however, negatively associated with the market value of firms, which raises questions about the monitoring role of institutional shareholders in both countries. We argue that both compliance and explanations given for non-compliance are equally important, as long as valid reasons and justifications for non-compliance are provided by the reporting companies. These findings thus imply that the ‘comply or explain’ principle is working well and that UK and German companies could benefit from the flexibility offered by this principle. With respect to the role of board size, board independence, ownership structure, and institutional ownership of firms, this study offers policy implications

Re-examining King John and Magna Carta: reflections on reasons, methodology and methods

[About the book] Drawing together leading legal historians from a range of jurisdictions and cultures, this collection of essays addresses the fundamental methodological underpinning of legal history research. Via a broad chronological span and a wide range of topics, the contributors explore the approaches, methods and sources that together form the basis of their research and shed light on the complexities of researching into the history of the law. By exploring the challenges posed by visual, unwritten and quasi-legal sources, the difficulties posed by traditional archival material and the novelty of exploring the development of legal culture and comparative perspectives, the book reveals the richness and dynamism of legal history research