"Advances in Taxation" publishes articles dealing with all aspects of taxation. Articles can address tax policy issues at the federal, state, local, or international level. The series primarily publishes empirical studies that address compliance, computer usage, education, legal, planning, or policy issues. These studies generally involve interdisciplinary research that incorporates theories from accounting, economics, finance, psychology, and sociology. The authors are established leaders in the field. It is international in scope. It is a truly interdisciplinary series.

This book is the first English language edition of Le Commerce et le Gouvernement by the distinguished eighteenth century economist and philosopher Condillac. It was one of the most original contributions to French economics in the eighteenth century. In this edition the editors provide an English translation of the original and a comprehensive account of Condillac's life and contribution to economics. In the late eighteenth century Condillac used the clarity and precision of thought of a leading philosopher to derive a fundamental set of economic principles and their implications for policy. He arrived at the same free trade conclusions as Adam Smith, and Le Commerce et le Gouvernement was published in the same year as The Wealth of Nations. Condillac's economics was initially condemned by the physiocrats because in his utility-based analysis, industry and commerce and not just agriculture contributed to the wealth of France. The original French edition was quickly dismissed by those in positions of power in France who preferred dirigism to competition, while across the Channel the British were unaware of its existence. The importance of Condillac's contribution to economics was recognised after the marginal revolution of the 1870's. In the eighteenth century Condillac won the respect of Voltaire and Rousseau, and the high regard of the King and the Church. His work has since been admired by Allais, Hayek, Menger and Weulersse, while Jevons believed that it provided the first distinct statement of the true connection between value and utility. Commerce and Government will be of special interest to historians of economic thought and those interested in the economic history of the eighteenth century.

This book informs a renewed movement for fair lending and fair housing. Leading advocates and specialists examine strategic initiatives to realize objectives of the federal Fair Housing Act as well as state and local laws Well-known fair housing and fair lending activists and organizers examine the implications of the new wave of fair housing activism generated by Occupy Wall Street protests and the many successes achieved in fair housing and fair lending over the years. The book reveals the limitations of advocacy efforts and the challenges that remain. Best directions for future action are brought to light by staff of fair housing organizations, fair housing attorneys, community and labor organizers, and scholars who have researched social justice organizing and advocacy movements. The book is written for general interest and academic audiences. Contributors address the foreclosure crisis, access to credit in a changing marketplace, and the immoral hazards of big banks. They examine opportunities in collective bargaining available to homeowners and how low-income and minority households were denied access to historically low home prices and interest rates. Authors question the effectiveness of litigation to uphold the Fair Housing Act's promise of nondiscriminatory home loans and ask how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is assuring fair lending. They also look at where immigrants stand, housing as a human right, and methods for building a movement.

This monograph offers a detailed analysis of the creation, pilot implementation, and possible wide adoption of the real property tax at the local level in China. Starting in 2003, as China's economy gradually recovered from the Asian financial crisis that started in 1998, the real property market entered a period of rapid expansion, followed immediately by rampant speculation, rising housing costs, and official corruption. Over the last ten years, the price of real property in most cities has more than tripled, especially in metropolitan areas. In an effort to curb this, the government has instituted a number of property-market controls, including property tax pilot programs in Shanghai and Chongqing. While this is the latest of a number of fiscal reforms, it is a very important one that carries with it the ability to change the landscape of public finance, intergovernmental relations, and local governance in China. It represents a fundamental change in the provision of public services, the relationship between local governments and tax payers, and the status of localities in the government structure. Taking a public choice perspective, the authors argue that the local property tax should be used not solely as a means of controlling housing prices but should be fully employed as a fiscal and budgetary institution that will contribute to mitigating multifarious socio-economic problems resulting from economic growth, rapid urbanization, and widening income disparity. As this program is the first of its kind, so this book is the first detailed study of property tax in China; as such, it will appeal to researchers of public finance and public policy. It will also be of great interest to policymakers in China and in other countries that are considering adopting or reforming their versions of the local property tax. It fills the gap in a growing body of literature about the inner workings of Chinese economics and policy.

China's emerging financial markets reflect the usual contrast between the country's measured approach toward policy, regulatory, and market reform, and the dynamic pace of rapid economic growth and development. But they also offer unusual challenges and opportunities. In the past five years, the pace of opening and reform has accelerated sharply. Recapitalization and partial privatization of the largest banks, and the allowance of some joint venture and branch operations for foreign financial institutions, are making rapid headway in developing and expanding financial services and improving access to domestic business and households. This book provides the most extensive look available at the evolving Chinese financial system. It begins with alternative perspectives on the evolution of the financial system and the broad outlines of its prospects and potential contribution to economic growth. Three articles review broad aspects of the financial system. Franklin Allen, Jun ''QJ'' Qian, Meijun Qian, and Mengxin Zhao lead off with overviews of the banking system and performance of the equity market and other institutions.

This important book examines the economic policies required to reduce carbon dioxide emissions - a major source of pollution throughout the world. It explores the likely impact of environmental taxes on income distribution and economic welfare. The authors consider a tax on domestic fuel and power and a carbon tax, and the likely adverse distribution effects of these on a population. The analysis allows for the direct and indirect effects (through inter-industry transactions) of taxes on prices and consumers' responses to these price changes. The welfare effects are also estimated for a variety of income groups. The authors then evaluate the inequality and social welfare measures and consider whether the distributional effects can be overcome by adjusting transfer payments to compensate lower-income groups. This study examines environmental taxes in Australia with methods which can be applied to other countries, some of which were specifically designed to overcome data limitation problems. Environmental Taxes and Economic Welfare will be of special interest to researchers, academics, policymakers and advisers on taxation and environmental policy.

The Field of Public Economics has been changing rapidly in recent years, and the sixteen chapters contained in this Handbook survey many of the new developments. As a field, Public Economics is defined by its objectives rather than its techniques and much of what is new is the application of modern methods of economic theory and econometrics to problems that have been addressed by economists for over two hundred years. More generally, the discussion of public finance issues also involves elements of political science, finance and philosophy. These connections are evidence in several of the chapters that follow.
Public Economics is the positive and normative study of government's effect on the economy. We attempt to explain why government behaves as it does, how its behavior influences the behavior of private firms and households, and what the welfare effects of such changes in behavior are. Following Musgrave (1959) one may imagine three purposes for government intervention in the economy: allocation, when market failure causes the private outcome to be Pareto inefficient, distribution, when the private market outcome leaves some individuals with unacceptably low shares in the fruits of the economy, and stabilization, when the private market outcome leaves some of the economy's resources underutilized. The recent trend in economic research has tended to emphasize the character of stabilization problems as problems of allocation in the labor market. The effects that government intervention can have on the allocation and distribution of an economy's resources are described in terms of efficiency and incidence effects. These are the primary measures used to evaluate the welfare effects of government policy.

Despite the enormous diversity and complexity of financial instruments, the current taxation of hybrid financial instruments and the remuneration derived therefrom are characterized by a neat division into dividend-generating equity and interest-generating debt as well as by a coexistence of source- and residence-based taxation. This book provides a comparative analysis of the classification of hybrid financial instruments in the national tax rules currently applied by Australia, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands as well as in the relevant tax treaties and EU Directives. Moreover, based on selected hybrid financial instruments, mismatches in these tax classifications, which lead to tax planning opportunities and risks and thus are in conflict with the single tax principle, are identified. To address these issues, the author provides reform options that are in line with the dichotomous debt-equity framework, as he/she suggests the coordination of either tax classifications or tax treatments.

After a massive international campaign calling attention to the development impact of foreign debt, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative is now underway. But will the HIPC Initiative meet its high expectations? Will debt relief substantially raise growth? How do we make sure that debt relief benefits poor people? And how can we ensure that poor countries do not become highly indebted again? These are some of the key policy issues covered in this rigorous and independent analysis of debt, development, and poverty. JEAN-CLAUDE BERTHLEMY Professor of Economics, University of Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, France ARNE BIGSTEN Professor of Development Economics, G/teborg University, Sweden NANCY BIRDSALL Founding President, Center for Global Development, Washington, USA ABDUR R. CHOWDHURY Director, Economic Analysis Division, United Nations Commission for Europe, Geneva, Switzerland STIJN CLAESSENS Professor of International Finance, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands ERA DABLA-NORRIS International Monetary Fund, USA ISHAC DIWAN Company Director for Ethiopia and Sudan, World Bank, USA BENNO FERRARINI Director of Economic Research at the World Trade Institute, Switzerl

Topicality of Asian economy has refused to fade for almost four decades; if anything it has been levitating. The Asian economy has changed markedly since the economic and financial crisis of 1997-1998 and is continuing to evolve. As a scholarly subject matter, Asian economy has not stopped attracting academicians, policy mandarins, decision makers in the arena of business and students of Asian economy. The Asian crisis was a cataclysmic event for the region and brought to the surface several systemic limitations, like those in the financial sector, corporate governance, regulatory oversight, legal framework, and exchange rate management. Managers of Asian economy need to get to the bottom of these acutely problematical systemic issues. Additionally, Asian economies need to change with the demands of time and devise their post crisis development strategy. Asia's growth model, that served it so well for four decades, is overdue for renewal so that it can re-strengthen its bonds with the ever-evolving regional and global economic reality. The old growth model is likely to be less relevant and effective in the post-crisis future of the Asian economies. feature of Asian Economy and Finance: A Post-Crisis Perspective is that unlike most Asia-related books, it is written in a comprehensive and authoritative manner and covers large areas of Asian macro-economy and finance. The noteworthy areas of focus include global and intra-regional trade and investment, as well as financial and monetary aspects. In-depth discussions have been provided on regional integration through expanding trade, financial flows, regional production networks, and financial and monetary co-operation. In taking a contemporary or post-crisis view of the Asian economy, this book offers the newest knowledge related to relevant themes on the Asian economies as well as the latest concepts. In a succinct manner, this book deals with the principal normative and positive strands with which one need to be properly familiar in this subject area. This tightly written volume covers a great deal of ground and imparts knowledge on the Asian economy related themes to students, researchers and policy makers alike. The book is neither overly technical nor model-oriented. analysis style, which stops short of mathematical formulations and econometric modeling. Many students and other readers who have good analytical minds and sound knowledge of economic principles feel lost in mathematical formulations. This writing style makes it accessible to a much larger number of readers.

This theoretically rooted and research-based book provides insights on the JESSICA funding model which - unlike the traditional non-repayable aid - focuses on supporting sustainable urban development projects in a repayable and recyclable way. Looking through the lens of the JESSICA financial engineering mechanism used in urban transformation, it examines the functioning and performance thereof and formulates policy recommendations for the future. The aim of this volume is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the JESSICA sustainable funding model by exploring its repayable assistance mechanism to support sustainable urban development projects. The authors make several noteworthy contributions to the literature on EU cohesion policy and shed light on the use of the repayable instruments within public interventions, while providing, for the first time, a critical analysis of the JESSICA sustainable funding model from the holistic perspective which is especially relevant for supporting sustainable urban development. Financial Engineering in Sustainable Funding of Urban Development in the EU provides policy-significant findings that are important for EU cohesion policy in the field of repayable assistance to be reinvested in the long term in urban and regional transformation.

The present volume provides a collection of material on the subject of international comparisons, contributed by scholars from a range of relevant disciplines and geographical backgrounds. The papers in this volume have been classified into two broad groups united by overlapping themes. Part I includes essentially empirical papers intended to provide a clear picture of the different types of international comparisons that have been undertaken by various organizations and individuals. The papers relate to empirical studies of different sectoral and national income aggregates at both regional and global levels. The papers in Part II deal with methodological and analytical issues. Discussion of the appropriateness of various aggregation methods for international comparisons accounts for a major component of this section. The volume provides a set of studies on international comparisons of prices, output and productivity, and will provide a reference source for interested readers.

Public debt has become a severe problem for a great many economies. While the effects of tax policies on the allocation of resources are readily derived, the mechanisms that make public deficits and debt influence the economy are not so easily understood. This book elaborates on the effects of public debt starting from the intertemporal budget constraint of the government. It is shown under which conditions a government can stick to the intertemporal budget constraint and then, demonstrated how public debt affects the growth process and welfare in market economies. The effects are derived for models with complete labor markets as well as taking into account labor market imperfections. The focus in this book is on fiscal policy issues, but it also deals with monetary policy aspects. The theoretical analysis is complemented with empirical time series analyses on debt sustainability and with panel studies dealing with the relationship between public debt and economic growth.

This title is part of a series dealing with all aspects of taxation, including tax policy and issues at the federal, state, local, or international level. The series primarily publishes empirical studies that address compliance, computer usage, education, legal, planning, or policy issues.

Covering the period from the 1920s, when international tax policy was solely about avoiding double taxation, to the present era of international tax competition, Rixen investigates the fate of 'the power to tax' in an era of globalization, illustrating that tax sovereignty is both shaped and constrained by an international tax regime.

The authors of this work are tax specialists representing both high-tax and low-tax jurisdictions. They address tax issues that impact business enterprises as well as individuals, presenting a sampling of issues, each addressed by a commentator whose practice deals directly with such matters on a regular basis. Countries covered are: Austria, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Italy, Liechtenstein, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles, and the USA. The reader will find a range of useful information, not only on the complexity of international taxation, but also its potential for the resolution of conflicts and the mitigation of unfair tax burdens through amortization and international co-operation.

Financing European Transport Infrastructure examines organisational arrangements for planning and financing transport infrastructure in Western Europe. It covers all modes of transport - road, rail, sea, air, urban, and inland waterways - and asks why their financing arrangements are so different. It looks at the division of responsibilities between central and local government, and the growing role of autonomous public bodies, the European Commission and private finance. It examines the consequences of investment failing to keep up with demand - in congestion, environmental damage and slower growth - and the impact of new approaches, including public-private partnerships.

"Managing the Fiscal Metropolis: The Financial Policies, Practices, and Health of Suburban Municipalities" is an important book. This first comprehensive analysis of the financial condition, management, and policy making of local governments in a metropolitan region offers local governments currently dealing with the Great Recession a better understanding of what affects them financially and how to operate with less revenue.

Hendrick's groundbreaking study covers 264 Chicago suburban municipalities from the late 1990s to the present. In it she identifies and describes the primary factors and events that affect municipal financial decisions and financial conditions, explores the strategies these governments use to manage financial conditions and solve financial problems, and looks at the impact of contextual factors and stresses on government financial decisions. "Managing the Fiscal Metropolis" offers new evidence about the role of contextual factors -- including other local governments -- in the financial condition of municipalities and how municipal financial decisions and practices alter these effects. The wide economic and social diversity of the municipalities studied make its findings relevant on a national scale.

Environmental Taxation and the Double Dividend explores the welfare effects of environmental taxes in a second-best framework. It starts from a benchmark model which reveals that environmental taxes typically exacerbate pre-existing tax distortions, even if the revenues are used to cut other distortionary taxes. Subsequent chapters extend the benchmark model by introducing capital, terms of trade effects, transfers, involuntary unemployment, or environmental feedbacks. Thus, the book reveals several channels through which a double-dividend can be obtained. However, it also shows the trade-offs they induce. Simulations with the models illustrate the importance of these trade-offs for European economies.

This book is a useful tool for graduates, post graduates, researchers and staff of universities with fiscal and environmental departments. International organizations such as the IMF, OECD and the World Bank, and policy makers within governments: Ministries of Finance/Economics/Environment. Research Institutes, both private and public will also benefit from this piece of work.

European welfare states are currently under stress and the 'social contracts' that underpin them are being challenged. First, welfare spending has arguably 'grown to limits' in a number of countries while expanding everywhere in the 1990s in line with higher unemployment. Second, demographic change and the emergence of new patterns of family and working life are transforming the nature of 'needs'. Third, the economic context and the policy autonomy of nation states has been transformed by 'globalization'. This book considers the implications of these challenges for European welfare states at the end of the twentieth century with interdisciplinary contributions from first-rate political scientists, economists and sociologists including Paul Ormerod.

This is a basic examination of basic tax systems, for both Layperson and Student. It describes the various forms of tax, both historical and theoretical. It examines each in turn, bringing insight to its advantages and hazards. The Author gives a cursory study of tax impacts, the problems of tax collection, and the amounts of revenue, which can be expected. The basic thesis of the Work consists in the idea current American methods of tax form and tax collection need serious revision. The Author attempts to express why he holds this belief, the observed detriment to economic performance of current tax placement, and the causes of such economic disadvantage. He presents potential alterations to the current tax intermix, suggesting consolidation of tax forms would present savings in cost of tax collection, and ease of payment to Taxpayers. He outlines his beliefs on the proper tax system for American society.

During recent years, American states have launched programs to promote direct foreign investment and product export, but there has been little self-scrutiny of these efforts. This book presents the findings of Michael Frazier's detailed empirical study of four, state-supported export trade agencies. Using the evaluation techniques of Mazmanian and Sabatier (the M-S Model), Frazier pinpoints the factors that determine how well states develop an international business orientation. He also expands the M-S model by identifying additional variables that should be considered in future program evaluations.

This book provides a survey of the literature on implementation research, and argues in favor of both theoretical and empirical evaluation. Using the the M=S Model for export trade agency evaluation, Frazier examines the public export trade agencies of four states: Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, and Virginia. He concludes that four factors--geographic location, state politics, economic interdependence and federal government involvement--heavily influence a state's level of success. The political leadership of the agency director and his supervisors, including the governor, is especially crucial. This is a useful handbook for legislators, policymakers, administrators, and students of program evaluation.

The goal of this edited volume is to take a hard, objective look at the many different aspects of taxing the hard-to-tax, as well as the many different approaches that have been employed around the world. In the developed and developing world, taxing certain kinds of activities, sectors, or individuals - the so-called "hard-to-tax" - is a challenge for governments. In the past, the practical side of this issue has received some attention, mainly from those working in the trenches of tax administration. There has also been some analytical work on such things as "presumptive" taxation, as well as some empirical work on measuring the hard-to-tax. However, the lessons from all of this work have been very unevenly disseminated, and there are clearly many unresolved issues. With the steady advance of such things as globalization, internet commerce, and tax shelters, the issues in taxing the hard-to-tax will become even more pressing.

Property Tax Reform in Developing Countries provides a conceptual framework for property tax reform with the intention of making the most compelling argument possible to persuade the reader as to its validity. The text claims that a model for property tax reform in developing countries is derived from a theoretical distillation of empirical experience. The primary objective of this study is to establish, through logic, theory and observation: what constitutes a good property tax system, for whom, and under what conditions; why such a system works; and how inferior systems can be upgraded to approximate well-functioning systems. Property Tax Reform in Developing Countries develops its examination in three stages. First, a conceptual framework is presented for the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of property tax reform in developing countries. Second, attempts to reform property taxation in four developing countries are examined in detail. Finally, the results of the reform efforts described in the four case studies are evaluated and guidelines for reform are offered. The study concludes with specific recommendations for reforming property tax systems in developing countries, based on the conceptual framework and synthesizing lessons of the case studies.

A wide-ranging survey of the theory and evidence on public goods, presenting the main literature on public goods, both theoretical and empirical, in a systematic manner. The breadth and depth of the book's coverage extends the existing literature in many ways.