Ring-fencing digital corporations: Investor reaction to the European Commission's digital tax proposals

We study the effect of digital tax measures on firm value. By employing an event study methodology, we analyze investor reaction to the European Commission's proposals on the taxation of digital corporations. Examining the stock returns of potentially affected corporations surrounding the draft directives' release, we find a significant abnormal capital market reaction of -0.692 percentage points. The investor reaction is more pronounced for firms that engage more actively in tax avoidance, have a higher profit shifting potential, and for those with higher exposure to the EU. The market value of digital and innovative corporations decreased by at least 52 billion euro in excess of the regular market movement during the event window. Overall, our study reveals that expectations about ringfencing digital tax measures impact firm values

Elucidation of the Complete \u3ci\u3eAzorhizobium\u3c/i\u3e Nicotinate Catabolism Pathway

A complete pathway for Azorhizobium caulinodans nicotinate catabolism has been determined from mutant phenotype analyses, isolation of metabolic intermediates, and structural studies. Nicotinate serves as a respiratory electron donor to O2 via a membrane-bound hydroxylase and a specific c-type cytochrome oxidase. The resulting oxidized product, 6-hydroxynicotinate, is next reduced to 1,4,5,6-tetrahydro-6-oxonicotinate. Hydrolytic ring breakage follows, with release of pyridine N as ammonium. Decarboxylation then releases the nicotinate C-7 carboxyl group as CO2, and the remaining C skeleton is then oxidized to yield glutarate. Transthioesterification with succinyl coenzyme A (succinyl-CoA) yields glutaryl-CoA, which is then oxidatively decarboxylated to yield crotonyl-CoA. As with general acyl β oxidation, L-β-hydroxybutyryl-CoA, acetoacetyl-CoA, and finally two molecules of acetyl-CoA are produced. In sum, nicotinate is catabolized to yield two CO2 molecules, two acetyl-CoA molecules, and ammonium. Nicotinate catabolism stimulates Azorhizobium N2 fixation rates in culture. Nicotinate catabolism mutants still able to liberate pyridine N as ammonium retain this capability, whereas mutants so blocked do not. From, mutant analyses and additional physiological tests, N2 fixation stimulation is indirect. In N-limited culture, nicotinate catabolism augments anabolic N pools and, as a consequence, yields N2-fixing cells with higher dinitrogenase content

Designing a solution to enable agency-academic scientific collaboration for disasters

© The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ecology and Society 22 (2017): 18, doi:10.5751/ES-09246-220218.As large-scale environmental disasters become increasingly frequent and more severe globally, people and organizations that prepare for and respond to these crises need efficient and effective ways to integrate sound science into their decision making. Experience has shown that integrating nongovernmental scientific expertise into disaster decision making can improve the quality of the response, and is most effective if the integration occurs before, during, and after a crisis, not just during a crisis. However, collaboration between academic, government, and industry scientists, decision makers, and responders is frequently difficult because of cultural differences, misaligned incentives, time pressures, and legal constraints. Our study addressed this challenge by using the Deep Change Method, a design methodology developed by Stanford ChangeLabs, which combines human-centered design, systems analysis, and behavioral psychology. We investigated underlying needs and motivations of government agency staff and academic scientists, mapped the root causes underlying the relationship failures between these two communities based on their experiences, and identified leverage points for shifting deeply rooted perceptions that impede collaboration. We found that building trust and creating mutual value between multiple stakeholders before crises occur is likely to increase the effectiveness of problem solving. We propose a solution, the Science Action Network, which is designed to address barriers to scientific collaboration by providing new mechanisms to build and improve trust and communication between government administrators and scientists, industry representatives, and academic scientists. The Science Action Network has the potential to ensure cross-disaster preparedness and science-based decision making through novel partnerships and scientific coordination.The authors thank the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for a grant to undertake this project and enable participation of a wide range of participants and interviewees. We thank the Center for Ocean Solutions and ChangeLabs for their oversight and support

Internal digitalization and tax-efficient decision making

Our study investigates firms’ internal digitalizationas a crucial foundation for timely, data-driven decision making. We evaluate the association between digital infrastructure and improved decision making intax planning decisions to analyze if the benefits of digitalization expand beyond firms’ core business functions. The novel use of a survey that identifies European firms’ digital infrastructure over the period from 2005 to 2016 allows us to create an index of IT sophistication. Using this index, we extend prior approaches and observe the effectiveness of tax planning decisions in terms of a firm’s ability to exploit income shifting incentives. Our empirical analysis confirms the prediction that digitalized firms respond more efficiently to income shifting incentives. Further, we provide evidence that firms with sophisticated IT are more reactive to shocks in the income shifting incentive than non-digital firms. Our results suggest that internal digitalization allows firms to efficiently monitor and manage internal processes and to strategically price internal transactions. With this work, we are the first to document the association of digitalization and the performance of firms’ support functions

Gaussian field theories, random Cantor sets and multifractality

The computation of multifractal scaling properties associated with a critical field theory involves non-local operators and remains an open problem using conventional techniques of field theory. We propose a new description of Gaussian field theories in terms of random Cantor sets and show how universal multifractal scaling exponents can be calculated. We use this approach to characterize the multifractal critical wave function of Dirac fermions interacting with a random vector potential in two spatial dimensions. We show that the multifractal scaling exponents are self-averaging.Comment: Extensive modifications of previous version; exact results replace numerical calculation

Quantifying the OECD BEPS indicators - an update to BEPS Action 11

In its 2015 Final Report on “Measuring and Monitoring BEPS, Action 11”, the OECD introduced six indicators to quantify and evaluate base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) activity over time. In this study, we revisit three selected indicators, provide a numerical update for recent periods using timely data and point out potential pitfalls when interpreting the indicator results. First, we transparently replicate Indicator 1, which intends to assess the disconnect between financial and real economic activities, and show a moderately decreasing trend of the indicator estimates. Second, replicating Indicator 4, which is based on a micro-data regression approach, we find that multinational firms have, on average, lower effective tax rates than domestic firms. We confirm this result using a state-of-the-art propensity score matching approach. Third, the replication of Indicator 5, which intends to capture profit shifting through intangibles, shows a stable trend of the annual indicator estimates that extends beyond the OECD’s sample period. Yet, the simplistic design of all indicators comes at the price of making them vulnerable to a number of confounding factors and economic effects that go beyond profit shifting. Overall, we conclude that the proposed indicators in the Final Report on BEPS Action 11 provide only limited information on the extent of BEPS

Theoretical Examination of the Lithium Depletion Boundary

We explore the sensitivity in open cluster ages obtained by the lithium depletion boundary (LDB) technique to the stellar model input physics. The LDB age technique is limited to open clusters with ages ranging from 20 to 200 Myr. Effective 1-sig errors in the LDB technique due to uncertain input physics are roughly 3% at the oldest age increasing to 8% at the youngest age. Bolometric correction uncertainties add an additional 10 to 6% error to the LDB age technique for old and young clusters, respectively. Rotation rates matching the observed fastest rotators in the Pleiades affect LDB ages by less than 2%. The range of rotation rates in an open cluster are expected to ``smear'' the LDB location by only 0.02 mag for a Pleiades age cluster increasing to 0.06 mag for a 20 Myr cluster. Thus, the observational error of locating the LDB (~7-10%) and the bolometric correction uncertainty currently dominate the error in LDB ages. For our base case, we formally derive a LDB age of 148 +- 19 Myr for the Pleiades, where the error includes 8, 3, and 9% contributions from observational, theoretical, and bolometric correction sources, respectively. A maximally plausible 0.3 magnitude shift in the I-band bolometric correction to reconcile main sequence isochrone fits with the observed (V-I) color for the low mass Pleiades members results in an age of 126 +- 11 Myr, where the error includes observational and theoretical errors only. Upper main-sequence-fitting ages that do not include convective core overshoot for the Pleiades (~75 Myr) are ruled out by the LDB age technique.Comment: 35 pages, 9 figures, accepted Ap

Leadership in cardiac surgery

Despite the efficacy of cardiac surgery, less invasive interventions with more uncertain long-term outcomes are increasingly challenging surgery as first-line treatment for several congenital, degenerative and ischemic cardiac diseases. The specialty must evolve if it is to ensure its future relevance. More importantly, it must evolve to ensure that future patients have access to treatments with proven long-term effectiveness. This cannot be achieved without dynamic leadership; however, our contention is that this is not enough. The demands of a modern surgical career and the importance of the task at hand are such that the serendipitous emergence of traditional charismatic leadership cannot be relied upon to deliver necessary change. We advocate systematic analysis and strategic leadership at a local, national and international level in four key areas: Clinical Care, Research, Education and Training, and Stakeholder Engagement. While we anticipate that exceptional individuals will continue to shape the future of our specialty, the creation of robust structures to deliver collective leadership in these key areas is of paramount importanc

Translation to success of surgical innovation

Contemporary thoracic and cardiovascular surgery uses extensive equipment and devices to enable its performance. As the specialties develop and new frontiers are crossed, the technology needs to advance in a parallel fashion. Strokes of genius or problem-solving brain-storming may generate great ideas, but the metamorphosis of an idea into a physical functioning tool requires a lot more than just a thinking process. A modern surgical device is the end-point of a sophisticated, complicated and potentially treacherous route, which incorporates new skills and knowledge acquisition. Processes including technology transfer, commercialisation, corporate and product development, intellectual property and regulatory routes all play pivotal roles in this voyage. Many good ideas may fall by the wayside for a multitude of reasons as they may not be marketable or may be badly marketed. In this article, we attempt to illuminate the components required in the process of surgical innovation, which we believe must remain in the remit of the modern-day thoracic and cardiovascular surgeo

Sharing economy - steuerliche Herausforderungen und Lösungsansätze

Die zunehmende Digitalisierung hat zu einem starken Wachstum der Plattformökonomie beigetragen. Online-Vermittlungsplattformen ermöglichen Verbrauchern/innen eine professionelle Interaktion zum Austausch von Gütern und Dienstleistungen. Eines der bekanntesten Geschäftsmodelle dieses Wirtschaftszweigs ist die Vermittlung von Unterkünften über Plattformen wie Airbnb. Schätzungen des ZEW Mannheim zeigen, dass der Mietumsatz – in 20 exemplarisch untersuchten deutschen Städten – über diese Plattform bei etwa 680 Millionen Euro im Jahr 2018 liegt. Eine im Vergleich zu anderen Wettbewerbern gerechte einkommens- und umsatzsteuerliche Behandlung dieser Geschäfte ist unabdingbar. Obwohl die Besteuerungsfolgen für über Airbnb oder andere Vermittlungsplattformen erzielte Einkünfte gesetzlich klar geregelt sind, stellt die Durchsetzung des Steueranspruchs die Finanzbehörden vor Schwierigkeiten. Im Gegensatz etwa zu Einkünften aus Kapitalvermögen, bei denen Kreditinstitute in der Pflicht stehen, im Auftrag der Finanzverwaltung die fälligen Steuern direkt für den Bezieher der Einkünfte einzubehalten, müssen Finanzbehörden bei Einkünften über Sharing-Economy-Plattformen auf deren korrekte Deklaration durch die Steuerpflichtigen vertrauen. Diese – auch durch Unwissenheit – nicht immer befolgte Mitwirkungspflicht der Steuerpflichtigen kann zu hohen Steuerausfällen führen. In einer experimentellen Untersuchung konnte allerdings gezeigt werden, dass Konsumenten/innen die Steuerehrlichkeit von Anbietern auf Vermittlungsplattformen durch stärkere Nachfrage würdigen. Mithilfe eines glaubhaften Signals der Steuerehrlichkeit, vergleichbar zu anderen bekannten Gütesiegeln, können anscheinend Anbieter – in Abhängigkeit von persönlichen Normen der Konsumen-ten/innen – das Vertrauen in ihre angebotene Dienstleistung erhöhen