One of the major issues associated with taxation are the costs incurred by taxpayers when they comply with their tax obligations, this is particularly important for smaller business taxpayers. Compliance costs are found to be regressive, falling with disproportionate severity on smaller businesses. This trend can be found across the globe and more importantly, in New Zealand. Prior research has shown that the severity of the regressiveness has increased over time. The current, “one-size-fits-all”, approach used in the New Zealand tax system, and others alike, have created undue complexity for small businesses. This study reviews small business tax regimes and concessions currently implemented (or proposed) in different countries to relieve the compliance burden for smaller businesses. Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States have either implemented a separate tax regime, or offers tax concessions to smaller business taxpayers. New Zealand on the other hand, presents minor ad hoc tax concessions for small business taxpayers, but since 2009, there have been proposals to change this system. This study evaluates and compares all the implemented (or proposed) regimes and concessions of the selected countries. Following from the case studies, interviews are conducted with tax professionals that have worked closely with smaller businesses, in order to shed light on the possibility of implementing a similar regime in New Zealand. The findings show that a small business tax regime has many avenues to consider, however, there is general consensus that suggests small business taxation should be kept as simple as possible. This thesis puts forward a baseline for further discussion and development of a small business regime to reduce compliance costs for smaller businesses.

nÃo hà / Tax compliance costs are sacrifices of resources to understand and comply with all formalities which are required by tax law. In Brazil, those formalities of the tax laws are among the most complex and bureaucratic in the world and this has a direct influence on business costs, either for the payment of taxes in itself, is to meet the requirements of the legislation. The theme has attracted scientific interest, with the relatively recent development of research in the world, yet there are few studies in Brazil. This work aimed to investigate the perception of managers of a public organization to provide services about the tax compliance costs. The following specific objectives were defined: 1) identify the main factors that generate and increase tax compliance costs the Post Office; 2) identify areas where compliance costs occur with greater intensity at the Post Office, and 3) Identify postal managers of the differences of perception about tax policies, tax regulations and compliance costs. To achieve the objectives, research was conducted in a descriptive exploratory, applied in correios (ECT). As for the media, literature search was conducted, documentary and field study. Documents were consulted as management reports, financial statements and manuals of ECT. The field research was conducted by using a questionnaire adapted from Maia (2007), applied to 104 tax managers of Posts, distributed in all Brazilian states. As for the results, it was concluded that: the complexity of the legislation, the various changes in tax regulations and the various federal, state and local jurisdictions are the main generators aspects of compliance costs on taxation in the ECT, according to the perceptions of their managers. With regard to the incurrence of compliance costs, it was observed that the economic and financial, legal and personal area are the most common. The results showed that the authorities continually increase the tax burden, and the demands of the increasingly technical sector. It was found that excess ancillary obligations undermines the competitiveness of the company surveyed. It was also concluded that tax policies need to be rethought in which they relate to compliance costs and fiscal decentralization is high cost to taxpayers. / Custos de conformidade à tributaÃÃo sÃo sacrifÃcios de recursos necessÃrios para compreender e cumprir todas as formalidades que sÃo exigidas pela legislaÃÃo tributÃria. No Brasil, essas formalidades da legislaÃÃo tributÃria estÃo entre as mais complexas e burocratizadas do mundo e isso tem influÃncia direta nos custos das empresas, seja para realizar o pagamento dos tributos em si, seja para atender as exigÃncias da legislaÃÃo. O tema tem atraÃdo o interesse cientÃfico, com o desenvolvimento relativamente recente de pesquisas no mundo, contudo ainda hà poucos estudos no Brasil. Este trabalho teve como objetivo geral investigar a percepÃÃo dos gestores de uma organizaÃÃo pÃblica de prestaÃÃo de serviÃos acerca dos custos de conformidade à tributaÃÃo. Foram definidos os seguintes objetivos especÃficos: 1) identificar os principais fatores que geram e aumentam os custos de conformidade à tributaÃÃo nos Correios; 2) Identificar as Ãreas onde os custos de conformidade ocorrem com maior intensidade nos Correios;e 3) Identificar as diferenÃas de percepÃÃo dos gestores dos Correios acerca das polÃticas tributÃrias, regulamentaÃÃo tributÃria e custos de conformidade. Para o alcance dos objetivos, foi desenvolvida pesquisa de natureza exploratÃria descritiva, aplicada na Empresa Brasileira de Correios e TelÃgrafos (ECT). Quanto aos meios, foi realizada pesquisa bibliogrÃfica, documental e estudo de campo. Foram consultados documentos como relatÃrios de gestÃo, demonstraÃÃes contÃbeis e manuais da ECT. A pesquisa de campo foi realizada por meio da utilizaÃÃo de questionÃrio adaptado de Maia (2007), aplicado a 104 gestores tributÃrios dos Correios, distribuÃdos em todos os Estados da FederaÃÃo. Quanto aos resultados, concluiu-se que : a complexidade da legislaÃÃo, as diversas alteraÃÃes das normas tributÃrias e as diversas jurisdiÃÃes federal, estadual e municipal sÃo os principais aspectos geradores de custos de conformidade à tributaÃÃo na ECT, segundo a percepÃÃo de seus gestores . No que se refere à incorrÃncia dos custos de conformidade, observou-se que as Ãreas econÃmico-financeira, a jurÃdica e a Ãrea de pessoal sÃo as de maior incidÃncia. Os resultados evidenciaram que as autoridades aumentam continuamente o Ãnus tributÃrio, sendo as exigÃncias do setor cada vez mais tÃcnicas. Verificou-se que o excesso de obrigaÃÃes acessÃrias prejudica a competitividade da empresa pesquisada. Concluiu-se tambÃm que as polÃticas tributÃrias precisam ser repensadas no que se referem aos custos de conformidade e que a descentralizaÃÃo fiscal representa alto custo para os contribuintes.

This master's thesis defines theoretical range of compliance costs of taxation. Focus is placed on psychological costs of tax compliance. In the thesis are defined measuring methods of compliance costs of taxation and then are presented the results of realized studies. Theoretical part also contains general information about the determination of selective sample. Practical part contains the analysis of psychological costs of tax compliance which was based on results of the questionnaire survey.

This study investigates the impact of aspects of tax design on the operating costs of the tax system. The thesis focuses on the Australian and UK regimes for taxing the capital gains of individuals. It contends that the compliance burden faced by personal taxpayers and the administrative costs incurred by revenue authorities are directly influenced by the design of the capital gains tax ('CGT') regimes in each country. The study bridges the divide between theoretical analysis of CGT and empirical studies on tax operating costs. It uses a hybrid research design to test a series of hypotheses that emerge from a review of the literature and the experience of the researcher. It combines a technical analysis of the relevant Australian and UK legislative provisions (including an analysis of the policy and other background data that underpins those provisions) with empirical research on the views and experience of practitioners who are responsible for the operation of the legislation in the two countries. The results obtained from this combined methodology indicate that the operating costs of taxing capital gains in Australia and the UK are directly affected by the design of the legislative provisions. Moreover, the study outcomes indicate that operating costs in both countries are high (on a number of comparative measures), have not reduced over time, and are both horizontally and vertically inequitable. The research indicates that the primary factors that cause the high operating costs include the complexity of the legislation and the frequency of legislative change, together with record-keeping and valuation requirements. The thesis identifies specific legislative changes that would address operational cost concerns. These include the phasing out of the 'grandfathering' exemption together with the introduction of an annual exempt amount, and the rationalisation of business concessions in Australia; and the abolition of taper relief and its possible replacement with a 50% exclusion in the UK. More importantly, it seeks a more principled approach to the taxation of capital gains in both countries, and emphasises that legislative change can and should only be enacted with a full and clear understanding of the operating cost implications of that change.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce (specialising in Taxation) Johannesburg, 2015 / Small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) play a key role in the development of the economy and are a significant contributor to employment. In South Africa (SA), SMMEs employ more than 68.2% of the work force in the private sector. To achieve the objective of economic growth, job creation as well as income redistribution, the government is actively promoting SMMEs. The SMMEs increase the average employment rate in SA by pulling into production unemployed low skilled labour, whose skills level is not sufficient to qualify for employment in larger firms. How do the South African tax compliance burden and tax incentives for SMMEs measure up in comparison to the tax compliance burden and tax incentives for SMMEs in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA)? The research reviews the tax compliance burden and tax incentives of SMMEs in SA in comparison to the tax compliance burden and tax incentives of the UK and the USA. The research was conducted through an extensive review of the literature. The literature review has indicated that tax compliance is one of the main burdens acting as a deterrent to the formalization of SMMEs for tax purposes. The review of the literature also indicated that National Treasury is trying very hard to ease the burden of tax compliance on SMMEs. Key words: Income tax, SMMEs, tax compliance costs, tax incentives, turnover tax, value-added tax, venture capital.

Os Custos de Conformidade à tributação ? compliance costs of taxation, em inglês ? correspondem ao custo dos recursos necessários ao cumprimento das determinações legais tributárias pelos contribuintes. Declarações relativas a impostos, informações ao fisco federal, estadual e municipal, inclusões e exclusões realizadas por determinações das normas tributárias, atendimento a fiscalizações, alterações da legislação, autuações e processos administrativos e judiciais, quanto custam os recursos que se dedicam a essas atividades nas empresas? Trata-se de tema relevante que, surpreendentemente, vem sendo estudado há pouco tempo no mundo e não há pesquisas no Brasil. Em nosso país, até a promulgação da Lei de Responsabilidade Fiscal, o administrador público tinha pouco ou nenhum compromisso com o equilíbrio fiscal ou com o controle de seu orçamento. Por esse motivo, os problemas de caixa foram constantes em todos os níveis da administração e, com freqüência, as soluções adotadas para resolve-los foram aumentos de impostos, por vezes ilegais, decididos em regime de emergência, sem as devidas cautelas para evitar altos Custos de Conformidade dos contribuintes. O conceito de federação e a multiplicidade de normas estaduais e municipais são fatores que agravam esse panorama. Com este quadro, o autor entende os Custos de Conformidade no Brasil podem ser superiores aos de outros países e devem ser reduzidos quando possível. Com este trabalho, se procura dar uma visão panorâmica desse tema em vários paises ? principalmente Reino Unido e Austrália que vem se dedicando com mais intensidade a esse estudo ? e se apresenta pesquisa realizada junto às companhias abertas no Brasil, na qual temos os custos estimados pelas companhias e sua incidência sobre a receita bruta. O valor global dos custos incide em 0,32% sobre a receita bruta na média das empresas pesquisadas mas, nas empresas menores, com faturamento bruto anual de até R$ 100 milhões, essa incidência aumenta para 1,66%. Calculando a incidência sobre o PIB destas empresas chega-se a 0,75% no total das companhias abertas e, só nas empresas menores, a 5,82%. Assumindo que estas incidências sejam válidas para toda a economia, se poderia afirmar que o Brasil desperdiça, no mínimo, R$ 7,2 bilhões por ano mas pode estar perdendo até R$ 55,9 bilhões por ano para cumprir as determinações das leis tributárias em vez de aloca-los à atividade produtiva. São apresentadas, ao final deste trabalho, propostas para a redução desses custos, pela racionalização das exigências do Fisco em relação aos contribuintes. / The compliance costs of taxation correspond to the costs the taxpayers incur, necessary to comply with the fiscal rules. Tax returns, information to the federal, state and local fiscal authorities, inclusions and exclusions to taxable results done by legal obligations, meeting fiscal auditing, changes in legislation, penalties and administrative and court suits, how much is the cost of resources employed by companies? It is a relevant matter which, quite surprisingly, has been studied only recently in the world and there are no researches in Brazil. In our country, until the issuance of the Fiscal Responsibility Law, the public administrators had little or no compromise with fiscal balance or budgetary control. Consequently, cash pressures were constant at all administration levels and, quite often, the solutions came as tax increases, sometimes illegal, decided in emergency situations with no attention to reduce compliance costs. The federative organization of the country and the multiplicity of state and local rules aggravate this situation. The author is convinced that Compliance Costs in Brazil can be higher than in other countries and should be reduced as much as possible. This work aims to give a panoramic vision of this matter in several countries ? especially in the United Kingdom and Australia, which have dedicated more intensively to this study ? and presents a survey made with the public companies in Brazil where we have the estimated costs by the companies and their incidence on turnover. Total costs correspond to 0,32% of turnover of the companies which answered to the survey but, in smaller companies with turnover not higher than R$ 100 million, this incidence reaches 1,66%. Calculating the incidence on the GNP of these enterprises, the percentage corresponds to 0,75% for the whole group of companies but is as high as 5,82% in the smaller companies. Assuming these percentages can be extended to the whole economy, we could say that Brazil wastes at least R$ 7,2 billion yearly but may be losing R$ 55,9 billion every year instead of allocating these resources to productive activities. In the conclusion of this work are proposed measures to reduce these costs by the rationalization of legal requirements of Fiscal Administration to taxpayers.

Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / The objective of this study was to determine the environmental impact of agricultural inputs, to know if the environmental impacts of agricultural inputs have environmental costs, and to know who bears the environmental costs of agricultural inputs. Using a purposive sampling method, the researcher studied six farms from Chief Albert Luthuli Municipal area, Mpumalanga. The research design for the study was a mix of qualitative and quantitative research approaches. Data collection was from primary and secondary sources. Data was collected from the six farmers in Albert Lithulu, in addition secondary data was collected from the archives of Index Mundi, the University of Pretoria, the US EPA and the World Bank. Using a mix of correlation and regression analysis, findings from the study provided an answer to the three research objectives. Findings from the analysis of correlation and regression indicated that agricultural input (fertilizer, used in this study) does affect the environment; it causes an agricultural induced emission of greenhouse gases (nitrous oxide and methane). Furthermore, findings from analysis of potential environmental costs of environmental impacts (methane and nitrous oxide) showed that agricultural inputs have social costs for South Africa. Furthermore, the final findings in this study showed that the environmental costs from agricultural inputs are born by the victims. Consequently the study recommends additional environmental regulation to enable farmers internalise some of the environmental costs of agricultural inputs that are born by victims. Further research is suggested to determine the model that may be used to internalise environmental costs of agricultural inputs back to the farms. Key Words: farms, environmental costs, agricultural inputs, externalities

This study investigates the impact of nutrient management regulations on pig farms in Ontario, Canada. Using mathematical programming, small, medium and large farrow to finish and finishing pig farms are examined using uniform and crop requirement based manure application. The model scenarios characterize the cost of compliance when nutrient application standards are applied from the Nutrient Management Act and a previously proposed standard from the Clean Water Act. Compliance costs for scenarios with uniform manure application are ≤6.47%; while compliance costs for scenarios with crop requirement based manure application are ≤0.25%. The Nutrient Management Act has two calculations for nutrient application standards, producers must comply with the less binding calculation. Compliance costs for producers under the less binding standard following a uniform manure application strategy are ≤1.53%; while producers following a crop requirement based manure application strategy have no compliance costs. The proposed Clean Water Act standard is more restrictive than the Nutrient Management Act standards. / Ontario Pork, OMAFRA

The European Commission on 16 March 2011 proposed a harmonized system for the tax base calculation of companies operating in the EU. The proposed Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) indicates that businesses would benefit from a "one-stop-shop" system for filing their tax returns and would be able to consolidate all the profits and losses they incur across the EU. Member States would maintain their full sovereign right to set their own corporate tax rate. However, many Member States are against this new system as they think that CCCTB does not meet principles of subsidiarity and proportionality and is not available to reach its goals. Therefore, the hypothesis of this Master Thesis was formulated that CCCTB is an appropriate way to reach company tax harmonization in the EU and abolish obstacles which arise because of 27 different taxation systems in EU. After comprehensive analysis of major company taxation obstacles in the first chapter, these main barriers were identified: double taxation, additional compliance cost, over-taxation which arise in cross-border activities. The main measures such as Parent-Subsidiary Directive, Merger Directive, Interest and Royalties Directive and Arbitration Convention designed to cope with these barriers were discussed and the main challenges needed to solve by CCCTB were formulated. Proposed Directive and main elements of CCCTB were investigated in the second chapter. As there is a disagreement between Member States regarding to... [to full text] / Europos Komisija 2011 m. kovo 16 d. pateikė pasiūlymą harmonizuoti pelno mokesčio bazės apskaičiavimą. Pasiūlyta Bendra konsoliduota pelno mokesčio bazė (BKPMB) reiškia, kad būtų taikomas „vieno langelio” principas pildant vieną deklaraciją ir įmonės galėtų konsoliduoti visą pelną ir nuostolius pagal bendras taisykles. Valstybės išlaikytų nepriklausomą teisę nustatyti apmokestinimo tarifus. Tačiau dauguma ES valstybių yra prieš šios sistemos įvedimą, jos savo prieštaravimus grindžia tuo, kad BKPMB pažeidžia subsidiarumo ir proporcingumo principus bei nėra pajėgi pasiekti savo tikslų. Dėl to buvo šiame darbe buvo iškelta hipotezė: BKPMB yra tinkamas būdas siekti įmonių apmokestinimo harmonizavimo ir panaikinti kliūtis, kurios kyla taikant 27 skirtingas apmokestinimo sistemas ES. Atlikus išsamią analizę pirmojoje dalyje šios pagrindinės kliūtys buvo nustatytos: dvigubas apmokestinimas, didelės mokestinių reikalavimų laikymosi sąnaudos bei tarpvalstybinės nuostolių užskaitos apribojimas. Taip pat buvo nagrinėjami pagrindiniai dokumentai: Direktyva dėl bendrosios mokesčių sistemos, taikomos įvairių valstybių narių patronuojančioms ir dukterinėms bendrovėms; Direktyva dėl bendros mokesčių sistemos, taikomos įvairių valstybių narių įmonių jungimui, skaidymui, turto perleidimui ir keitimuisi akcijomis; Direktyva dėl bendros apmokestinimo sistemos, taikomos palūkanų ir autorinių atlyginimų mokėjimams tarp skirtingų valstybių narių asocijuotų bendrovių; Konvencija dėl dvigubo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Os Custos de Conformidade à tributação ? compliance costs of taxation, em inglês ? correspondem ao custo dos recursos necessários ao cumprimento das determinações legais tributárias pelos contribuintes. Declarações relativas a impostos, informações ao fisco federal, estadual e municipal, inclusões e exclusões realizadas por determinações das normas tributárias, atendimento a fiscalizações, alterações da legislação, autuações e processos administrativos e judiciais, quanto custam os recursos que se dedicam a essas atividades nas empresas? Trata-se de tema relevante que, surpreendentemente, vem sendo estudado há pouco tempo no mundo e não há pesquisas no Brasil. Em nosso país, até a promulgação da Lei de Responsabilidade Fiscal, o administrador público tinha pouco ou nenhum compromisso com o equilíbrio fiscal ou com o controle de seu orçamento. Por esse motivo, os problemas de caixa foram constantes em todos os níveis da administração e, com freqüência, as soluções adotadas para resolve-los foram aumentos de impostos, por vezes ilegais, decididos em regime de emergência, sem as devidas cautelas para evitar altos Custos de Conformidade dos contribuintes. O conceito de federação e a multiplicidade de normas estaduais e municipais são fatores que agravam esse panorama. Com este quadro, o autor entende os Custos de Conformidade no Brasil podem ser superiores aos de outros países e devem ser reduzidos quando possível. Com este trabalho, se procura dar uma visão panorâmica desse tema em vários paises ? principalmente Reino Unido e Austrália que vem se dedicando com mais intensidade a esse estudo ? e se apresenta pesquisa realizada junto às companhias abertas no Brasil, na qual temos os custos estimados pelas companhias e sua incidência sobre a receita bruta. O valor global dos custos incide em 0,32% sobre a receita bruta na média das empresas pesquisadas mas, nas empresas menores, com faturamento bruto anual de até R$ 100 milhões, essa incidência aumenta para 1,66%. Calculando a incidência sobre o PIB destas empresas chega-se a 0,75% no total das companhias abertas e, só nas empresas menores, a 5,82%. Assumindo que estas incidências sejam válidas para toda a economia, se poderia afirmar que o Brasil desperdiça, no mínimo, R$ 7,2 bilhões por ano mas pode estar perdendo até R$ 55,9 bilhões por ano para cumprir as determinações das leis tributárias em vez de aloca-los à atividade produtiva. São apresentadas, ao final deste trabalho, propostas para a redução desses custos, pela racionalização das exigências do Fisco em relação aos contribuintes. / The compliance costs of taxation correspond to the costs the taxpayers incur, necessary to comply with the fiscal rules. Tax returns, information to the federal, state and local fiscal authorities, inclusions and exclusions to taxable results done by legal obligations, meeting fiscal auditing, changes in legislation, penalties and administrative and court suits, how much is the cost of resources employed by companies? It is a relevant matter which, quite surprisingly, has been studied only recently in the world and there are no researches in Brazil. In our country, until the issuance of the Fiscal Responsibility Law, the public administrators had little or no compromise with fiscal balance or budgetary control. Consequently, cash pressures were constant at all administration levels and, quite often, the solutions came as tax increases, sometimes illegal, decided in emergency situations with no attention to reduce compliance costs. The federative organization of the country and the multiplicity of state and local rules aggravate this situation. The author is convinced that Compliance Costs in Brazil can be higher than in other countries and should be reduced as much as possible. This work aims to give a panoramic vision of this matter in several countries ? especially in the United Kingdom and Australia, which have dedicated more intensively to this study ? and presents a survey made with the public companies in Brazil where we have the estimated costs by the companies and their incidence on turnover. Total costs correspond to 0,32% of turnover of the companies which answered to the survey but, in smaller companies with turnover not higher than R$ 100 million, this incidence reaches 1,66%. Calculating the incidence on the GNP of these enterprises, the percentage corresponds to 0,75% for the whole group of companies but is as high as 5,82% in the smaller companies. Assuming these percentages can be extended to the whole economy, we could say that Brazil wastes at least R$ 7,2 billion yearly but may be losing R$ 55,9 billion every year instead of allocating these resources to productive activities. In the conclusion of this work are proposed measures to reduce these costs by the rationalization of legal requirements of Fiscal Administration to taxpayers.