Academic literature on the topic 'Taxation State governments'

The US federal system is undergoing significant change in numerous respects, one of which is the tax treatment of business. Taxes with an initial impact on business have traditionally provided a large amount of revenue to state and local governments, and they still do. But the business share of state and local taxes has decreased significantly compared with what it was several decades ago. Moreover, since interstate tax competition has intensified, the business share of taxes may continue to decline. The intensification of interstate tax competition is related to the increased priority of economic development as a goal of state policy. The severe unemployment of the early 1980s is probably the single most important factor in heightened concern about job creation. The increased openness of the US economy—implying especially acute problems for state economies dependent on heavy industry and farming—has also contributed. The decrease in federal corporation tax rates has made state taxes loom larger, and corporations have become more sophisticated about playing states against each other. In this paper, recent trends in business taxation are described and analyzed. The concern is not with evaluating these trends or suggesting how future policies might be changed. The paper may, however, contribute to the formulation of future policies by bringing together in one place a brief discussion of the disparate trends that have been affecting how state and local governments tax business.

Tribal self-sufficiency and self-government depend in part upon a tribe's ability to raise revenue and regulate its territory, and the power to tax plays an essential role in both. Taxation authority in Indian country, however, has been one of the most litigated issues between tribes, states, and local governments. Until Congress enacts legislation clarifying jurisdictional questions, intergovernmental tax agreements can provide some level of certainty while safeguarding against costly litigation. As seen in Montana, agreements can be crafted in mutually beneficial ways that respect tribal sovereignty, making them an effective, if temporary, solution to the ongoing taxation competitions between sovereigns.

This paper analyzes the determinants of legislation to increase state gasoline taxes from 1985 to 2013. It closely considers the motives of the political actors considering adoption, comparing the predictive power responsive government and excessive government theories. It finds strong evidence for responsive governments: traffic fatalities per-capita and the proportion of bridges deemed structurally deficient are among the strongest predictors of state gas tax increases. The conclusion of this paper is that gasoline tax increases in the American states represents a case of responsive taxation.

Theorists assert that international capital mobility creates substantial pressure for all democratically elected governments to decrease tax burdens on business. I explicate and critique the general version of this theory and offer an alternative view. Empirically, I explore whether or not the globalization of capital markets has resulted in decreases in business social security, payroll, and profit taxes. I also investigate whether or not capital mobility has intensified government responsiveness to domestic investment and profitability. Evidence suggests that business tax burdens have not been reduced in the face of rises in capital mobility nor is tax responsiveness to profitability and domestic investment intensified by more open capital markets. To the contrary, analyses indicate that business taxation has become subject to new ‘market conforming’ policy rules that developed in tandem with liberalization of markets. These new policy orientations reduce the economic management roles of business taxation while leaving the revenue-generating roles intact. In conclusion, I discuss the implications of the findings for questions concerning the structural power of internationally mobile capital, redistributive policies, and the autonomy of democratically elected governments in a global economy.

The determinants of the welfare state have received a great deal of attention in the comparative political economy literature. An analysis of the role that indirect taxation plays in the politics of advanced industrial societies is, however, missing. This article demonstrates that a full understanding of the links between redistribution, social democracy and corporatism is impossible without a closer look at indirect taxation. Conventional wisdom is questioned and it is shown that social democratic governments in corporatist environments find themselves in a paradoxical situation. They need to support the welfare state by relying upon a fundamentally regressive policy instrument: indirect taxation. It is also shown that social democratic governments can minimize the use of consumption taxes as part of their redistributive strategy only in non-corporatist settings. In exploring these issues, this article illuminates alternative routes for the pursuit of equality in a context of declining corporatist arrangements.

I explore empirically a central claim of the structural dependence thesis, namely, that capitalists' ability to disinvest fundamentally conditions policy choices in democratic capitalist systems. Utilizing time-series data for 16 affluent democracies from 1965 to 1984, I find that, indeed, low rates of business investment are associated with reductions in corporate tax burdens and that these reductions are more pronounced in periods of economic crisis. Moreover, low rates of capital formation engender cuts in personal income taxes during periods of economic stress. However, I also find that the magnitude of responsiveness of taxation to low rates of investment is relatively small and that analyses of the political context of investment and taxation indicate that governments have choices. The responsiveness of corporate tax burdens to capital formation may, under some governments, be part of a policy mix designed to maintain adequate investment and to address the demands of core constituencies.

The Great Depression produced a profound and lasting influence on the structure of US government. This paper studies theoretically and empirically the increased centralization of revenues and expenditures by the states relative to local governments during this period. A model of property and sales taxation and tax delinquency is introduced. In the model, the income decline of the Depression causes a rise in property tax delinquency and leads to a shift toward sales taxation and fiscal centralization by the states. Empirical evidence based on cross-state variation in the severity of the Depression is consistent with the model's key predictions. (JEL E32, H25, H71, H72, H77, N12, N42)

Federal and state governments in the United States use income and payroll taxes as their primary tools to collect revenue. Relative to the United States, governments in the rest of the world rely much more heavily on taxing consumption. Heavy American reliance on income rather than consumption taxation has not served the U.S. economy well. The inefficiency associated with taxing the return to capital means that the tax system reduces investment in the United States and distorts intertemporal consumption by Americans. While the economic logic of consumption taxation is compelling even for a closed economy, it is even more powerful for an open economy exposed to the world capital market. Consumption taxes in the form of excises can be designed to help protect the environment and control other externalities. Excise taxes can also serve the function of more closely aligning tax burdens with the benefits that taxpayers receive from certain government services. Understandable concerns arise about the distributional consequences of consumption taxation, but a system that relies heavily on consumption taxes, particularly if accompanied by an income tax, can be as progressive as any income tax the United States would realistically want to adopt.

Although recent studies on African colonial tax systems have deepened our understanding of early fiscal capacity building efforts in the region, they have largely ignored the contributions from a widely used butinvisiblesource of state revenue: that of labor contributions. Exploiting data oncorvéesystems in French Africa, this is the first article to make these in-kind taxes “visible” by estimating a lower bound of how much they augmented governments' revenue base. Revealing that labor taxes constituted in most places the largest component of early colonial budgets, I argue that studies on historical taxation need to make a greater effort to integrate this significant source of government revenue into their analysis.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008.<br>Committee Chair: Willoughby, Katherine; Committee Member: Eger, Robert; Committee Member: Kingsley, Gordon; Committee Member: Sjoquist, David; Committee Member: Wallace, Sally.

The taxation-accountability theory broadly states that if governments are dependent on taxation, they will become less corrupt and more accountable to citizens. The need to raise tax revenue is said to spark incentives that lead to mutually beneficial bargaining between government and citizens. Citizens agree to make tax payments in return for more accountable governance and increased influence in government decision-making. Several scholars have shown empirical evidence in support of this taxationaccountability theory at the national level, yet few have studied it at the local government level. This paper explores this theory in the context of Mexican municipal governments using a mixed methods research approach. It first surveys the relationship between taxation and accountability using econometric analysis and then employs a comparative case study of six urban municipalities that are under considerable pressure to raise their tax revenue. The latter is based on several months of field research conducted in the states of Guerrero, Tabasco, Baja California Sur, Aguascalientes, Yucatán and Coahuila. It reveals the processes that evolve from revenue pressure, whether they lead to tax bargaining, and the extent to which greater accountability can be expected as a result. The findings provide some evidence of tax bargaining and positive correlations between the importance of taxation in a government’s budget and accountability. However, the causal link to greater accountability is not straightforward and is greatly hindered by the institutional framework surrounding local government. While implicit agreements between government and citizens showed that equilibrium between taxation and accountability was consistently maintained, restrictions on local power and other institutional factors stood in the way of increased local taxation sparking greater local accountability. These factors may be remedied by reform.

As the federal government seeks ways to stimulate our economy and reduce our national debt, understanding public attitudes on the role and size of government and the taxes that support it is important. This thesis evaluates how US public opinion towards government and taxes has changed from 1990 to the present, and analyzes several potential causes for changes that have occurred. It is intended to be an update of William G. Mayer’s 1992 book entitled The Changing American Mind, which analyzed changing public opinion from 1960-1988. In following his analysis, the causes I have analyzed are generational replacement, fiscal and economic indicator data, and important political events. Through and examination of public polling data from the last twenty years, I have concluded that attitudes fluctuated relatively mildly on these issues since 1990. My analysis reveals that generational replacement exerted little influence on opinions. However, analysis also reveals that major changes in fiscal and economic indicator data and various major policy initiatives induced the greatest swings in public opinion of the last two decades. I believe that these changes reflect that American aggregate opinion remains constructed on a post-Ronald Reagan ideological foundation, whose features include an inherent suspicion of government and resistance to taxes. Understanding this is crucial to understanding the nation’s political trajectory.

The paradigm of early modern European state-building is predominantly derived from the experience of warring states and their attempts to increase revenue extraction. The Swiss republic of Bern offers an illuminating counter-example. Being free from major wars for over two centuries (1589-1798) offered a conductive situation that allowed the state to run consistent budget surpluses while minimising the tax burden on its citizens. The thesis explores the functions which the Bernese republic performed in the absence of warfare. I am particularly interested in the effect of redistribution of resources by the government, both directly through the fiscal constitution of the state and indirectly through institutions such as property rights, regulation and economic policy. My methodology is based on models from New Institutional Economic History (North 1990; Epstein 2000), fiscal history (Schumpeter 195; Korner 1981; Bonney 1995/1999) and historical sociology (Tilly 1992; Ertman 1997). At the core of the thesis is an empirical analysis of fiscal redistribution, based on data from contemporary accounts of the state which I have collected from the archives. The Bernese republic is analysed in the context of a surplus state model, in which the following elements are mutually dependent and reinforcing: budget surpluses, low defence expenditure, the absence of a national debt, investments and low level of taxation. Overall the canton followed a niche strategy to state building which proved to be cost-effective compared to more coercive fiscal regimes. However, this strategy ultimately depended on the external effects of sustained warfare, taxation and public debts elsewhere in Europe. A particular focus is on how the Bernese state used its structure as a surplus state to invest money on capital markets at home and abroad after 1710. I will use approaches from microeconomics and investor behaviour to analyse the canton's portfolio investments.

La presente tesi si concentra sui processi di decentramento in Italia e Spagna, analizzando l'impatto dei mutamenti del quadro giuridico europeo sull'autonomia finanziaria regionale. L’ordinamento finanziario sovranazionale è stato infatti ampiamente modificato negli ultimi anni (specialmente con riferimento alla c.d. "Eurozona") per affrontare le pressanti sfide di natura macroeconomica derivanti dalla crisi del debito sovrano, che ha coinvolto svariati Stati Membri. L'analisi del tema proposto viene effettuata con il metodo della comparazione, prendendo in considerazione gli ordinamenti italiano e spagnolo. Tale scelta metodologica riposa essenzialmente su due elementi, che integrano il requisito della comparabilità tra i due ordinamenti: a) la vicinanza strutturale e l'influenza reciproca che storicamente si è verificata tra i due modelli di decentramento (che vengono usualmente riportati alla forma – o tipo – di Stato regionale); b) la comune soggezione ai vincoli finanziari derivanti dall’ordinamento europeo, unita a una condizione di grave difficoltà finanziaria che coinvolge il sistema regionale in generale, e – in maniera più acuta – le Regioni e Comunidades Autónomas (d’ora in poi, CC.AA.) che sono state (o sono) colpite da fenomeni di mala gestio. Si presenterà ora brevemente la struttura del lavoro. I primi due capitoli parlano dello Stato regionale in Italia e in Spagna, ossia il contesto, lo “sfondo”, nel quale si inserisce il tema dell’autonomia finanziaria, seguendo la contrapposizione astratto/concreto, statico/dinamico: da un lato i modelli elaborati dalla dottrina, dall'altro l’evoluzione storica delle esperienze regionali, in entrambi i casi con particolare riferimento ai profili finanziari. Il primo capitolo descrive dunque la modellistica che viene generalmente utilizzata rispetto alle forme di distribuzione territoriale del potere politico (unione di stati, confederazione, stato federale, stato regionale, stato unitario), con un particolare approfondimento per la problematica categoria dello Stato regionale e, rispetto ad esso, registrando sia le posizioni critiche sull’utilità della categoria sia la particolare rilevanza che il livello di autonomia finanziaria regionale può avere a fini classificatori. Il secondo capitolo tratta invece partitamente le due linee storiche che si incrociano nella tematica in esame. Da un lato, lo sviluppo del regionalismo in Spagna e in Italia e le varie fasi dell’autonomia finanziaria nei due ordinamenti: non sfugge infatti a chi scrive che l’attuale stato delle finanze pubbliche territoriali sia in entrambi i casi il frutto di un complesso processo di evoluzione; tuttavia – ai fini della comparazione – pare opportuno privilegiare l’aspetto sincronico a quello diacronico, concentrandosi sull'ultimo stadio di questo percorso, nel suo intreccio con un sistema normativo e decisionale sempre più complesso, nazionale e sovranazionale. Dall'altro lato, si fa appunto un quadro dell’evoluzione della governance finanziaria europea sotto l’impatto della crisi economico-finanziaria che si è originata a livello globale a partire dal 2008. Tale evoluzione costituisce infatti il presupposto dei mutamenti costituzionali e normativi che si vogliono analizzare nel presente lavoro. Il terzo capitolo, che è il più ampio del lavoro, descrive l’ordinamento finanziario di Regioni e CCAA nel quadro di un sistema normativo che ormai affonda le sue radici nel livello sovranazionale. Obiettivo di questa parte del lavoro è tanto dare conto del sistema delle fonti dell’autonomia finanziaria da un punto di vista formale, quanto esporre ed analizzare le scelte normative compiute in concreto. Al suo interno, il capitolo è tripartito: ordinamento UE, ordinamento italiano e ordinamento spagnolo. La ragione di una trattazione separata dei due Paesi sul piano delle fonti è evidente: si tratta di sistemi peculiari e non sovrapponibili. In Spagna il metodo di finanziamento delle CCAA è determinato da due importanti leggi organiche, la LOFCA (Ley Orgánica de Financiación de las Comunidades Autónomas) e la LOEPSF (Ley Orgánica de Estabilidad Presupuestaria y Sostenibilidad Financiera): diventa dunque essenziale approfondire natura e ambito di competenza di ciascuna di esse, assieme al discusso problema del rapporto tra leggi organiche e Statuti delle CCAA nel sistema delle fonti del diritto. In Italia il quadro delle fonti si è fatto nel tempo sempre più articolato: basti ricordare la previsione di una specifica legge rinforzata da parte della nuova formulazione dell’art. 81, c.6, Cost. e il ruolo della legge delega sul federalismo fiscale (l. n. 42 del 2009) nel condizionare il contenuto dei relativi decreti legislativi di attuazione. All'interno dei paragrafi relativi all'uno e all'altro Paese si cerca di porre in luce i due versanti dell’autonomia finanziaria già esplicitati in precedenza, entrata e spesa. Rispetto al'’autonomia di entrata, si dà conto tanto dello spazio concesso alla potestà impositiva di Regioni e CCAA – e quindi il potere di istituire tributi propri regionali e i ccdd. tributos cedidos anche dal punto di vista normativo nel caso spagnolo – quanto del problema centrale del finanziamento delle autonomie territoriali mediante risorse derivanti dai tributi statali, nelle forme della compartecipazione al gettito degli stessi e dei trasferimenti statali. Il profilo dell’autonomia di spesa riceve poi una considerazione altrettanto approfondita. In sistemi regionali in cui la decisione sulle entrate è ancora sostanzialmente in mano al livello di governo centrale, è chiaramente l’autonomia di spesa a concretare più direttamente l’autonomia finanziaria regionale, fino a spingere taluno a coniare la categoria del federalismo fiscale “di spesa”. Proprio sull'autonomia di spesa hanno però impattato in maniera più diretta la crisi economico- finanziaria, i vincoli finanziari europei e la loro attuazione a livello interno: quest’ultima è avvenuta non soltanto tramite provvedimenti del legislatore statale volti a porre un limite globale alla spesa delle autonomie, al fine di garantire il rispetto dei vincoli sovranazionali da parte del complesso dei soggetti che compongono la c.d. finanza pubblica allargata (limiti diretti all'autonomia di spesa), ma anche tramite norme di legge che incidevano su ambiti rientranti nella competenza delle Regioni, fra i quali gli aspetti ordinamentali, giustificati dallo scopo di contenimento della spesa pubblica (limiti indiretti). Il quarto capitolo approfondisce il tema delle relazioni finanziarie fra Stato e Regioni/CCAA sul piano dei principi costituzionali: a differenza del capitolo precedente, la trattazione viene svolta trasversalmente fra i due ordinamenti, nella convinzione che vi siano alcune linee fondamentali in comune fra di essi. Si delinea quindi un vero e proprio statuto costituzionale dell’autonomia finanziaria nello Stato regionale che si sostanzia nei seguenti principi: autonomia finanziaria e corresponsabilità fiscale; solidarietà; sufficienza finanziaria (connessione risorse-funzioni); coordinamento finanziario; equilibrio di bilancio e sostenibilità finanziaria; leale collaborazione. Per ciascun principio non si dà conto soltanto dei riferimenti normativi ma soprattutto dell’interpretazione che ne è stata data dalla giurisprudenza costituzionale, istanza deputata a far “vivere” i principi nei mutamenti istituzionali e sociali tramite l’interpretazione costituzionale. Il quinto capitolo approfondisce infine un profilo spesso trascurato a livello dottrinale, ossia quello dei sistemi finanziari delle autonomie differenziate, nell’uno e nell’altro ordinamento. Nel caso italiano, il tema è quello della c.d. specialità finanziaria, che configura un percorso originale e peculiare nel quadro del regionalismo italiano. Il tema parrebbe porsi in maniera più complessa nel caso spagnolo, in virtù della potenziale asimmetria che caratterizza il sistema: tuttavia, in virtù della portata omogeneizzatrice della LOFCA, la maggior parte delle comunità autonome presenta un sistema di finanziamento sostanzialmente unitario. La reale differenziazione si coglie piuttosto rispetto al sistema del convenio e concierto autonómico seguito da País Vasco e Navarra, sistema che costituisce il portato di un lungo percorso storico e concreta una delle peculiarità del regimen foral di questi territori. Specialità finanziaria e regime forale presentano tratti di somiglianza e costituiscono esperienze meritevoli di approfondimento: essi sono da un lato oggetto di critica in entrambi i Paesi in quanto considerati “privilegi fiscali”, allo stesso tempo non di rado la estensibilità dei sistemi ad alcune (o a tutte le) Regioni viene fatto oggetto di studio.<br>Los dos primeros capítulos hablan del Estado regional en Italia y España, es decir el contexto en el que se inserta el tema de la autonomía financiera. El primer capítulo describe las categorías que generalmente se usan con respecto a las formas de distribución territorial del poder político (unión de Estados, confederación, Estado federal, Estado regional, Estado unitario), con un estudio particular de la categoría problemática del Estado regional. El segundo capítulo trata de las dos líneas históricas que se entrecruzan en el tema estudiado. Por un lado, el desarrollo del regionalismo en España e Italia y las diversas fases de autonomía financiera en los dos sistemas; por otro lado, la evolución de la governance financiera europea bajo el impacto de la crisis económico-financiera que se ha originado a nivel mundial desde 2008. Esta evolución es, de hecho, la condición previa de los cambios constitucionales y legislativos que se quieren analizar en el trabajo. Los capítulos tercero y cuarto estudian la autonomía financiera regional según una perspectiva constitucional general: el tercero desde el punto de vista formal, con referencia al sistema de fuentes del derecho, y el cuarto desde el sustantivo, es decir, con respecto a los principios constitucionales. El capítulo tercero trata de la autonomía financiera respectivamente de ingreso y de gasto en el caso italiano y español, considerando los sistemas de fuentes de la Unión Europea e internos de ambos Estados. En relación a la autonomía de ingreso, el trabajo se centra principalmente sobre el problema del poder de las Regiones y CCAA para establecer sus propios impuestos regionales (y sus límites), así como sobre los impuestos cedidos por el Estado a las CCAA en España, por para luego abordar el problema central de financiar autonomías territoriales a través de los recursos derivados de impuestos estatales, en la forma de compartir los ingresos y las transferencias estatales. El perfil de la autonomía del gasto juega también un papel central en el trabajo. Sobre el poder de gasto de las autonomías, han impactado de manera más directa la crisis económica y financiera, las limitaciones financieras europeas y su aplicación a nivel interno. También se considerará el problema de la deuda pública. El capítulo cuarto estudia en particular la jurisprudencia constitucional sobre los siguientes principios: principio de autonomía financiera, principio de suficiencia financiera, principio de coordinación, principio de estabilidad presupuestaria, principio de solidaridad y de ordinalidad, principio de lealtad institucional y de cooperación. Finalmente, el quinto capítulo estudia un perfil a menudo descuidado a nivel doctrinal, que es el de los sistemas financieros de las autonomías diferenciadas, en uno u otro País. En el caso italiano, se trata de la especialidad financiera, que configura un camino original y peculiar en el marco del regionalismo italiano. En el caso español, la diferenciación real se verifica con respecto al sistema de convenio y concierto autonómico de País Vasco y Navarra. Especialidad financiera y régimen Foral tienen rasgos similares y son experiencias interesantes: algunos las critican como "privilegios fiscales", pero otros estudian la extensibilidad de estos sistemas a las demás Regiones/Comunidades.<br>Els dos primers capítols parlen de l'Estat regional a Itàlia i Espanya, és a dir el context en què s'insereix el tema de l'autonomia financera. El primer capítol descriu les categories que generalment es fan servir pel que fa a les formes de distribució territorial del poder polític (unió d'Estats, confederació, Estat federal, Estat regional, Estat unitari), amb un estudi particular de la categoria problemàtica de l'Estat regional. El segon capítol tracta de les dues línies històriques que s'entrecreuen en el tema estudiat. D'una banda, el desenvolupament del regionalisme a Espanya i Itàlia i les diverses fases de l'autonomia financera en els dos sistemes; d'altra banda, l'evolució de la governance financera europea sota l'impacte de la crisi economicofinancera que s'ha originat a nivell mundial des de 2008. Aquesta evolució és, de fet, la condició prèvia dels canvis constitucionals i legislatius que es volen analitzar en el treball. Els capítols tercer i quart estudien l'autonomia financera regional segons una perspectiva constitucional general: el tercer des del punt de vista formal, amb referència al sistema de fonts del dret, i el quart des del substantiu, és a dir, pel que fa als principis constitucionals . El capítol tercer tracta de l'autonomia financera respectivament d'ingressos i de despesa en el cas italià i espanyol, considerant els sistemes de fonts de la Unió Europea i interns d'ambdós Estats. En relació a l'autonomia d'ingressos, el treball se centra principalment sobre el problema del poder de Regions i CCAA per a establir els seus propis impostos regionals (i el seus límits), així com sobre els impostos cedits per l'Estat a les CCAA a Espanya, per després abordar el problema central de finançar autonomies territorials a través dels recursos derivats d'impostos estatals, en la forma de compartir els ingressos i les transferències estatals. El perfil de l'autonomia de despesa juga també un paper central en el treball. Sobre el poder de despesa de les autonomies, han impactat de manera més directa la crisi econòmica i financera, les limitacions financeres europees i la seva aplicació a nivell intern. També es considerarà el problema del deute públic, al qual s'han posat límits significatius a partir del nou context regulador supranacional. El capítol quart estudia en particular la jurisprudència constitucional sobre els següents principis: principi d'autonomia financera, principi de suficiència financera, principi de coordinació, principi d'estabilitat pressupostària, principi de solidaritat i d'ordinalitat, principi de lleialtat institucional i de cooperació. Finalment, el cinquè capítol estudia un perfil sovint descuidat a nivell doctrinal, que és el dels sistemes financers d'autonomies diferenciades, en un o altre País. En el cas italià, es tracta de l'especialitat financera, que configura un camí original i peculiar en el marc del regionalisme italià. En el cas espanyol, la diferenciació real es verifica que fa al sistema de conveni i concert autonòmic del País Basc i Navarra. Especialitat financera i règim foral tenen trets similars i són experiències interessants: alguns les critiquen com "privilegis fiscals", però altres estudien la extensibilitat d'aquestes sistemes a les demés Regions / Comunitats.<br>The first two chapters deal about the “regional State” in Italy and Spain. The first chapter describes the categories that are generally used to classify the forms of territorial distribution of political power (union of States, confederation, federal State, regional State, unitary State), with particular attention to the problematic category of the regional State. The second chapter concerns the two historical aspects of the matter. On the one hand, the development of regionalism in Spain and Italy and the various phases of financial autonomy in the two systems; on the other hand, the evolution of European financial governance under the impact of the economic crisis since 2008. This evolution is, in fact, the precondition of the constitutional and legislative changes that the thesis aims to analyse. The third and fourth chapters are devoted to regional financial autonomy according to a general constitutional perspective: the third from the formal point of view, with reference to the system of sources of law, and the fourth from the substantive standpoint (constitutional principles). In particular, the third chapter deals with financial autonomy and, respectively, with tax power and power of expenditure in the Italian and Spanish cases, considering both the European Union and the internal sources of law. In relation to the tax autonomy, the thesis focuses mainly on the problem of the power of Regions and Autonomous Communities to establish their own regional taxes (and their limits), as well as on the taxes assigned by the State to the Autonomous Communities in Spain. Then, the thesis deepens the central problem of financing territorial autonomies through resources derived from State taxes, in the form of revenue sharing and State transfers. The topic of spending power also plays a central role in the research: the European financial rules and their application have a direct impact on regional spending autonomy. The problem of public debt, which is significantly regulated by the new supranational legal context, will also be considered. The fourth chapter is devoted in particular to the constitutional case law on the following principles: the principle of financial autonomy, the principle of financial sufficiency, the principle of coordination, the balance budget principle, the principle of solidarity and its limits, the principle of institutional loyalty and cooperation. Finally, the fifth chapter deals with a matter often neglected at the doctrinal level, which is the financial systems of differentiated autonomies, in both countries. In the Italian case, the Financial Specialty represents an original and peculiar way within the framework of Italian regionalism. In the Spanish case, the most important differentiation is the system of the convenio/concierto autonómico (agreement) of the Basque Country and Navarre.

La présente thèse s'intéresse à l'autonomie fiscale des collectivités territoriales françaises et russes, autrement dit, à leur maîtrise d'une fiscalité propre à travers la possibilité de d'établir des impôts locaux représentant une part significative dans les budgets locaux. Deux modèles différents de l'autonomie fiscale locale « à la française » et « à la russe » sont replacés dans un contexte de décentralisation d'ampleur variable pour les pays étudiés depuis les années 1990, mais avec une tendance paradoxale à l'élargissement des attributions des collectivités locales sans qu'il y ait corollairement un accroissement égal de leurs ressources financières. Cette thèse ne se limite pas à un état des lieux contemporain puisqu'elle a pour ambition une étude approfondie de l'évolution des pouvoirs fiscaux locaux dans le temps, à savoir depuis 1789 en France et 1861 en Russie. En effet, les enjeux principaux de cette étude sont de clarifier la définition, voire la signification de l'autonomie fiscale des échelons locaux en France et en Russie, d'analyser la situation dans les deux pays afin de dégager des ressemblances et divergences, mais encore de s'attacher à la mise en oeuvre pratique de cette notion et d'apprécier son impact tant pour l'État que pour les collectivités territoriales. Ces objectifs n'auraient pas pu être atteints sans analyser les origines et les prémices de l'autonomie fiscale locale. En reprenant l'image d'un bâtiment, la présente thèse tente de démontrer comment les États français et russe avec leurs collectivités locales ont établi les fondations et érigé les murs avant de se consacrer à bâtir une partie plus moderne de l'édifice qu'incarnerait l'autonomie des échelons locaux en matière fiscale. Au cours de la recherche, trois hypothèses principales se dégagent. Ainsi, pour la période jusqu'en 1917, on tente d'établir que contrairement aux départements français et zemstva russes nés par la volonté politique de l'État, le caractère « premier » des échelons communaux par rapport à l'État, ainsi que leur pérennité dans le temps, devaient les amener à une vraie autonomie fiscale, dont l'existence serait incontestable. Puis, on suggère que cette différence en termes de degrés d'autonomie s'est estompée face au poids socio-économique croissant des échelons supra-communaux dans les deux pays au XX siècle et à l'apparition d'une autonomie fiscale importante des collectivités territoriales sans distinction de catégories. Enfin, on relève qu'à partir des années 1980/90, compte tenu du nouveau rôle des échelons locaux en leur ensemble, les États russe et français ont dû évoluer vers une autonomie fiscale plus importante des collectivités territoriales. Cette recherche souligne le caractère utopique d'un modèle idéal de l'autonomie fiscale locale pourtant recherché (en vain) depuis longtemps par des différents gouvernements et régimes politiques en France et en Russie. Dès lors, le présente ouvrage n'a pas pour ambition d'élaborer une recette « magique » et universelle, pour trouver un juste milieu entre l'absorption complète de la fiscalité locale par celle de l'État et la liberté complète, voir anarchique, des collectivités territoriales en matière d'impositions. L'analyse peut enfin favoriser l'émergence de pistes de réflexion pour l'amélioration de la situation financière des collectivités territoriales dans les deux pays étudiés<br>The present thesis stresses on the tax autonomy of local self-government in France and in Russia; in other words, it focuses on their control of own taxation through the possibility of establishing local taxes representing a significant part of local budgets. Two different models of local tax autonomy "à la française" and "à la russe" are placed in a context of decentralization with variable extent for the countries under study since 1990s, but with a paradoxical tendency to the enlargement of the attributions of local authorities without equal growth of their financial resources. This thesis is not limited to a contemporary state because it also aims for a scrutiny of the evolution of local tax powers over time, namely since 1789 in France and 1861 in Russia. Indeed, the main goals of this study are to clarify the definition, or even the meaning of the tax autonomy of local self-government in France and in Russia, to analyze the situation in both countries in order not only to figure out similarities and divergences, but also to focus on the practical implementation of this notion and to assess its impact both for the State and for local authorities. These targets could not have been achieved without analyzing the origins and the premises of local tax autonomy. Using the picture of a building, the present thesis attempts to demonstrate how the French and Russian States with their local authorities established the foundations and erected the walls before devoting themselves to construct a more modern part of the building that would embody the autonomy of local self-government in issues of taxation. During the research, three main hypotheses emerge. So, for the period until 1917, this study tries to establish that contrary to the French departments and Russians zemstva born by the political will of the State, the primary character of municipalities in comparison with the State, as well as their durability in time, have to bring them to a real tax autonomy, the existence of which would be incontestable. Then, it suggests that this difference in terms of degrees of autonomy trailed off face to a growing socioeconomic weight of supra-municipal levels in both countries in the XX century and leaded to the appearance of significant tax autonomy of local authorities independently of their categories. Finally, the thesis suggests that starting from the 1980s/90s, in view of the new role of local self-government as a whole, the Russian and French States had to evolve towards a larger tax autonomy of local authorities. This research underlines the utopian character of any ideal model of local tax autonomy however searched (in vain) for a long time by various governments and political regimes in France and in Russia. Therefore, it has no ambition to elaborate an universal and "magical" recipe, to find a golden mean between the full absorption of local taxation by that one of the State and the complete, see anarchic, freedom of local self-government in issues of taxation. The analysis may finally encourage the emergence of ideas for improving the financial situation of local authorities in both studied countries

AbstractThis chapter presents a critical analysis of the capacity of the nation-state to develop and implement effective policy interventions on behalf of national labour interests in highly globalized industries. This follows the consistent observation that, under neoliberal capitalism, governments have lacked the power and/or will to implement pro-labour legislation in the same way as they have done for capital (Fourcades-Gourinchas and Babb 2002; Peck 2004; Kotz 2015). This discussion is developed with reference to the Tonnage Tax policy, introduced by the UK government in 2000, as the key policy strategy to revitalize the ailing shipping industry (Department for Transport 1998). In the broadest terms, the strategy is a tax concession designed to attract British ship owners to re-flag their ships to the UK national register, retain the majority of their ship management in the UK and train British seafarer cadets (Selkou and Roe 2002; Brownrigg et al. 2001; Gekara 2010). The core of the strategy, i.e. the tax element, represents an alternative system of calculating corporation tax for shipping companies based on fixed rates and with reference to a shipping company’s total operating tonnage per year rather than its total income, which represents a highly reduced rate of taxation. To specifically address the decline in the British national seafarer labour market and the supply of British officers, a Minimum Training Obligation (MTO) was included for all British-registered ships, which simultaneously incentivized and compelled shipping companies to increase their cadet recruitment and training activities (Selkou and Roe 2002).

AbstractThe use of tax expenditures (TEs) is an important fiscal practice that is often overlooked in public spending debates. The fiscal cost as well as the lack of effectiveness of TEs can be significant. This chapter describes the state of TE reporting across the world, focusing on Africa. It begins by explaining in detail what TEs are and what their role in government expenditure is. It proceeds by offering examples of the fiscal cost of these provisions, their (in)effectiveness, and the reasons why they are often hard to remove. The main portion of the chapter focuses on the lack and inconsistency of TE reporting. The chapter provides the first results of the “Global Tax Expenditures Database” (GTED), an ongoing project aiming to increase transparency and boost research in the TE field. The GTED reveals that over 64% of African countries do not provide any information on their TEs, while most of the countries that do report on TEs leave out important information such as the policy objectives and beneficiaries of those provisions. Lastly, using the available data, the chapter reports that, on average, TEs in African countries account for 2.8% of GDP and 17.8% of total tax revenue, and being as high as 7.8% (in Senegal) and 58.4% (in Mauritania), respectively.

Governments increasingly use their fiscal policy to attract mobile capital from abroad. This tax competition puts a strain on the international fiscal system by undermining the capacity of states to make autonomous fiscal choices and by exacerbating inequalities. The existing regulatory framework is not able to address these challenges. Yet, what considerations should guide our efforts for reform? This chapter argues that a first necessary step consists in understanding the principles that justify the state as the principal locus of fiscal control in the first place. Building on an account of the legitimacy of the state and its fiscal powers, the chapter shows how tax competition is in tension with the principal objectives this account assigns to the state. It then outlines a normative response to tax competition that relies on both reforming jurisdictional rules and redistribution between states.

In the current context information technologies including Internet technologies are the most important factor in providing sustainable social and economic development of the nation. Taking part in implementing government functions they represent a new form of citizens public authorities communication within the bounds of e-government. Offices of State Tax Administration of Ukraine are part of public electronic space and are actively employing Internet technologies in administering their functions. They are represented by hardware and software for information collection, processing, transfer and storage, and also serve as active communication medium with taxpayers. Official website of tax administration of Ukraine has 20 sections, 163 sub-sections and more than 400 heads in Ukrainian, Russian and English languages. In conditions of taxation system reforming it provides on-line access to live information and is efficient tool in forming optimal ties with taxpayers providing feedback in discussing topical taxation questions. Introduction into effect of the Tax Code has made fundamental changes in tax procedure and administration methods. Procedure of submitting tax accounts in electronic form through Internet has been improved. It enables to aggregate taxpayers review data and tax offices accounting data into unified technological process. The paper gives analysis of the influence of IT on improving efficiency of tax administration in the current context and assessment of the prospects for its further improvement.

Taxes are the main financial resource of government. Performance of tax system depends on the willingness of taxpayers to pay taxes or tax morale. Government can use deterrence instruments as tax penalty and size of detection. But socio-psychological factors as attitudes of community towards tax behavior of social norms related taxation can manage and regulate tax compliance more effectively than deterrence instruments. &#x0D; In transition economies as Kyrgyzstan government needs more financial resources to implement economic and social reforms, to decrease poverty and achieve sustainable development. Nowadays government seeks ways to increase tax revenue. Also in the project of the Conception of Fiscal Policy in Kyrgyz Republic for 2015-2020 developed by Ministry of Economy increasing tax morale, tax awareness and consciousness is stated one of the main tasks. Tax morale and tax compliance of taxpayers’ influenced by attitude of community, family and occupational group to taxes. Negative attitude of society to tax evasion can effectively regulate tax evasion and stimulate tax compliance. The aim of this research is to reveal social norms in Kyrgyzstan and to analyze how they influence on tax behavior.

Policy decisions regarding commercial harvesting of aquatic species by (typically governmental) regulatory agencies are often based in part upon field data, simulation results, and mathematical models. Regulatory agencies may limit or expand seasons, determine total harvest allowed, increase or decrease licensure fees, and raise or lower taxation rates in response to the state of the ecological system. Ultimately, the regulatory agency uses such measures to ensure viable populations in an attempt to balance ecosystem health and benefits for society. Such decisions impact commercial fishing ventures affecting the nature of harvesting efforts and their intensity. Conclusions drawn from mathematical models of ecological systems, and derived simulation results which affect this reality are highly dependent upon the validity of information available. Knowledge or estimates of critical parameters such as intrinsic growth rate, carrying capacity, etc. and dynamic variables such as biomass levels dictate the usefulness of analytical and numerical analyses. The purpose of this treatment is to illustrate that control laws applied to mathematical models of species dynamics may be used to discern estimates of parameters that inherently exist in such models in an effort to provide more valuable information upon which to base policy decisions. Dynamic models of both single-species evolution and predator-prey interactions are examined.

The recast of the international debt contracted by the former Ottoman Empire and the overcoming of the capitulations regime that had afflicted Turkey for centuries, are two of the most relevant sectors in which the political and diplomatic action promoted by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk has been expressed. Extremely relevant in this regard are the different disciplines established, respectively, by the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920 and then by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. After the Ottoman Government defaulted in 1875, an agreement (the Decree of Muharrem) was concluded in 1881 between the Ottoman Government and representatives of its foreign and domestic creditors for the resumption of payments on Ottoman bonds, and a European control of a part of the Imperial revenues was instituted through the Administration of the Ottoman Public Debt. At the same time, the Ottoman Empire was burdened by capitulations, conferring rights and privileges in favour of their subjects resident or trading in the Ottoman lands, following the policy towards European States of the Byzantine Empire. According to these capitulations, traders entering the Ottoman Empire were exempt from local prosecution, local taxation, local conscription, and the searching of their domicile. The capitulations were initially made during the Ottoman Empire’s military dominance, to entice and encourage commercial exchanges with Western merchants. However, after dominance shifted to Europe, significant economic and political advantages were granted to the European Powers by the Ottoman Empire. Both regimes, substantially maintained by the Treaty of Sèvres, were considered unacceptable by the Nationalist Movement led by Mustafa Kemal and therefore became the subject of negotiations during the Conference of Lausanne. The definitive overcoming of both of them, therefore represents one of the most evident examples of the reacquisition of the full sovereignty of the Republic of Turkey.

At their most basic level taxes carry, in the words of Schumpeter ([1918] 1991), “the thunder of history” (p. 101). They say something about the ever-changing structures of social, economic, and political life. Taxes offer a blueprint, in both symbolic and concrete terms, for uncovering the most fundamental arrangements in society – stratification included. The historical retellings captured within these data highlight the politics of taxation in Alabama from 1856 to 1901, including conflicts over whom money is expended upon as well as struggles over who carries their fair share of the tax burden. The selected timeline overlaps with the formation of five of six constitutions adopted in the State of Alabama, including 1861, 1865, 1868, 1875, and 1901. Having these years as the focal point makes for an especially meaningful case study, given how much these constitutional formations made the state a site for much political debate. These data contain 5,121 pages of periodicals from newspapers throughout the state, including: Alabama Sentinel, Alabama State Intelligencer, Alabama State Journal, Athens Herald, Daily Alabama Journal, Daily Confederation, Elyton Herald, Mobile Daily Tribune, Mobile Tribune, Mobile Weekly Tribune, Morning Herald, Nationalist, New Era, Observer, Tuscaloosa Observer, Tuskegee News, Universalist Herald, and Wilcox News and Pacificator. The contemporary relevance of these historical debates manifests in Alabama’s current constitution which was adopted in 1901. This constitution departs from well-established conventions of treating the document as a legal framework that specifies a general role of governance but is firm enough to protect the civil rights and liberties of the population. Instead, it stands more as a legislative document, or procedural straightjacket, that preempts through statutory material what regulatory action is possible by the state. These barriers included a refusal to establish a state board of education and enact a tax structure for local education in addition to debt and tax limitations that constrained government capacity more broadly. Prohibitive features like these are among the reasons that, by 2020, the 1901 Constitution has been amended nearly 1,000 times since its adoption. However, similar procedural barriers have been duplicated across the U.S. since (e.g., California’s Proposition 13 of 1978). Reference: Schumpeter, Joseph. [1918] 1991. “The Crisis of the Tax State.” Pp. 99-140 in The Economics and Sociology of Capitalism, edited by Richard Swedberg. Princeton University Press.

The internet and digital technologies are upending global trade. Industries and supply chains are being transformed, and the movement of data across borders is now central to the operation of the global economy. Provisions in trade agreements address many aspects of the digital economy – from cross-border data flows, to the protection of citizens’ personal data, and the regulation of the internet and new technologies like artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision-making. The UK government has identified digital trade as a priority in its Global Britain strategy and one of the main sources of economic growth to recover from the pandemic. It wants the UK to play a leading role in setting the international standards and regulations that govern the global digital economy. The regulation of digital trade is a fast-evolving and contentious issue, and the US, European Union (EU), and China have adopted different approaches. Now that the UK has left the EU, it will need to navigate across multiple and often conflicting digital realms. The UK needs to decide which policy objectives it will prioritise, how to regulate the digital economy domestically, and how best to achieve its priorities when negotiating international trade agreements. There is an urgent need to develop a robust, evidence-based approach to the UK’s digital trade strategy that takes into account the perspectives of businesses, workers, and citizens, as well as the approaches of other countries in the global economy. This working paper aims to inform UK policy debates by assessing the state of play in digital trade globally. The authors present a detailed analysis of five policy areas that are central to discussions on digital trade for the UK: cross-border data flows and privacy; internet access and content regulation; intellectual property and innovation; e-commerce (including trade facilitation and consumer protection); and taxation (customs duties on e-commerce and digital services taxes). In each of these areas the authors compare and contrast the approaches taken by the US, EU and China, discuss the public policy implications, and examine the choices facing the UK.