AB Accounting and Business

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

AB Accounting and Business Malaysia Accounting and Business AB Malaysia February/March 2019 Accounting and Business Accounting for the Future virtual A better balance Firms are taking steps to increase conference 2019 February/March the number of female partners Catch up on ACCA’s annual virtual global conference. You can watch Personal touch the sessions on-demand and gain Emotional intelligence is the CPD units while staying ahead superpower of the digital age of the curve on issues affecting finance professionals. Free trade boost CPTPP presents opportunities – and challenges – for its members Pay it forward Register at Cindy Hook, the go-getting CEO of Deloitte accaglobal.com/AFF2018 Asia Pacifi c, on making a difference 3934MY_Cover.indd AFF ADVERTS_full 1 page.indd 1 29/11/2018 13:59 10/01/2019 16:49 AFCA_cover02_Feb19_600.indd 1 15/01/2019 16:11 Welcome With women in Asia continuing to face challenges in career progress, this year’s International Women’s Day highlights the importance of equality as a business issue The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) partnership and offering support for Global Gender Gap Report 2018 is a women to rise through the ranks – an sobering read that highlights just how initiative that could influence practices far countries have to go to remove the across the globe to follow suit. disparity between men and women. Our columnists consider how Asia As the WEF rightly points out, is faring in recruiting women to senior deploying around half of the world’s roles. Cesar Bacani reflects on what the total talent pool has a massive impact on WEF report tells us about the challenges the growth, competitiveness and future- for women in Asia (page 16), while Errol readiness of economies and businesses Oh considers Malaysia’s ambitious plan worldwide. At the current rate of for 30% female representation on the change, the global gender gap will top 100 companies by 2020 (page 17). take 108 years to close while economic On our cover is the inspiring Cindy gender parity is 202 years off. Find out Hook, CEO of Deloitte Asia Pacific. The which countries are the most gender- Singapore-based CEO is at the helm equal in our infographic on page 8. of Deloitte practices numbering 44,500 In this joint February/March edition, professionals across five geographies. you’ll find coverage of women’s issues She recalls the mentors who supported to coincide with International Women’s her journey and her passion for the Day (IWD) on 8 March. Rather timely, business and the people who work there. given the WEF’s comments on how A champion for gender equality, she has women contribute to the economy, this sought to encourage women to seek year’s IWD theme is #BalanceforBetter, leadership roles and puts wellbeing for in which it calls for balance to be seen all staff at the core of her management as a business issue, not just a women’s strategy. Her story starts on page 12. AB issue. Our article on page 42 looks at how professional services firms in the Colette Steckel, Asia editor UK are actively setting targets for female [email protected] Accounting and Business About ACCA Leadership The leading monthly magazine for ACCA (the Association of Chartered President: Robert Stenhouse FCCA Deputy president: Jenny Gu FCCA finance professionals, available in seven Certified Accountants) is the global Vice president: Mark Millar FCCA different versions: China, Ireland, Malaysia, body for professional accountants. It Chief executive: Helen Brand OBE Singapore, UK, Africa and International. offers business-relevant, first-choice Member services * Magazine contacts, page 66 qualifications to people of application, ACCA office details, page 66 Available in app and pdf ability and ambition who seek a ACCA Connect: +44 (141)582 2000 * [email protected] * AB Direct: weekly news bulletin rewarding career in accountancy, finance accaglobal.com/members AB is circulated to all members in print and management. ACCA supports its Our alliance with CA ANZ and digital formats. ISSN No: 1460-406X 208,000 members and 503,000 students More about ACCA’s alliance with Chartered More at accaglobal.com/ab in 179 countries. accaglobal.com Accountants ANZ: accaglobal.com/alliance February/March 2019 Accounting and Business 3 AP_Welcome.indd 3 10/01/2019 13:55 22 32 24 Stronger together The CPTPP could bring big rewards to participating countries Practice 27 The view from Geraldine Ong of Reed Smith, Singapore, plus practice news 28 Helping hand Professional accountants can support clients’ mental health Insights 32 Do the right thing New bribery legislation arrives in Malaysia 19 Robert Stenhouse 35 News in infographics News Comment Emotional intelligence is The rise of the megacity 6 News in pictures 16 Cesar Bacani the key to success 36 Show some emotion A different view of Look beyond the EQ as the superpower of Corporate recent headlines numbers on women’s the digital age 8 News roundup roles at leadership level 21 The view from 39 Time for change Chong Sook Leng A future-fit global Digest of developments 17 Errol Oh of Tokio Marine economy needs greener across the globe As more women Insurans, Malaysia, plus tax systems enter the boardroom, corporate news 42 Towards equality Interview mentoring is vital 22 Bigger picture Professional services 12 Cindy Hook 18 Manu Bhaskaran Businesses must consider firms are starting to We meet the CEO at Asia’s policymakers need their contribution to the redress the gender Deloitte Asia Pacific to contain financial risk wider community imbalance 6 24 28 36 4 Accounting and Business February/March 2019 MY_CON_contents.indd 4 10/01/2019 17:33 44 48 58 60 44 Smart move Technical People ACCA Finance must embrace digital transformation 49 CPD Common control 58 Global reach 62 Blazing a trail IASB looks at accounting Alan de Sousa Caires, ACCA’s 50/50 gender Careers for businesses under global director of fi nance, split is just the start common control 46 CPD Happy talk BBC Media Action, on 64 The digital future 52 Technical update MIA conference Are you passionate making a difference The latest on audit, tax addresses the power about your job? and fi nancial reporting Basics of robotics process automation Management 54 IFRS 15 A look at the impact 60 CPD Screen test 66 Update 48 Give your virtual Crystal clear 56 CPD Crypto dilemma What’s on at this year’s Visualising change is the Why digital currencies meetings an Oscar- International Public key to capitalising on it are hard to classify worthy edge Sector Conference 12 62 64 ‘To those who say that Asia is too diverse, isn’t the 66 diversity of our region actually a strength and not a weakness?’ February/March 2019 Accounting and Business 5 MY_CON_contents.indd 5 10/01/2019 17:23 6 Accounting and Business February/March 2019 AP_Newsinpix.indd 6 10/01/2019 13:51 Sandra Oh became the first woman of Asian descent to co-host the Golden Globes. The Korean-Canadian star of hit show Killing Eve was also the first Asian woman to win the award for Best Actress in a TV Drama in almost 40 years. China landed a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the moon. The uncrewed Chang’e-4 probe will conduct geological analysis and is a key milestone in China’s space programme, which includes plans to build a space station. Aquaman, the superhero movie, has become the highest-grossing film in the DC Extended Universe franchise, making US$887m by 5 January. It is directed by Malaysian-Chinese James Wan and stars Pacific Islander Jason Momoa. Google is investing US$1bn in a New York campus, making the tech giant one of the city’s biggest occupants of office space. The development will enable Google to double its New York workforce to more than 14,000 in a decade. February/March 2019 Accounting and Business 7 AP_Newsinpix.indd 7 10/01/2019 13:51 News in brief This edition’s stories and infographics from across the globe, as well as a look at the latest developments and issues affecting the finance profession Change needed experience and reskilling average of 40%. At least 40% Grant Thornton US sold the A majority of senior human labour are top priorities, agreed that preparing the tax shelter, which was later resources (HR) executives according to research workforce for a future with disallowed by the Inland surveyed in mainland China published by KPMG. Among artificial intelligence is one Revenue Service (IRS), to its and Hong Kong recognise the key findings, 45% of of the biggest challenges clients William and Martha the need to transform their respondents said they have HR will face over the next Yung and the 1994 William workforces. Reshaping the a digital transformation five years. J Yung Family Trust in 2000. workforce with technology, work plan in place – slightly The Yungs settled with the improving employee higher than the global ‘Pay climate debts’ IRS in 2007. At global talks on climate change in Poland in Major shake-up Mixed picture on gender gap December, Xie Zhenhua, Big Four accountancy firms The world has closed 68% of its gender gap across four key Beijing’s chief negotiator, in the UK are facing a major pillars of economic opportunity, political empowerment, pushed back on demands shake-up under reforms educational attainment and health and survival, according to from rich nations for China proposed by the competition the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2018. to accept the accounting watchdog. The Competition Iceland remains the most gender-equal country, a position it and reporting rules that and Markets Authority (CMA) has held for a decade.
Recommended publications
  • Download File
    ARTICLES AND YOU MAY ASK YOURSELF, WHAT IS THAT BEAUTIFUL HOUSE:1 HOW TAX LAWS DISTORT BEHAVIOR THROUGH THE LENS OF ARCHITECTURE Meredith R. Conway* * Professor of Law, Suffolk University Law School. Thanks to Hilary Allen, Megan Carpenter, Allison Christians, Rebecca Curtin, Sara Dillon, Joseph Glannon, Janice Griffith, Renee Landers, Camille Nelson, Diane Ring, Adam Rosenzweig, Kerry Ryan, Sarah Schendel, Patrick Shin, and Maria Toyoda for comments and suggestions. This paper also benefited from feedback received during presentations at the CUNY School of Law’s Faculty Workshop and Suffolk University School of Law Faculty Works in Progress, and to my Aunt Violet Vietoris, whose travel, interest in the Guinness Factory and the windows and thoughtfulness of me inspired this piece. 1 Talking Heads, Once in a Lifetime, Remain in Light (Feb. 2, 1981) (downloaded using iTunes). 166 [Vol. 10:2 COLUMBIA JOURNAL OF TAX LAW TABLE OF CONTENT I. INTRODUCTION 168 II. JUSTIFICATIONS FOR TAXING REAL ESTATE AND ARCHITECTURE 170 III. THE HEARTH/CHIMNEY TAX 172 A. Byzantine Empire 172 B. French Hearth Tax 172 C. The Netherlands 173 D. British Hearth Tax 173 E. Ireland 174 F. New Orleans Chimney Tax 175 IV. THE WINDOW TAX 175 A. The Window Tax of Great Britain 175 B. The British Window Tax and Separate Buildings 179 C. Window Tax in the United States 180 D. The Window Tax in Ireland 181 E. The Windows and Doors Tax of France 181 F. The Window and Door Tax in the Netherlands 182 V. TAX LAWS THAT AFFECT THE CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS 182 A.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tax Implications of Scottish Independence Or Further Devolution
    THE TAX IMPLICATIONS OF SCOttISH INDEPENDENCE OR FURTHER DEVOLUTION Jane Frecknall-Hughes Simon James Rosemarie McIlwhan THE TAX IMPLICATIONS OF SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE OR FURTHER DEVOLUTION by Jane Frecknall-Hughes Simon James Rosemarie McIlwhan Published by CA House 21 Haymarket Yards Edinburgh EH12 5BH First published 2014 © 2014 ISBN 978-1-909883-06-2 EAN 9781909883062 This report is published for the Research Committee of ICAS. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Council of ICAS or the Research Committee. No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of any material in this publication can be accepted by the authors or publisher. 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, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International CONTENTS Foreword ............................................................................................................................ 1 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 3 Executive summary .......................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • An Investigation of Small Business Owners' Attitudes to Tax Avoidance
    games Article Gaming the System: An Investigation of Small Business Owners’ Attitudes to Tax Avoidance, Tax Planning, and Tax Evasion Diana Onu 1, Lynne Oats 1 , Erich Kirchler 2 and Andre Julian Hartmann 2,* 1 Business School, University of Exeter, Streatham Court, University of Exeter, Rennes Drive, Exeter EX4 4PU, UK; [email protected] (D.O.); [email protected] (L.O.) 2 Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Universitaetsstrasse 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +43-1-4277-473-33 Received: 30 August 2019; Accepted: 29 October 2019; Published: 8 November 2019 Abstract: To a large extent, the body of research that looks at individuals’ compliance with the law focuses on the dichotomy between compliance as rule-following and noncompliance as rule-breaking. However, a fascinating case of noncompliance is that where individuals selectively follow existing rules in order to circumvent the legal principle, this behaviour has been termed ‘creative compliance.’ In the current study, we investigated the psychological underpinnings of ‘creative compliance’ by assessing the attitudes of tax avoidance (significant minimisation of tax liability perceived to be legal) and tax evasion (illegal tax minimisation) of 330 owners of small businesses. We found that tax avoidance and tax evasion were perceived as qualitatively distinct by respondents and that they were predicted by different factors. While both tax avoidance and tax evasion were associated with weak personal norms to contribute to the tax system, tax avoidance was associated with a perception that the tax system is unfair, and that tax law has ‘loopholes’ that can be exploited, while tax evasion was predicted by the perception that evasion is a trivial crime.
    [Show full text]
  • Question Text Welcome to Sli.Do for the History of Tax Event with Professor Chantal Stebbings
    Question text Welcome to sli.do for the History of Tax event with Professor Chantal Stebbings. Please post your questions and comments here. You can also upvote other people's questions and comments that you particularly like and agree with! Chantal has a wonderful speaking voice - it reminds me of the shipping forecast. I could listen to her for hours. Thank you, how kind. I can see the window of my old office in the picture of Somerset House! Weren't these buildings originally meant to counter-act smugglers? Yes, certainly - the facilities and the appearance were all designed to ensure adherence to customs duties and address smuggling i wonder if any inland revenue offices shared POst Office buildings which were being rebuilt in the later 19th century - new book coming out by Frank Salmon on their design which has interesting parallels with your excellent talk. I would be surprised if they didn’t but I have not specifically come across it. There certainly was a common practice of different taxes sharing facilities – stamp distributors in particular often doubled up. Thank you for alerting me to the Salmon book – I’ll read with interest. Thanks for a great talk. Have you found any evidence of the opposite phenomenon of taxes being raised in order to fund public infrastructure? I read something interesting about rates being raised in Birmingham to fund sewers in the mid C19th but that’s about as far as I’ve got! Not taxes specifically, but rates yes. Thank you, Chantal. I wonder if I may ask, please, how far 'back' you have gone in terms of the effect on the landscape, and the somewhat 'blurred' line between the landscape and 'things', such as factories producing goods subject to excise duties? I have not gone back very much before the period I address tonight.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography
    BIBLIOGRAPHY ARCHIVES Kent History and Library Centre (KHLC), London Metropolitan Archives (LMA), Bristol Record Offce (BRO), and The National Archives (TNA). PRIMARY MANUSCRIPT SOURCES The National Archives SP 28—Commonwealth Exchequer Papers: SP 28/157–160 and 234, Kent, Various Dates; SP 28/162–170, London, Middlesex, and Metropolitan London, Various Dates; SP 28/192, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire; SP 28/193, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, London, Middlesex 1642–1643; SP 28/197, Derbyshire— Kent, with Strays from Buckinghamshire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, and Surrey, Various Dates. High-Collectors Records of the Commonwealth and Protectorate (Kent): 1. Upper Scray: Anthony Webb, TNA: E179/128/678; Joshua Pix, TNA: E179/128/679; William Catlett, TNA: E179/128/685; 2. Aylesford South: William Polehill, TNA: E179/128/681-2 and E179/249/20; 3. Aylesford North: Edward Whitton, TNA: E179/128/672; 4. Lower Scray: John Rabson, TNA: 179/128/680; 5. Shepway: Thomas Rooke, TNA: E179/249/16 and SP 28/158-60; 6. Sutton-at-Hone: Robert Joseph, TNA: SP 28/159 and 259. Land Tax Duplicates © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 359 S. Pierpoint, The Success of English Land Tax Administration 1643–1733, Palgrave Studies in the History of Finance, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90260-9 360 BIBLIOGRAPHY Kent: E182/430 (1694–1697)-E182/436 (1731–1733); London and Middlesex: E182/594 (1689)-E182/604 (1733–1737); Bristol TNA: E182/837 (1689–1692)-E182/842 (1730–1734). E179 Database at TNA. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/e179/, Various Material. KENT HISTORY AND LIBRARY CENTRE Kent Commissioners’ Resolves, KHLC: Q/C/Tc2.
    [Show full text]
  • Magazine Tax Insight for Business Leaders
    08 g Magazine Tax insight for business leaders The role of indirect tax in Finding a new mergers and acquisitions Africa’s new potential, and balance shifting challenges The rise of indirect tax Building deeper ties with the rest of the business Imprint Publisher: Ernst & Young EMEIA Tax Maagplatz 1, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland Marketing Director: Alfred Raucheisen Program Manager: Alexander Lorimer Program Support: Gabi Wichmann Content Advisor: Monica Kremer Online Manager: Mikael Enoksson Publishing House: Infel AG Militärstrasse 36, 8004 Zurich, Switzerland Publishing Director: Elmar zur Bonsen Editor-in-Chief: Rob Mitchell Editor: James Watson Creative Director: Guido Von Deschwanden Art Direction: Käthi Dübi Project Manager: Michèle Meissner Picture Editor: Diana Ulrich Printer: Rüesch Druck AG 9424 Rheineck, Switzerland All rights reserved. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced whole or in part without written consent of the copyright owner. A part of this issue will be distributed as an insert in the Financial Times across Europe, Middle East, India and Africa in June 2012. By Stephan Kuhn Editorial The growing global momentum toward indirect tax Dear Reader Indirect taxes are booming. As governments around the world continue to struggle with the fall-out from the fi nancial crisis, they are increasingly turning to increases in VAT, excises and other indirect taxes as the most straightforward ways of raising additional revenues. They are also using indirect taxes to infl uence behavior by taxing consumption of certain goods such as fuel, tobacco, snack food or alcohol. This highly dynamic indirect tax environment poses many challenges for businesses, particularly those that operate across borders.
    [Show full text]
  • The Window Tax: a Case Study in Excess Burden†
    Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 29, Number 1—Winter 2015—Pages 163–180 The Window Tax: A Case Study in Excess Burden† Wallace E. Oates and Robert M. Schwab “The adage ‘free as air’ has become obsolete by Act of Parliament. Neither air nor light have been free since the imposition of the window-tax. We are obliged to pay for what nature lavishly supplies to all, at so much per window per year; and the poor who cannot afford the expense are stinted in two of the most urgent necessities of life.” — Charles Dickens (1850, p. 461) he window tax provides a dramatic and transparent historical example of the potential distorting effects of taxation. Imposed in England in 1696, T the tax—a kind of predecessor of the modern property tax—was levied on dwellings with the tax liability based on the number of windows. The tax led to efforts to reduce tax bills through such measures as the boarding up of windows and the construction of houses with very few windows. Sometimes whole floors of houses were windowless. In spite of the pernicious health and aesthetic effects and despite widespread protests, the tax persisted for over a century and a half: it was finally repealed in 1851. Our purpose in this paper is threefold. First, we provide a brief history of the tax with a discussion of its rationale, its role in the British fiscal system, and its economic and political ramifications. Second, we have assembled a dataset from microfilms of local tax records during this period that indicate the numbers of ■ Wallace E.
    [Show full text]
  • Financial Transaction Tax Oral and Written Evidence
    EU ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE SUB-COMMITTEE Financial Transaction Tax Oral and written evidence Contents The Alternate Investment Management Association Limited (AIMA) – Written evidence ....... 1 The Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers (APCIMS) – Written evidence ..................................................................................................................................... 13 Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) – Written evidence ................................. 14 Association of British Insurers (ABI) – Written evidence .............................................................. 22 The Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) - Written evidence ....................................... 30 AVIVA PLC - Written evidence ............................................................................................................ 36 BlackRock - Written evidence .............................................................................................................. 43 British Bankers Association (BBA) - Written evidence ................................................................... 56 The British Land Company - Written evidence ................................................................................ 71 British Property Federation (BPF) - Written evidence ................................................................... 73 The Charity Tax Group - Written evidence ....................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Public Finances: a Historical Overview
    BRIEFING PAPER Number 8265, 22 March 2018 The public finances: a By Philip Brien historical overview Matthew Keep Contents: 1. Income and spending, 1689- 2016 2. Major areas of spending 3. Raising revenue 4. Parliamentary scrutiny and reform www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary 2 The public finances: a historical overview Contents Summary 3 1. Income and spending, 1689-2016 4 2. Major areas of spending 6 2.1 War 6 2.2 Civil spending 7 2.3 Poverty 9 2.4 Abolition of slavery 10 2.5 Other spending 11 3. Raising revenue 14 3.1 Taxes, customs and duties 15 18th century 16 19th century 17 20th century 17 3.2 Debt 18 Annuities 19 Lotteries 19 3.3 Other ways of raising revenue 22 The Post Office 22 Casual revenues 22 4. Parliamentary scrutiny and reform 24 Acknowledgements: Thanks to Professor Iain McLean, Professor of Politics at Oxford University, for his comments on a draft of this briefing. 3 Commons Library Briefing, 20 March 2018 Summary The past 300 years have seen major changes in the way Britain handles its public finances. Between the revolutions of 1688-89 and the Great Recession of the late 2000s, the amount of money both collected and spent by the government increased dramatically, from less than 10% of GDP to well over 30%. Much of the government’s money was raised and spent on the wars it fought during this period. The Napoleonic Wars in particular cost an immense amount of money, and military spending still made up the majority of all government spending right into the mid- nineteenth century.
    [Show full text]
  • A Taxing Issue
    Name: edHelper A Taxing Issue You may have noticed - whether you have bought music, candy, or clothing - that the price on the tag is not the price you pay. The item may be marked as 99 cents, but when you pay for it, the cost has risen to more than a dollar! You have been charged a sales tax. How much above one dollar you pay is determined by the location of the store where you made the purchase. Each state, county, and city or other municipal district sets its own percentage to collect for sales tax. The sales tax that is collected on each transaction is divided among the governing bodies. In other words, the state will collect part of the sales tax that you paid. The county will get a portion, and so will the city. Sales tax is just one type of tax that we are required to pay. A tax is money that a government collects from people and businesses. Tax money pays the wages of elected officials and other employees of local, state, and federal governments. It goes toward building new roads and repairing old ones. It goes toward maintaining state and national parks, programs to help the needy, public libraries, the public school system, prisons, and our military. Were you aware that every program our government creates is funded by our tax dollars? Nothing is truly free; someone pays the cost. Sometimes our government offers tax breaks - that is, a tax deduction granted in order to motivate businesses and individuals to behave in certain ways.
    [Show full text]
  • Land Value Taxation Meeting the Principles of Transparency in 'Good
    Land value taxation Meeting the principles of transparency in ‘Good Tax Design’ Vince MANGIONI, Australia Key words : Principles of good tax design SUMMARY Land value as a base for recurrent property taxation has presented a number of challenges in highly urbanized locations where land separate to improvements rarely transacts. The economists view that land being limited in supply makes it the most suitable and neutral base on which to assess the tax, is in contrast to the taxpayers perspective, due to the additional complexity in understanding how land value is determined. This paper is a review of improvements in the principles of ’good tax design’ in Australia. Data on objection rates to land values have been sourced from the NSW Department of Lands both pre and post the introduction of the 2005 reforms recommended by the NSW Ombudsman. This paper attempts to measure improvements in principles of ‘Good Tax Design’ via changes in objection rates to land values issued by the New South Wales Valuer-General, resulting from the provision of sales information to land tax payers from 2005. In conclusion a summary of improvements are provided as well as recommendations for refinements in the development of further measures needed in adding to taxpayer understanding of the valuation of land in highly urbanized locations. TS05G – Taxation, 5486 1/15 Vince MANGIONI Land value taxation - Meeting the principles of transparency in ‘Good Tax Design’ FIG Working Week 2012 Knowing to manage the territory, protect the environment, evaluate the cultural heritage Rome, Italy, 6-10 May 2012 Land value taxation Meeting the principle of transparency in ‘Good Tax Design’ Vince MANGIONI, Australia 1.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Pre-Copyedited. to Be Published in the Scottish Historical Review
    1 Pre-copyedited. To be published in the Scottish Historical Review SCOTLAND AND THE TAXING UNION, 1707-18151 Abstract This article sketches the amounts of taxes collected in Scotland for central government between the Union and the end of the Napoleonic Wars, looking at the impact of the Union, change over time, and comparisons with how much taxes were collected in the rest of Britain. Those findings are then generally explained with reference to tax policy, taxable capacity, and the tax gap. Finally, how these findings affect our understanding of the Union state are considered. Contrary to many accounts, the Union did not immediately lead to much larger amounts of taxes being collected, nor to much money being sent to London. Rather it was from the 1780s that substantial change on both accounts took place, though even in 1815 the per capita tax take in Scotland was under a half that in England and Wales. Trying to resolve the tension between the principles of equality and equity enshrined in the Union treaty, tax policy was more sympathetic to Scotland’s circumstances than is often allowed. Very speculatively, Scotland’s taxable capacity appears to have been significantly less than England’s, even as late as 1815. And while the revenue services were necessarily more costly in Scotland, probably greater relative poverty there also lowered tax compliance compared to England. Across the ages, taxation has been an important link between peoples and central governments. To taxpayers, the value of the purposes to which exactions are put has to be weighed against the loss of income involved, of, crudely, whether their government is worth it.
    [Show full text]