Ifcworld 2019
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Creating Market Incentives for Greener Products Policy Manual for Eastern Partnership Countries
Creating Market Incentives for Greener Products Policy Manual for Eastern Partnership Countries Creating Incentives for Greener Products Policy Manual for Eastern Partnership Countries 2014 About the OECD The OECD is a unique forum where governments work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union takes part in the work of the OECD. Since the 1990s, the OECD Task Force for the Implementation of the Environmental Action Programme (the EAP Task Force) has been supporting countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia to reconcile their environment and economic goals. About the EaP GREEN programme The “Greening Economies in the European Union’s Eastern Neighbourhood” (EaP GREEN) programme aims to support the six Eastern Partnership countries to move towards green economy by decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation and resource depletion. The six EaP countries are: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. -
Saleh Poll Tax December 2011
On the Road to Heaven: Poll tax, Religion, and Human Capital in Medieval and Modern Egypt Mohamed Saleh* University of Southern California (Preliminary and Incomplete: December 1, 2011) Abstract In the Middle East, non-Muslims are, on average, better off than the Muslim majority. I trace the origins of the phenomenon in Egypt to the imposition of the poll tax on non- Muslims upon the Islamic Conquest of the then-Coptic Christian Egypt in 640. The tax, which remained until 1855, led to the conversion of poor Copts to Islam to avoid paying the tax, and to the shrinking of Copts to a better off minority. Using new data sources that I digitized, including the 1848 and 1868 census manuscripts, I provide empirical evidence to support the hypothesis. I find that the spatial variation in poll tax enforcement and tax elasticity of conversion, measured by four historical factors, predicts the variation in the Coptic population share in the 19th century, which is, in turn, inversely related to the magnitude of the Coptic-Muslim gap, as predicted by the hypothesis. The four factors are: (i) the 8th and 9th centuries tax revolts, (ii) the Arab immigration waves to Egypt in the 7th to 9th centuries, (iii) the Coptic churches and monasteries in the 12th and 15th centuries, and (iv) the route of the Holy Family in Egypt. I draw on a wide range of qualitative evidence to support these findings. Keywords: Islamic poll tax; Copts, Islamic Conquest; Conversion; Middle East JEL Classification: N35 * The author is a PhD candidate at the Department of Economics, University of Southern California (E- mail: [email protected]). -
Cra Ratings of Massachusetts Banks, Credit Unions, and Licensed Mortgage Lenders in 2016
CRA RATINGS OF MASSACHUSETTS BANKS, CREDIT UNIONS, AND LICENSED MORTGAGE LENDERS IN 2016 MAHA's Twenty-Sixth Annual Report on How Well Lenders and Regulators Are Meeting Their Obligations Under the Community Reinvestment Act Prepared for the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance 1803 Dorchester Avenue Dorchester MA 02124 mahahome.org by Jim Campen Professor Emeritus of Economics University of Massachusetts/Boston [email protected] January 2017 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS Since 1990, state and federal bank regulators have been required to make public their ratings of the performance of individual banks in serving the credit needs of local communities, in accordance with the provisions of the federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and its Massachusetts counterpart. And since 1991, the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA) has issued annual reports offering a comprehensive listing and analysis of all CRA ratings of Massachusetts banks and credit unions. This is the twenty-sixth report in this annual series. Since 2011 these reports have also included information on the CRA-like ratings of licensed mortgage lenders issued by the state’s Division of Banks in accordance with its CRA for Mortgage Lenders regulation. As defined for this report, there were 153 “Massachusetts banks” as of December 31, 2016. This includes not only 131 banks that have headquarters in the state, but also 22 banks based elsewhere that have one or more branch offices in Massachusetts.1 Table A-1 provides a listing of the 153 Massachusetts -
FINANCE Offshore Finance.Pdf
This page intentionally left blank OFFSHORE FINANCE It is estimated that up to 60 per cent of the world’s money may be located oVshore, where half of all financial transactions are said to take place. Meanwhile, there is a perception that secrecy about oVshore is encouraged to obfuscate tax evasion and money laundering. Depending upon the criteria used to identify them, there are between forty and eighty oVshore finance centres spread around the world. The tax rules that apply in these jurisdictions are determined by the jurisdictions themselves and often are more benign than comparative rules that apply in the larger financial centres globally. This gives rise to potential for the development of tax mitigation strategies. McCann provides a detailed analysis of the global oVshore environment, outlining the extent of the information available and how that information might be used in assessing the quality of individual jurisdictions, as well as examining whether some of the perceptions about ‘OVshore’ are valid. He analyses the ongoing work of what have become known as the ‘standard setters’ – including the Financial Stability Forum, the Financial Action Task Force, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The book also oVers some suggestions as to what the future might hold for oVshore finance. HILTON Mc CANN was the Acting Chief Executive of the Financial Services Commission, Mauritius. He has held senior positions in the respective regulatory authorities in the Isle of Man, Malta and Mauritius. Having trained as a banker, he began his regulatory career supervising banks in the Isle of Man. -
OFFSHORE INVESTMENT FUND PROPERTY RULES CLARIFIED by the TAX COURT Posted on July 28, 2016
OFFSHORE INVESTMENT FUND PROPERTY RULES CLARIFIED BY THE TAX COURT Posted on July 28, 2016 Categories: Insights, Publications The recent decision of the Tax Court of Canada in Gerbro Holdings Company v. The Queen ("Gerbro")[1] is the first judgment to consider the application of the offshore investment fund property rules (the "OIFP Rules") contained in section 94.1 of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Tax Act") to interests in investment funds based in what have traditionally been viewed as "tax-havens".[2] The decision, a win for the taxpayer, held that tax considerations were not "one of the main reasons" motivating the taxpayer to invest in, and hold shares of, the offshore investment funds at issue. Therefore, the OIFP Rules were found not to apply to the taxpayer. Background The OIFP Rules are anti-avoidance rules intended to discourage taxpayers from investing in investment funds situated outside of Canada in order to reduce or defer their liabilities for Canadian tax. In highly simplified terms, the OIFP Rules apply where: 1. a taxpayer acquires an interest ("Offshore Property") in a foreign entity (other than a "controlled foreign affiliate"), 2. the investment can reasonably be considered to derive its value, directly or indirectly, principally from certain "portfolio investments" of the foreign entity (or any other non-resident person) (the "Portfolio Test"), and 3. it may reasonable be concluded that one of the main reasons for the taxpayer investing in the Offshore Property was to derive a benefit from portfolio investments in such a manner that the taxes, if any, on the income, profits and gains from such portfolio investments for any particular year are significantly less than the tax that would have been payable under Part I of the Tax Act if the income, profit and gains had been earned directly by the taxpayer (the "Motive Test"). -
OCC, Report of the Ombudsman (2005-2006)
Appendix A OCC Formal Enforcement Actions in the Consumer Protection Area 2009: • Florida Capital Bank, N.A., Jacksonville, Florida (formal agreement – March 26, 2009). We required the bank to strengthen internal controls to improve compliance with applicable consumer laws and regulations. • National Bank of Arkansas, North Little Rock, Arkansas (formal agreement – March 30, 2009). We required the bank to strengthen internal controls to improve compliance with applicable consumer laws and regulations. • Merchants Bank of California N.A., Carson, California (formal agreement – March 31, 2009). We required the bank to strengthen internal controls to improve its information security program and to improve compliance with applicable consumer laws and regulations. • Ozark Heritage Bank, N.A., Mountain View, Arkansas (operating agreement – Apr. 10, 2009). We required the bank to adopt and ensure adherence to a written consumer compliance program. • Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Hatton, Hatton, North Dakota (formal agreement – May 11, 2009). We required the bank to strengthen internal controls to improve compliance with applicable consumer laws and regulations. • Stone County National Bank, Crane, Missouri (formal agreement – June 25, 2009). We required the bank to strengthen internal controls to improve compliance with applicable consumer laws and regulations and to strengthen internal controls to improve its information security program. • Union National Community Bank, Lancaster, Pennsylvania (formal agreement – Aug. 27, 2009). We required the bank to strengthen internal controls to improve compliance with applicable consumer laws and regulations. 2008: • Crown Bank N.A., Ocean City, New Jersey (consent order – Feb. 19, 2008). We required the bank to pay a civil money penalty of $7,500 for violations of HMDA and its implementing regulation. -
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS Jurisdic Onal Guide
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS Jurisdic�onal Guide GENERAL INFORMATION The Bri�sh Virgin Islands (BVI) comprises of 50 islands in the Caribbean Sea, located approximately 96 km east of Puerto Rico, north of the Leeward Islands, and adjacent to the US Virgin Islands. Its principal Islands are Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke, spanning a total area of 153 sq.km. The capital is Road Town, Tortola. The BVI is an economically and poli�cally stable non-sovereign, Bri�sh Overseas Territory with its legal system being based on English Common Law. The BVI’s economy is dependent mainly on tourism and financial services, with the la�er being the largest contributor to its GDP. The BVI is the world’s largest offshore corporate domicile with close to 500,000 ac�ve companies. It is also the world’s second-largest offshore investment funds domicile, with close to 3,000 ac�ve investment funds. BVI Business Companies (BCs) are very popular and widely used offshore vehicles because of their administra�ve ease, flexibility, taxa�on exempt status and the fact that they are widely accepted and understood by the interna�onal financial community. The BVI regime offers no controls on the import and export of currency, capital or profits, even though those are subject to An�-Money Laundering laws and regula�ons. There are no taxes on profits or dividends, nor is there any capital gains tax, income tax, capital transfer or estate tax. BVI also boasts one of the largest yach�ng industries in the Caribbean featuring over 20 yacht harbours and marinas, including an exclusive mega-yacht marina and several annual mega-yacht rega�as. -
International Trust Laws and Analysis, Company Laws, Wealth Management & Tax Planning Strategies, As Well As the U.S
INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL TRUST LAWS TRUST LAWS AND ANALYSIS AND ANALYSIS Company Laws, Wealth Management, Company Laws, Wealth Management, & Tax Planning Strategies & Tax Planning Strategies VOLUME 1-10 VOLUME 1-10 William H. Byrnes and Robert J. Munro William H. Byrnes and Robert J. Munro of Texas A&M University School of Law of Texas A&M University School of Law Published by: Kluwer Law International B.V. PO Box 316 2400 AH Alphen aan den Rijn The Netherlands E-mail: [email protected] Website: lrus.wolterskluwer.com Sold and distributed in North, Central and South America by: Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. 7201 McKinney Circle Frederick, MD 21704 United States of America Email: [email protected] Sold and distributed in all other countries: Air Business Subscriptions Rockwood House Haywards Heath West Sussex RH16 3DH United Kingdom Email: [email protected] Printed on acid-free paper ISBN 978-90-411-9830-3 This title is available on lrus.wolterskluwer.com © 2017, Kluwer Law International All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Permission to use this content must be obtained from the copyright owners. More information can be found at: lrus.wolterskluwer.com/policies/permissions-reprints- and-licensing. Website: lrus.wolterskluwer.com Printed in the United Kingdom. FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Primary Authors Professor William H. Byrnes, an Associate Dean of Texas A&M University School of Law, is one of the leading authors in the professional markets, authoring and co- authoring over 20 books and treatises that have sold in excess of 120,000 copies in print and online, with over 2,000 online database subscribers. -
Tax Fairness and the Tax Mix David G. Duff Associate Professor Faculty
Tax Fairness and the Tax Mix David G. Duff Associate Professor Faculty of Law University of Toronto Visiting Associate Professor Faculty of Law University of British Columbia November 2008 I. Introduction Justice, John Rawls famously wrote, is the first virtue of social institutions.1 Since a society’s tax system is one of its most basic and essential social institutions, the justice or fairness of this tax system is an important subject for social and political theory, as well as for practical politics. In order to assess the fairness of any particular tax or the tax system as a whole, however, it is essential to consider the purpose of the tax and the tax system in general. Although the most obvious purpose of most taxes is to raise revenue to finance public expenditures, this is not the only rationale for taxation which may also be employed to regulate social and economic behaviour and to shape the distribution of economic resources.2 For this reason, the concept of tax fairness is necessarily pluralistic, depending on the particular purpose for which the tax is imposed. Not surprisingly, therefore, modern welfare states typically levy a mix of taxes, including personal and corporate income taxes, broad-based consumption taxes, excise taxes on specific goods or services, payroll taxes, property or wealth taxes, wealth transfer taxes, as well as user fees and benefit taxes. Since the justification for any tax presumably depends on the legitimacy of the underlying purpose which it is designed to promote, the concept of fair taxation is necessarily secondary and derivative – depending on more fundamental principles concerning the fairness or justice of the public spending that taxes finance, the regulatory goals that they support, and the distribution of economic resources that they help to define. -
Mapping Financial Centres
Helpdesk Report Mapping Financial Centres Hannah Timmis Institute of Development Studies 15 May 2018 Question What are the key financial centres that affect developing countries? Contents 1. Overview 2. IFCs and developing countries 3. Key IFCs 4. References The K4D helpdesk service provides brief summaries of current research, evidence, and lessons learned. Helpdesk reports are not rigorous or systematic reviews; they are intended to provide an introduction to the most important evidence related to a research question. They draw on a rapid desk- based review of published literature and consultation with subject specialists. Helpdesk reports are commissioned by the UK Department for International Development and other Government departments, but the views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of DFID, the UK Government, K4D or any other contributing organisation. For further information, please contact [email protected]. 1. Overview International financial centres (IFCs) are characterised by favourable tax regimes for foreign corporations. They are theorised to affect developing countries in three key ways. First, they divert real and financial flows away from developing countries. Second, they erode developing countries’ tax bases and thus public resources. Third, IFCs can affect developing countries’ own tax policies by motivating governments to engage in tax competition. The form and scale of these effects across different countries depend on complex interactions between their national tax policies and those of IFCs. In order to better understand the relationship between national tax regimes and development, in 2006, the IMF, OECD, UN and World Bank recommended to the G-20 that all members undertake “spillover analyses” to assess the impact of their tax policies on developing countries. -
How to Balance Between Trade Facilitation and Customs Control in the Duty Free Zones/ Special Customs Zones?
HOW TO BALANCE BETWEEN TRADE FACILITATION AND CUSTOMS CONTROL IN THE DUTY FREE ZONES/ SPECIAL CUSTOMS ZONES? NATTHA WONGSE-ARAM THAI CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT OUTLINE Overview of the Duty Free Zones/Special Customs Zones Privileges of the Duty Free Zones Establishing the Duty Free Zones Permission to operate business in duty free zone Control Measures Case Study OVERVIEW OF THE DUTY FREE ZONES/ SPECIAL CUSTOMS ZONES Bonded Warehouse Free Trade Zones Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Duty Free Zones BONDED WAREHOUSE An area that is licensed to be established as a bonded warehouse in accordance with customs law for storage purposes or display and sell storage or produce, mix, assemble, pack or process in any other way with the goods stored in the bonded warehouse Tax Privileges • Exemption of import and export duties for the goods released from the bonded warehouse for exporting. • Exemption of import and export duties for the goods that are released from the bonded warehouse If it is transferred into another bonded warehouse or sold to the importer under Section 29 or who is entitled to a duty exemption under the law on customs tariff or other laws shall be considered to be exported. TYPES OF BONDED WAREHOUSES 13 3 Total 215 BW 6 44 9 General bonded warehouse 16 For manufacturing plants 13 Duty Free shop (Arrival) Duty Free shop (Departure) 10 Duty Free shop in the city Storage for duty free shops 101 Treasury supplies For exhibitions For ship repairing or ship building FREE TRADE ZONES (INDUSTRIAL ESTATE AUTHORITY OF -
Tax Challenges in the Digital Economy
DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT A: ECONOMIC AND SCIENTIFIC POLICY TAX CHALLENGES IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY STUDY Abstract This paper analyses direct and indirect tax challenges in the digital economy in light of the conclusions of the OECD’s BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) Project. While assessing the recent reforms in the area of taxation within the EU and third countries, it revisits the question of whether or not specific measures are needed for the digital sector. Taking into account the recent scandals involving big digital companies and their aggressive tax planning practices in the EU, the specificities of the digital sector and the legal landscape in the 28 Member States, the paper makes policy recommendations for further tax reforms in order to tackle tax avoidance and harmful competition. This document was provided/prepared by Policy Department A at the request of the TAXE2 Committee. IP/A/TAXE2/2016-04 June 2016 PE 579.002 EN This document was requested by the European Parliament's Special Committee on Tax Rulings AUTHOR Eli HADZHIEVA, Dialogue for Europe RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR Dirk VERBEKEN EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Karine GAUFILLET LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN ABOUT THE EDITOR Policy departments provide in-house and external expertise to support EP committees and other parliamentary bodies in shaping legislation and exercising democratic scrutiny over EU internal policies. To contact Policy Department A or to subscribe to its newsletter please write to: Policy Department A: Economic and Scientific Policy European Parliament B-1047 Brussels E-mail: [email protected] Manuscript completed in April 2016 © European Union, 2016 This document is available on the Internet at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament.