Conventional wisdom holds that taxing financial services under a transaction-based VAT system entails difficulties that render it impossible to tax the services. This timely work investigates where the difficulties lie. The research is undertaken using benchmarks, including the character of European VAT as an indirect tax on consumption expenditure and the specific features of financial activities. The various key VAT concepts (e.g., taxable person, taxable transactions, taxable amount) are researched in order to establish whether the inclusion of financial activities in the European VAT system entails specific difficulties both from a practical, legal point of view and from a theoretical point of view (in the light of the benchmarks). The work concludes by describing and evaluating alternative treatments to an exemption of financial services such as using both additive and cash-flow methods.

As populations become increasingly concentrated in urban centres and mega cities, while demands on transportation continue to grow, the question of how to mitigate the environmental footprint of these trends is ever more pressing. This comprehensive book demonstrates the potentially significant role of environmental taxation and other market-based instruments in meeting these challenges. Providing global insights, the book features international contributions from specialists in economics, law, technology, political economy and policy analysis. Studying environmental pricing policies in the context of urban sustainability and transportation, the contributing scholars identify cross-cutting issues to demonstrate how the use and evaluation of policy instruments can be improved. In addition to addressing the pervasive environmental impact of cities and transportation, novel case studies illustrate how the digital economy, as well as increasing globalization, necessitate a more sustainable approach in which environmental fiscal solutions could play a vital role. Environmental Fiscal Challenges for Cities and Transport will have broad appeal for researchers and will also be a useful resource for students in law, economics and politics with an interest in urban and environmental issues. Policymakers and their staff will find its use of real-world examples and nontechnical language particularly beneficial.

The ins and outs of charitable giving law--made easy!

Written by renowned author Bruce R. Hopkins, "Charitable Giving Law Made Easy" is a must-read guide for accountants, consultants, investors, nonprofit executives, and fundraising professionals--anyone needing to know the essentials of the laws involving charitable giving.

This authoritative guide presents in-depth discussions on such hot topics as the timing of charitable deductions, estate and gift tax considerations, special property rules, and planned giving. It also includes crucial information on deduction reduction rules, the twice-basis deductions, uses of life insurance, and international charitable giving.

Designed to get you quickly up to speed, you will discover: How to handle the complex legal issues involved when individuals give money or property to charitable organizations Invaluable information on unique charitable gift situations Advice on how to navigate valuation, disclosure, reporting, and other regulatory issues The many new laws and law provisions just enacted by Congress

Packed with practical tips and hard-to-find advice, "Charitable Giving Law Made Easy" sheds light on complex legal issues concerning charitable giving with plain-language explanations of laws and regulations for non-legal professionals.

No study of Black people in America can be complete without considering how openly discriminatory tax laws helped establish a racial caste system in the United States, how they were designed to exclude blacks from lucrative markets and the voting franchise, and how tax laws extracted and redistributed vast sums of black wealth. Not only was slavery nearly a 100% tax on black labor, so too was Jim Crow apartheid and tax laws specified the peculiar institution as "negro slavery." The first instances of affirmative action in the United States were tax laws designed to attract white men to the South. The nineteenth-century Federal Tariff indirectly redistributed perhaps a majority of the profits from slavery from the South to the North and is the principle reason the Confederate states seceded. The only constitutional amendment obtained by the Civil Rights Movement is the Twenty-Sixth Amendment abolishing poll taxes in federal elections. Blending traditional legal theory, neoclassical economics, and a pan-African view of history, these six interrelated essays on race and taxes demonstrate that, even in today's supposedly post-racial society, there is no area of human activity where racial dynamics are absent.

An inherently interdisciplinary subject, tax avoidance has attracted growing interest of scholars in many fields. No longer limited to law and accounting, research increasingly has been conducted from other perspectives, such as anthropology, business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and economic psychology. This was -recently stimulated by politicians, mass media, and the public focussing on tax avoidance after the global financial and economic crisis put a squeeze on private and public finances. New challenges were posed by changing definitions and controversies in the interpretation of tax avoidance concept, as well as a host of new rules and policies that need to be fully understood. This collection provides a comprehensive guide to students and academics on the subjects of tax avoidance from an interdisciplinary perspective, exploring the areas of accounting, law, economics, psychology, and sociology. It covers global as well as regional issues, presents a discussion of the definition, legality, morality, and psychology of tax avoidance, and provides guidance on measurement of economic effect of tax avoidance activities. With a truly international selection of authors from the UK, North America, Africa, Asia, Australasia, Middle East, and continental Europe, with well-known experts and rising stars of the field, the contributors cover the entire terrain of this important topic. The Routledge Companion to Tax Avoidance Research is a ground-breaking attempt to bring together scholarly research in tax avoidance, offering rigorous academic analysis of an important and hotly debated issue in a structured and balanced way.

The advantages and disadvantages of multilateral tax treaties have been debated for many years. Although some multilateral tax treaties have been concluded at regional level, the concept has not yet gained wide acceptance. Recently it has become clear, however, that diverging provisions in bilateral tax treaties lead to undesired consequences. Tax administrations expend considerable energy combatting tax structures devised by taxpayers and their advisers, in an attempt to use these differences to their advantage. This engages the resources of both enterprises and tax authorities without their efforts being useful from an economic point of view. This book is the result of a research project conducted at the Department for Austrian and International Tax Law at the University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna. The project's aim was to produce a draft multilateral tax treaty modelled on the OECD Model Income Tax Convention, whilst examining in detail difficulties that arise in connection with the multilateralization of the OECD Model.

These are the papers from the 2012 Cambridge Tax Law History Conference revised and reviewed for publication. The papers include new studies of: income tax law rewrite projects 1914-1956; law and administration in capital allowances 1878- 1950; the 'full amount' in income tax legislation; Sir Josiah Stamp and double income tax; early German income tax treaties and laws concerned with double tax avoidance (1869-1908); the policy of the medicine stamp duty; 'Danegeld' - from Danish tribute to English land tax; religion and charity, a historical perspective; 'Plaintive Glitterati'; a collision of accounting and law, dividends from pre-1914 profits in Australia; the history and development of the taxation profession in the UK and Australia; an inquiry into Dutch to British Colonial Malacca 1824-1839; the taxation history of China; taxing bachelors in America: 1895-1939; Dutch Tax reform under Napoleon; and the last decade of estate duty. The Publisher and authors have dedicated this volume to the memory of John Tiley, Emeritus Professor of the Law of Taxation at the University of Cambridge, who died as it was going to press. The Cambridge History of Tax conferences were his idea and he was responsible for their planning. He also edited all six volumes in the series.

This authoritative book provides a structural, global view of evolving judicial and doctrinal trends in the understanding of beneficial ownership in international taxation. Despite attempts by the OECD to clarify the concept, it remains ambiguous to tax authorities, courts and scholars alike, which has detrimental effects on the functioning of tax treaties. Blazej Kuzniacki presents a route towards an international autonomous meaning of beneficial ownership in international taxation, while also offering a comprehensive explanation of the divergent understandings and tax policy arguments underpinning its continuing ambiguity. Key Features: Guidance towards solving definitional disputes between taxpayers and tax authorities Discussion of ground-breaking judgments in cases on beneficial ownership from various jurisdictions across the world Comprehensive reflection of tax law in action, particularly in respect of outbound investments that trigger transborder payments of dividends, interest and royalties Clear demarcation between appropriate and inappropriate usage of beneficial ownership by authorities and courts when addressing the issue of abuse of tax treaties and EU Directives Beneficial Ownership in International Taxation will be a crucial resource for lawyers specialising in international taxation, tax practitioners and accountants, along with officials at tax authorities and judges hearing cases in this area. It will also be useful for policy makers working on cross-border taxation, and scholars and students researching international tax law.

International tax rules, which determine how countries tax cross-border investment, are increasingly important with the rise of globalization, but the modern U.S. rules, even more than those in most other countries, are widely recognized as dysfunctional. The existing debate over how to reform the U.S. tax rules is stuck in a sterile dialectic, in which ostensibly the only permissible choices are worldwide or residence-based taxation of U.S. companies with the allowance of foreign tax credits, versus outright exemption of the companies' foreign source income. In Fixing U.S. International Taxation, Daniel N. Shaviro explains why neither of these solutions addresses the fundamental problem at hand, and he proposes a new reformulation of the existing framework from first principles. He shows that existing international tax policy frameworks are misguided insofar as they treat "double taxation" and "double non-taxation" as the key issues, conflate the distinct questions of what tax rate to impose on foreign source income and how to treat foreign taxes, and use simplistic single-bullet global welfare norms in lieu of a comprehensive analysis. Drawing on tools that are familiar from public economics and trade policy, but that have been under-utilized in the international tax realm, Shaviro offers a better analysis that not only reshapes our understanding of the underlying issues, but might point the way to substantially improving the prevailing rules, both in the U.S. and around the world.

Are you paying more taxes than you have to? There are more than nineteen million home-based businesses in the United States-56 percent of all businesses-and they generate $102 billion in annual revenue. As far as the IRS is concerned, a home business is no different than any other business. But there is a difference: not only can you deduct the business expenses that every business is entitled to, you can turn personal, nondeductible expenses into tax-deductible business expenses-if you are careful to follow the rules. No tax software or accountant knows the details of your home-based business like you do, and the IRS is certainly not going to tell you about a deduction you failed to take. This invaluable book not only lists the individual items that are deductible in your home-based business-from utilities to that part of the home where you work-but also explains where to list them on your income tax forms.

Offering a comprehensive exploration of EU taxation law, this engaging Research Handbook investigates the relevant legal principles in the context of both direct and indirect taxation. The important issues and debates arising from these general principles are expertly unpicked, with leading scholars examining the status quo as well as setting out a clear agenda for future research. This multidisciplinary book provides an insight into the taxation of individuals, businesses, passive investment and the non-profit sector. It reviews the harmonisation debate in the areas of corporate taxation and Value Added Tax, and also analyses the current developments as to energy and environmental taxation. Tax competition, state aid and the impact of the international polemic against aggressive tax planning are explored, as are the more procedural but equally important topics dealing with cooperation between tax authorities, exchange of information, taxpayer rights and dispute resolution. The final part of this book examines the external dimension to EU tax law - not only as far as the fundamental freedoms are concerned but also in the context of trade agreements and association agreements. An essential resource for students and scholars of EU taxation law, this Handbook will also appeal to practitioners and government officials working in taxation across the EU and beyond. Contributors include: N. Bammens, G. Bizioli, L. Cerioni, I. De Troyer, A.P. Dourado, M. Gammie, W. Haslehner, M. Helminen, S. Hemels, C.A. Herbain, J. Hey, R. Ismer, S. Kargitta, G. Kofler, M. Lamensch, R. Luja, R. Lyal, A. Maitrot de la Motte, C.H.J.I. Panayi, K. Perrou, S. Piotrowski, A. Pirlot, E. Reimer, R. Seer, D. Smit, K. Spies, R. Szudoczky, E. Traversa, F. Vanistendael

This work aims to explore the main distortions arising from the economic double taxation of distributed profits in three member states of the European Union: Portugal, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. It presents a comparative analysis of the tax implications of this form of double taxation from a legal point of view. To this end, both domestic laws and international tax treaties are analyzed, inward and outward investment is covered and dividend income tax burdens are ascertained having regard to those taxes that directly influence the effective dividend income tax rate. The results of this analysis are assessed in light of the tax principles of neutrality, efficiency, nondiscrimination under EU law and the objectives of fair distribution of revenue between member states, simplicity and prevention of tax evasion. The author concludes that well-accepted tax principles, such as the principles of worldwide taxation and vertical equity, operate less efficiently within the overall tax system. Instead, the source principle is gaining momentum, with simplicity and neutrality aims prevailing over distributional criteria. From a theoretical point of view, therefore, the principle of capital import neutrality is of growing importance as compared with the principle of capital export neutrality. Furthermore, it is suggested that problems remain with regard to the balence between debt financing and equity financing, unless an exemption system is in place, further complicated by the more favourable treatment given to capital gains. Neither classical nor imputation systems, the author concludes, provide a satisfactory answer to these problems.

Many common law countries inherited British income tax rules. Whether the inheritance was direct or indirect, the rationale and origins of some of the central rules seem almost lost in history. Commonly, they are simply explained as being of British origin without more, but even in Britain the origins of some of these rules are less than clear. This book traces the roots of the income tax and its precursors in Britain and in its former colonies to 1820. Harris focuses on four issues that are central to common law income taxes and which are of particular current relevance: the capital/revenue distinction, the taxation of corporations, taxation on both a source and residence basis, and the schedular approach to taxation. He uses an historical perspective to make observations about the future direction of income tax in the modern world. Volume II will cover the period 1820 to 2000.

The OECD's guidance on combatting tax avoidance strategies associated with Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS) methods is complex and accompanied by a wealth of literature. This book is the first to provide a concise and accessible overview of counter BEPS measures in the OECD Model and Commentary, allowing readers to gain a practical understanding of how the measures can impact the taxation of bilateral investments protected by tax treaties. Key features include: Practical analysis of tax treaties from the perspective of the country which is the destination of foreign investment Chapters that explore specific aspects of doing business in a destination country which employs the measures set out in the OECD Model and Commentary Explanation of how BEPS treaty rules affect a range of corporate tax strategies including: permanent establishment, use of corporate vehicles and intra-group transactions Information on administrative matters associated with BEPS, focusing on dispute settlement and cooperation in enforcement. Providing a succinct and practical approach to the topic, this book will be an insightful resource for those practising in the field of international taxation as well as corporate in-house counsel. Researchers and students seeking clear information on BEPS and its real world application affecting tax treaties will also benefit from this concise guide.

Within the European Union, direct taxation is an area which often provokes controversy due to tensions between the tax sovereignty of the individual Member States and the desire for an integrated internal market. This book offers a critical review of the legislative and case-law developments in this area at the EU level, and reviews the European Commission's proposed solutions in light of their concerns regarding the proper functioning of the EU's internal market. Luca Cerioni set out a series of benchmarks determined from the objectives expressed by the European Commission, including: the elimination of double taxation and double non-taxation; the simplification of cross-border tax compliance; the reduction of abusive forum-shopping practices and general aggressive tax planning strategies; legal certainty for all businesses and individuals carrying on activities and receiving income in more than one EU Member State. Cerioni uses these benchmarks to ask which Directives and/or rulings have left legal uncertainty, and which have ended up creating or increasing the scope for aggressive tax planning. The book puts forward a comprehensive solution for a new optimal regime relating to tax residence, which would contribute to the EU project to the mutual benefit of Member States and taxpayers. As a thorough and critical discussion of EU tax rules in force, and of the European Court's case law in direct taxation, this book will be of great use to academic researchers and students of EU law, tax practitioners, and policy-makers at the EU and national level.

This book, first published in 1991, explores the complexities of the relationship between acts of Congress and nine major US corporations regarding employer-sponsored retirement plans. The study was designed to discover if and why corporate decision makers respond to the Congress tax incentives or the disincentives that affect the design of corporate income security plans for retirees.

This unique book investigates the extent to which a taxpayer may invoke the freedom of movement within the Community in order to avoid national direct taxes. A Member State's right to protect its taxing authority and tax jurisdiction may collide with a Union citizen's right to free movement under Community law. The author shows what at the national level is viewed as abuse may often be viewed from an EC law perspective as invoking the Treaty freedoms. As his starting point, the author describes relevant Community law as it stands at present, whereby Member States are exclusively authorized to determine the types, tax bases, rates, and procedural aspects of direct taxes. He goes on to examine the possibilities offered by primary EC law to cross-border taxpayers who seek to avoid tax, basing his presentation on an in-depth analysis of the tax and non-tax case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities. Among the issues raised in the course of the analysis are the following: applicability of each of the freedoms of the citizen, of goods, of workers, of establishment, of services, and of capital; tests entailed by Community law: the economic activity test, the artificiality test, and the substance test; the extent to which holding and letterbox companies may invoke the freedom of movement; and the fiscal cohesion justification. The author describes the implicit concept of avoidance that the Court apparently uses by examining its tax and non-tax decisions in avoidance-like cases, thus offering a valuable discussion of whether the anti-abuse doctrine development by the Court is a principle of Community law. In its thorough investigation of a major current manifestation of the emblematic conflict between state taxing authority and personal freedom, this thoughtful and well-researched analysis will be of great value to tax professionals, officials, and academics not only on Europe but wherever this fundamental problem in tax law applies.

This book sails in uncharted waters. It takes a human rights-based approach to tax havens, and is a detailed analysis of structures and the laws that generate and support these. It makes plain the unscrupulous or merely indifferent ways in which, using tax havens, businesses and individuals systematically undermine and for all practical purposes eliminate access to remedies under international human rights law. It exposes as abusive of human rights a complex structural web of trusts, companies, partnerships, foundations, nominees and fiduciaries; secrecy, immunity and smoke screens. It also lays bare the cynical manipulation by tax havens of traditional legal forms and conventions, and the creation of entities so bizarre and chimeric that they defy classification. Yet from the perspective of the tax havens themselves, these are entirely legitimate; the product of duly enacted domestic laws. This book is not a work of investigative journalism in the style of the Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of The Panama Papers, exposing political or financial corruption, money laundering or the financing of terrorism. All those elements are present of course, but the focus is on international human rights and how tax havens do not merely facilitate but actively connive at their breach. The tax havens are compromising the international human rights legal continuum.

This book, first published in 1988, argues that a close inspection of the development of Hanafite law in the Mamluk and Ottoman periods reveals changes in legal doctrine which were not restricted to civil transactions but also concerned the public law. It focuses in particular on the interrelated areas of property, rent and taxation of arable lands, arguing that changes in the relationship between tax and rent led to a redefinition of the concept of landed property, a concept at the very heart of the Islamic legal system. This title will be of particular interest to students of Islamic history.

UK Taxation for Students can be used either on its own or in conjunction with other texts. It is, however, completely self-contained. This book is written in a user-friendly manner. It intersperses numerous examples throughout the text designed to illustrate particular points, and it assumes absolutely no prior knowledge about UK taxation. It covers the five main UK taxes, namely: income tax (paid by individuals); capital gains tax (paid by individuals); corporation tax (paid by companies); value added tax (levied on consumers by businesses); and inheritance tax (normally payable on the death of an individual). National Insurance Contributions are also included. Although this book is primarily aimed at students studying at undergraduate level, these are the taxes which typically form the core of the syllabuses for most of the UK's professional examinations in taxation.