Customs duty represents an inescapable financial obligation in international trade. Such duties are determined by valuing the imported goods according to the classification of the goods. To classify the goods under an appropriate tariff heading is notoriously difficult – despite the almost trite principles from judicial decisions amongst the jurisdictions discussed in this study, such as the European Union, Australia, Canada and the United States of America. In South Africa, the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964 defines the ambit of customs duties and ratifies the Harmonised System ("HS"). The HS allows for a uniform approach to tariff classification used by countries across the world accounting for in excess of 95% of the world trade. Countries that employ this system are obliged to incorporate the HS into such country's domestic legislation and to use all headings and subheadings of the HS without addition or alteration, together with the numerical codes and to apply the General Rules for Interpretation and all section, chapter and subheading notes. Classification of goods is to be done objectively at the time of presentation of the goods to the tax authorities. The intentions of the importer or the descriptions of the goods in advertisements and manuals constitute inadmissible evidence. In the recent judgment of Smith Mining Equipment (Pty) Ltd v The Commissioner: South African Revenue Service1 ("Smith Mining") the court, however, opined that it was not obliged to consider the notes referred to above, in the absence of evidence on use of the specific vehicles at the different locations allowed for in the Tariff Headings. The Court expected the importer to present evidence on use and relied on evidence from the manual, whilst it ignored the evidence that the importer presented structured along the applicable tariff notes. The court's approach clamped on the Additional Rules in the USA and the more liberal approach applied in Canada, but stands in conflict with the approach in the European Union and the trite principles from the South African case law. / LLM (Import and Export Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Sin taxes have increased significantly during the past three years. There have been different opinions regarding the levying of sin taxes: in relation to whether it helps the government to raise revenue or reduces the consumption thereof. This study therefore investigates the actual purpose for these taxes by means of a literature and empirical review. An increase in sin taxes affects the poor more than the rich because such taxes are classified as a regressive type of tax. The primary research problem addressed by this literature study was to determine the percentage that the lower income earning group of South African citizens, who are funded by social grants, spend on sin taxed items. This study focused on two areas: the social grant system in conjunction with the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) and the levying of sin taxes in South Africa. Over the years, South Africa has experienced an increase in its levels of poverty. There are eight types of social grants in South Africa, to which the lower income earning South African citizens, who live below the poverty line, are entitled, depending on their circumstances. This study discusses only seven of the eight social grants, by considering the purpose of the social grant, criteria, means testing requirements and the monthly amount available. These grants include the child support grant, old age grant, disability grant, foster care grant, care dependency grant, grant-in-aid and war veteran grant. The CPI of South Africa is briefly addressed in this study, followed by the increases over the past three years. The escalations of the social grants and that of the CPI of South Africa have been compared in order to determine whether the government remains concerned for their lower income earning citizens most of whom live below the poverty line. For purposes of this study, sin taxes have been narrowed down to include only alcoholic beverages and cigarettes. This study determined the increases of sin taxes on these substances over the past three years as well as the consumption thereof. Their consumption was determined by the sales volume. A comparison of the increases and consumption was made, the purpose of which was to determine government’s motivation for these increases. The empirical review of this study investigated the social grant recipients’ spending habits on these items. This was done by means of a self- developed questionnaire. The purpose of the questionnaire was to determine the percentage of their grant money that the social grant recipients spend on alcoholic beverages and cigarettes. The results and findings led to a conclusion which addressed the problem of this study. This study makes recommendations for further investigation of the sin tax implications for the lower income earning South African citizens, who are funded by social grants. / MCom (Accountancy)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

Este estudo teve o objetivo de avaliar a eficácia da movimentação precoce do braço, no controle da formação de seroma, em mulheres com câncer de mama submetidas a linfadenectomia axilar (LA). Foi realizado um estudo comparativo com a participação de 39 mulheres, com diagnóstico de câncer de mama, unilateral de qualquer extensão, submetidas à cirurgia com LA. A coleta dos dados foi realizada de julho de 2004 à janeiro de 2005, Setor de Onco-ginecologia e Mastologia do Departamento de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (FMRP-USP). As mulheres foram divididas, aleatoriamente, em dois grupos: Grupo Movimento (GM) e Grupo Controle (GC). No GC, as 20 mulheres receberam as orientações rotineiras da unidade e no GM, as 19 mulheres foram orientadas à movimentação precoce e sistemática do braço, com um programa específico de movimentos iniciados antes da alta hospitalar e continuando no domicílio. Todas as participantes foram avaliadas antes da cirurgia, no primeiro dia pós operatório, de 5 a 10 dias e de 30 a 40 dia depois da cirurgia. Através do teste estatístico de Mann-Whitney observou-se que os grupos foram homogêneos para as variáveis idade e índice de massa corpórea, apesar de o número de sujeitos não ter sido estatisticamente significante. O tempo de permanência do dreno e o volume drenado, foram menores no GM. A incidência de seroma foi igual para os dois grupos, mas a resolução foi mais rápida e menos invasiva no GM. Pode-se assim concluir que apesar de a amostra não ter sido estatisticamente significante, a movimentação precoce e sistematizada favoreceu uma melhor absorção do seroma e não esteve associada a outras complicações cirúrgicas. / This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of early arm movement in the control of seroma formation, in women who underwent complete axillary lymphadenectomy (AL) due to breast cancer. A comparative study involved 39 women with diagnosis of unilateral breast cancer of any extension who underwent LA. Data were collected between July 2004 and January 2005, at the onco-gynecology and mastology sector - Gynecology and Obstetric Department of the University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto Medical School Hospital das Clínicas. Participants were randomly distributed in two groups: Movement Group (MG) and Control Group (CG). In the CG, 20 women received routine orientation while, in the MG, 19 women were oriented towards systematic early arm movement, with a specific movement program initiated before hospital discharge and continued at home. All women were evaluated the day before surgery, the first day after surgery, 5-10 days and 30-40 days after surgery. The Mann-Whitney statistical test revealed that the groups were homogeneous in terms of age and body mass index, although the number of subjects was found statistically insignificant. The permanence of the drain and the volume drained were lower in MG. Incidence levels of seroma were equal in the two groups, but the resolution was faster and less invasive in MG. In spite of a statistically insignificant number of subjects, early and systematic arm movement provided better seroma absorption and was not associated with other surgical complications.

Hösten 1919 i Sverige tillsattes en skatt som skulle beskatta nöjestillställningar. Dess främsta uppgift var att indriva intäkter till kommunkassan. Anledningen till denna skatts uppkomst var att Sverige stod med ekonomiska problem efter första världskrigets slut och behövde nu ta till vissa åtgärder för att stabilisera den igen. En av dessa åtgärder var att tillsätta nya skatter, vilket nöjesskatten, som den kom att kallas, var en av dem. Nöjesskatten är en så kallad punktskatt. En punktskatts uppgift är att indriva ökad inkomst till staten. Sijbren Cnossen diskuterar punktskatters påverkan i sin avhandling The Economics of Excise Taxation, han diskuterar främst varorna tobak och alkohol som har ”punktbeskattats”. Han diskuterar att specifika varor som tobak och alkohol fungerar att sätta punktskatt på just för att de är specifika och lätta att administrerar. I min undersökning har jag undersökt vad nöjesskatten som lag egentligen innebar och om det fanns några oenigheter till vilka nöjestillställningar som skulle beskattas. Nöjesskatten innebar att nästan alla form av nöjen som var aktuella första halvan av 1900-talet skulle beskattas, dit räknades inte bara teater utan även travkörning och luftballongsflygning. Det har även visat sig att det fanns en hel del oenigheter om vad som bör räknas som nöjestillställning alls, vad som trots att det var en nöjesställning inte borde beskattas och vad som borde beskattas men lägre än annat. Efter att ha identifierat nöjesskatten så valde jag att titta på hur en teater- och biografverksamhet handskades med den mellan perioden 1925-1939 och verksamheten jag valt är Uddevalla Teater AB i staden Uddevalla på Sveriges västra kust. Det visade sig att teatern i Uddevalla inte betalade nöjesskatten en enda gång under den perioden jag undersökt. / The autumn of 1919 in Sweden was added a tax which would tax entertainment. Its main task was to increase revenues for the municipality. The reason for this tax's rise was that Sweden was financially problematic after the First World War and now had to take some measures to stabilize it again. One of these measures was to add new taxes, which the Entertainment tax was one of them. The Entertainment tax is a so-called excise tax. An excise duty is to increase revenue to the state. Sijbren Cnossen discusses the effects of excise duties in his thesis The Economics of Excise Taxation, he mainly discusses the goods tobacco and alcohol that have been "punished". He discusses that specific goods such as Tobacco and Alcohol work to tax only because they are specific and easy to administer. I have investigated my investigation of what the Entertainment tax as a law really means and whether there were any disagreements to what entertainment events would be estimated. The Entertainment tax meant that almost every form of entertainment that was current first half of the twentieth century would be taxed, not only theater but also trafficking and air ballooning. It has also been shown that there was a great deal of disagreement about what should be considered as a state of entertainment at all, what a entertainment should not be taxed and what should be taxed but lower than anything else. After identifying the Entertainment tax I chose to look at how a theater and cinema business dealt with it between 1925-1939 and the business I chosed was Uddevalla Teater AB in the town of Uddevalla on Sweden's west coast. It turned out that the theater in Uddevalla did not pay the satisfaction tax one time during the period I investigated.

Šiame darbe buvo analizuojami tam tikri netiesioginių mokesčių Europos Sąjungoje reglamentavimo aspektai – tiek pirmoje, tiek antroje darbo dalyje analizė buvo pradedama apžvelgiant kaip kito požiūris į tam tikrus reglamentavimo aspektus, kokių priemonių buvo imtasi, kitais žodžiais tariant, atrodė svarbu apžvelgti, kaip istoriškai kito požiūris į netiesioginių mokesčių reglamentavimą, be abejo, nepaliekant nuošalyje vieno iš svarbesnių aspektų – atsižvelgiant į bendruosius Bendrijos tikslus, peržvelgti, kaip buvo įgyvendintas (ar turėjo būti) siekis harmonizuoti reglamentavimą netiesioginių mokesčių srityje. Po harmonizavimo politikos istorinės apžvalgos buvo pereita prie konkrečių, šiuo metu galiojančių tiek pridėtinės vertės mokesčio, tiek akcizo reglamentavimo aspektų. Kaip vienu iš vertingų šaltinių buvo pasirinkta Europos Teisingumo Teismo praktika, kuri buvo vertinga iš esmės dėl dviejų pagrindinių priežasčių – remiantis Teismo praktika buvo galima išskirti tas sritis, kurių dabartinis reguliavimas vis dar išlieka problematiškas, be to, tose srityse, kur vis dar susiduriama su reglamentavimo neaiškumu ar dviprasmiškumu, pavyzdžiui, aiškinant tam tikras sąvokas, Teismo praktika buvo vertingas šaltinis stengiantis iššiaiškinti kokrečių normų prasmę. Galiausiai darbo išvadose buvo glaustai pateikti pagrindiniai probleminiai aspektai, kurie išryškėjo analizuojant tiek teisės aktus, tiek teismų praktiką bei užsienio teisės mokslininkų darbus – tokie kaip vis dar taikomi... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The subject of this master thesis was the analysis of certain aspects, regarding indirect taxes regulation in the European Union. The first and the second part of this paper cover the changes in the attitude to certain regulations aspects, what sort of measures have been taken, in other words, it seemed important to show the historical development of this attitude, nevertheless pay consideration to the harmonization policy in the field of indirect taxation, the way it had been introduced and implemented (or should be) with regard to the Community’s aims. After the introduction, regarding harmonization policy, both parts deal with certain aspects of the regulation of value added tax and excises. The practice of European Court of Justice has been beneficial mainly because firstly, it helped to disclose those areas, in which the regulation remains problematic and secondly, where regulation is still deemed as inexplicit – it has stood as a valuable source trying to clarify the real meaning of certain regulation aspects. Finally, conclusions have been made with regard to the analysis of laws and practice of the European Court of Justice. These are zero rates, applicable to the Value Added Tax, which do not comply with the common system of the value added tax, excise rates, which Member States are free to determine according to the fixed minimum rates and in this way to distort the common market.

Akcizas – vienkartinis netiesioginis mokestis, kuriuo apmokestinamos tam tikros teisės aktų nustatytos prekės, išleistos vartojimui. Siekiant sukurti efektyvią Bendrijos vidaus rinką, kur vyktų laisvas prekių judėjimas, o rinkos santykių neiškreiptų skirtingas valstybių narių taikomas apmokestinimas, būtina akcizų mokestį Bendrijoje harmonizuoti. Šis procesas vyko dviem kryptimis: reglamentuojant bendrą mokesčio taikymo tvarką bei atskirų mokesčio objektų struktūrą ir tarifus. Dideli tam tikrų objektų tarifų skirtumai valstybėse narėse yra viena iš priežasčių, skatinančių nelegalią prekybą. Kita vertus, net ir suderinus tarifus valstybėse narėse, kontrabanda neišnyksta, jei ekonominės sąlygos jose išlieka nevienodos. Vykdydama stojimo į Europos Sąjungą įsipareigojimus, Lietuva suderino nacionalinius teisės aktus su Bendrijos reikalavimais, o tam tikrus jos nustatytus tarifus turi pasiekti per pereinamąjį laikotarpį konkretaus akcizų objekto atžvilgiu. Akcizų reglamentavimas Europos Sąjungoje netiesiogiai padeda įgyvendinti ir kitus tikslus: skatinant alternatyvius produktus, riboti neatsinaujinančių gamtos išteklių vartojimą ir saugoti aplinką nuo taršą ir klimato kaitą sukeliančių medžiagų. / Excise duty is a one-off indirect tax levied on specific goods produced for consumption. Having as an aim the creation of effective single market of the European Community with free movement of goods and market relations undistorted by the differences in the taxation systems between the member states, it is necessary to harmonize the excise duty in the Community. This has been achieved by regulating general rules of the use of the excise tax and by setting structure and rates of certain taxable objects. One of the reasons that promote the illegal market is related to great differences in the rates of certain taxable objects in member states. On the other hand, smuggling does not come to an end having approximated tax rates if economic conditions still are not of equal base. Due to its legal commitments under the burden of the European Union, Lithuania has implemented Community law given the permission to reach the minimum excise rates in transition periods. The regulation of the excise duty in the European Union is the indirect way to implement other objectives too: by setting the system of exemptions from excise taxation regarding bio-alternatives, the European Union seeks to limit the use of natural resources and to preserve the environment from substances causing climate change and pollution.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Münster, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 407-444).

This diploma thesis deals with the economic and legal aspects of excise taxes in the EU. Excise taxes are among indirect taxes and can be divided into three basic groups: alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and energy products and electricity. For individual commo-dities, EU Member States are harmonizing their legislation and minimum rates in order to prevent cross-border distortions of competition between EU countries. Part of the diploma thesis will be the analysis of the current situation in the field of excise taxes in the EU, the comparison of the individual commodities subject to these taxes.

The objective of the thesis is to investigate the development of excise taxes indicators in twenty-seven member states of the European Union (without Croatia due to the absence of data). The selected period for the analysis is the year 2004 - 2016. The main aim of the thesis is to define the groups of member states EU according to their importance and similarity with respect to the excise duties. With this aim is related the another important idea of the work. That is whether the indicators of excise duties are brought closer to the harmonization processes and if are the member states converging. The cluster analysis was used to achieve the main goal of the work. The data which is used in this analysis is obtained from Eurostat and European Commission databases. The results of cluster analyzes allow the member states to be divided into four of the most stable groups. The group of Nordic countries in Europe, group of border states, states of NMS-12 able to approach the EU-15 and other states of NMS-12. The cluster analyzes also shows that the original and new member states, that joined the EU in 2004 and later, are still different in the field of excise duties. Differences that exist despite the strict harmonization of individual tax systems, in particular the harmonization of excise rates, may be caused, in particular, to the historical roots of individual countries, but also by the economic and political situation.

Este estudo teve o objetivo de avaliar a eficácia da movimentação precoce do braço, no controle da formação de seroma, em mulheres com câncer de mama submetidas a linfadenectomia axilar (LA). Foi realizado um estudo comparativo com a participação de 39 mulheres, com diagnóstico de câncer de mama, unilateral de qualquer extensão, submetidas à cirurgia com LA. A coleta dos dados foi realizada de julho de 2004 à janeiro de 2005, Setor de Onco-ginecologia e Mastologia do Departamento de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (FMRP-USP). As mulheres foram divididas, aleatoriamente, em dois grupos: Grupo Movimento (GM) e Grupo Controle (GC). No GC, as 20 mulheres receberam as orientações rotineiras da unidade e no GM, as 19 mulheres foram orientadas à movimentação precoce e sistemática do braço, com um programa específico de movimentos iniciados antes da alta hospitalar e continuando no domicílio. Todas as participantes foram avaliadas antes da cirurgia, no primeiro dia pós operatório, de 5 a 10 dias e de 30 a 40 dia depois da cirurgia. Através do teste estatístico de Mann-Whitney observou-se que os grupos foram homogêneos para as variáveis idade e índice de massa corpórea, apesar de o número de sujeitos não ter sido estatisticamente significante. O tempo de permanência do dreno e o volume drenado, foram menores no GM. A incidência de seroma foi igual para os dois grupos, mas a resolução foi mais rápida e menos invasiva no GM. Pode-se assim concluir que apesar de a amostra não ter sido estatisticamente significante, a movimentação precoce e sistematizada favoreceu uma melhor absorção do seroma e não esteve associada a outras complicações cirúrgicas. / This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of early arm movement in the control of seroma formation, in women who underwent complete axillary lymphadenectomy (AL) due to breast cancer. A comparative study involved 39 women with diagnosis of unilateral breast cancer of any extension who underwent LA. Data were collected between July 2004 and January 2005, at the onco-gynecology and mastology sector - Gynecology and Obstetric Department of the University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto Medical School Hospital das Clínicas. Participants were randomly distributed in two groups: Movement Group (MG) and Control Group (CG). In the CG, 20 women received routine orientation while, in the MG, 19 women were oriented towards systematic early arm movement, with a specific movement program initiated before hospital discharge and continued at home. All women were evaluated the day before surgery, the first day after surgery, 5-10 days and 30-40 days after surgery. The Mann-Whitney statistical test revealed that the groups were homogeneous in terms of age and body mass index, although the number of subjects was found statistically insignificant. The permanence of the drain and the volume drained were lower in MG. Incidence levels of seroma were equal in the two groups, but the resolution was faster and less invasive in MG. In spite of a statistically insignificant number of subjects, early and systematic arm movement provided better seroma absorption and was not associated with other surgical complications.