South Africans emerged from the darkness and entered the into the light of freedom in 1994 when the first democratic elections where held in South Africa. This liberty was entrenched with the signing of the Constitution in December 1996 by President Nelson Mandela at Sharpeville. Taxpayers have also benefitted under the Constitution. This dissertation examines the Constitution and how it applies to taxpayers and their rights. It examines the legislation which regulates the tax authorities and how they apply this legislation. It then examines the rights of taxpayers and how the Constitutional Court interprets the Constitution in respect of taxpayers rights. The dissertation also examines the remedies that taxpayers have when they feel that their rights have been encroached upon. The correct order that should be followed by taxpayers in protecting their rights is discussed. Recent proposals announced by the tax authorities, in an attempt to assist taxpayers, are examined. Finally, common law and practical problems that face taxpayers are discussed and thereafter a short conclusion is drawn as to the rights of taxpayers. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

We examine the phenomenon of firms that distribute dividends in excess of reported earnings, that is, 'unsustainable dividend-payers' in the Swedish market. Our hypothesis is that these firms will experience lower abnormal returns compared to their counterparts in both short and long term. With a dataset of 2061 observations from Nasdaq Stockholm and Nordic Growth Market during the period 1999-2017, we find that the abnormal returns are higher for unsustainable dividend-payers in the short term, while in the long run the result is on the opposite. Moreover, we find that the larger the difference between dividends paid and reported earnings, the higher the short-run abnormal returns but the lower the long-run abnormal returns to shareholders. Our results are robust to controlling for influences of other events on announcement dates and alternative measurement for model parameter, though not unambiguous. This study contributes to broadening the area of unsustainable dividends, which is perceived as a hot topic. It may be of interest to both individuals and institutions, who often have a longer-term perspective on their investments.

The study explores price transparency in the healthcare system. With the increase in healthcare spending resulting in the advent of high deductible plans, consumers have been exposed to high healthcare cost. Despite being burdened with outrageous and extravagant bills, studies have shown that the consumers are not using price transparency tools to their benefit. The literature review reveals that the major stakeholders in the healthcare industry have never been studied together to understand the research question on ‘Why is there lack of price transparency in the healthcare system?’ moreover, there is no theory to explains this phenomenon. This study undertakes a 360-degree, exhaustive view of all the major stakeholders of the healthcare industry in aims to understand the reasons behind the lack of price transparency in the healthcare system and what is holding the industry back. The study followed a grounded theory methodology approach, utilizing the data from 78 semi-structured interviews. The 78 professionals and executives representing the major stakeholders in the healthcare industry contributed to providing information to uncover the key factors for an opaque healthcare industry. Eighty-five hours of interviews resulted in 1,686 transcribed pages that provided insights and discernment to understanding the complexities and intricacies in the healthcare industry that prevent it from becoming fully transparent. The results provide the richness of data for an emergent theory that explains the actions taken by major stakeholders to reduce healthcare spending based on their intrinsic interests and their perceptions of complexities of the healthcare industry. The study presents practical implications on how a complex industry is slow to evolve and that a change is not possible unless it is deconstructed layer by layer to recognize the root cause. The change has to start from the core by simplifying the complexities that are created over time by the stakeholders who have always looked to optimize their motivations and have had no incentives to make the industry efficient.

Anecdotal descriptions and small studies have reported decreasing reimbursements from Medicare Part D sponsors and commercial third-party payers, resulting in decreased gross margins for independent pharmacies; however, reports are inconclusive regarding which payer more greatly affects independent pharmacies’ financial viability. Using 2006-2009 prescription claims data collected by a pharmacy switching company, the purpose of this study was to calculate and describe estimated reimbursement formulas and mean gross margins to assess the relative impact of these two payer groups. The study evaluated a total of 2,929,696 prescription claims paid for by Medicare Part D sponsors (n = 1,830,896) and commercial third-party payers (n = 1,098,800). The prescriptions were dispensed by 418 Texas independent pharmacies to 192,968 patients aged 65 to 94. Between 2008 and 2009, the median ingredient reimbursement ranged from AWP-17% to AWP-15% for Part D sponsors and from AWP-17.44% to AWP-15% for commercial third-party payers. The median dispensing fee ranged from $1.50 to $2.00 for Part D sponsors and from $1.10 to $2.00 for commercial third-party payers. For all payers, the median dispensing fee and median ingredient reimbursement decreased or was stagnant. Similarly, aggregate percent gross margin (calculated using the payers’ estimates of acquisition cost) decreased for both payer types between 2007 and 2009, with the mean gross margin of 4.0 percent earned for Part D prescriptions being higher than the 3.7 percent earned for commercial third-party prescriptions. In the same timeframe, the mean aggregate percent gross margin ranged from 2.8 percent to 6.0 percent among the five most popular Part D sponsors in the sample, and from 2.4 percent to 5.1 percent among the five most popular commercial third-party payers. The generic dispensing ratio explained a portion of the variance between and among payers. This study shows that significant variation exists in reimbursement formulas and percent gross margin between and among several of the most popular Part D sponsors and commercial third-party payers and supports pharmacy assertions that reimbursements from both payer types are decreasing. Pharmacies can respond to these pressures by being more conscientious of their business’ margins when reviewing contracts and increasing the proportion of generic drugs dispensed. / text

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In my thesis, I deal with the issue of perception of health insurance companies in the South Bohemian Region. That is, how South Bohemian citizens perceive health insurance companies and whether they are satisfied with the services that health insurance companies provide. In the theoretical part, I present basic information about public health insurance system in the Czech Republic. I mention the history of health insurance evolution, its systems, and principles of its operation. I also deal with legislature which is the cornerstone of this system. Most of the laws were passed in the 1990?s when the Czech Republic began to develop the current version of health insurance. Since its inception, these laws have been amended several times. Public health insurance system in our country is based on the Bismarck model, which is based on the existence of multiple health insurance companies and contractual relationships between health insurance companies and health care facilities. Furthermore, the theoretical part refers about health insurance companies as such, whose activities are governed by Act No. 551/1991 Coll., on the General Health Insurance Company, and Act No. 280/1992 Coll., on departmental, professional, occupational and other health insurance companies. The practical part describes the results of my research focused on the aforementioned issue of perception of health insurance companies in the South Bohemian Region. The results have been obtained through quantitative analysis. The method of questioning, the technique of questionnaires, was used. In this research, two of three assumed hypotheses have been confirmed. The research shows that health insurance clients in the South Bohemian Region are satisfied with local and time availability of their health insurance company subsidiaries. Furthermore, the research carried out shows that citizens respect the opinion of their general practitioners on the selection of their health insurance company. In contrast, what good (preventive) programs health insurance companies offer is not crucial for citizens when selecting a health insurance company. The knowledge gained can form the basis for further research, but it can also serve to health insurance companies themselves to improve their services. The issue of health care and health insurance companies is still a topic of current concern, both in the political field and for the general public.

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o impacto da criação do Cadastro Positivo na concessão de crédito aos consumidores no Brasil, a partir do ponto de vista teórico-legal e da análise comparativa entre países que já possuem este mecanismo de consulta consolidado e os que não o utilizam. Para tanto, apresentaram-se aspectos teóricos, legais e conceituais sobre os arquivos de consumo utilizados para a concessão de crédito no Brasil. Há, também, o estudo dos aspectos conceituais da Teoria da Informação Assimétrica aplicada ao mercado financeiro, tanto nos aspectos de Risco Moral, como de Seleção Adversa. A experiência internacional é estudada primeiramente através da análise dos países selecionados a partir do artigo de Japelli e Pagano (1999) e, posteriormente, por meio de um levantamento de artigos que realizam análises empíricas sobre bancos de dados para concessão de crédito. Por fim, faz-se uma análise da implantação do Cadastro Positivo no Brasil, por meio do estudo da jurisprudência de todos os casos tramitados no STJ, com a palavra-chave “cadastro positivo” até dezembro de 2016. Assim, foi possível verificar que o Cadastro Positivo é um instrumento benéfico para o mercado de crédito brasileiro. / This Master Thesis aims to analyze the impact of the institution of the Positive Credit Information database had in Brazilian credit market, from theoretical and legal points of view and through a comparative analysis of countries that have already had this mechanism and those which do not use. Therefore, theoretical, legal and conceptual aspects of consumer files used for the granting of credit in Brazil are presented. It comprehends, also, the study the conceptual aspects of Asymmetric Information Theory applied to the financial markets, both in the aspects of Moral Hazard, as well as Adverse Selection. International experience is primarily studied through the analysis of countries selected based in Japelli and Pagano’s article (1999) in the following and, later, through a survey of articles that carry out empirical analysis of credit bureaus. The last section comprises an analysis of the implementation of the Positive Credit database in Brazil, through the study of jurisprudence in all cases within the Brazilian’s “Superior Tribunal de Justiça”, using the keyword “Positive Information” until May 31, 2016. Thus, it was possible to verify that the Positive Credit is a beneficial tool for the Brazilian credit market.

Šis magistro baigiamasis darbas yra skirtas gyventojų pajamų mokesčio analizei Europos Sąjungoje bei atskirose jos valstybėse narėse. Darbo tikslas – atskleisti gyventojų pajamų mokesčio ypatybes. Gyventojų pajamų apmokestinimas – mokesčių mokėtojų, objektų ir mokėjimo taisyklių nustatymo sistema. Šiame darbe buvo analizuojama Europos Bendrijos kompetencija šio mokesčio srityje, dvigubo apmokestinimo politika Europos Sąjungoje, buvo nustatyta, kad gyventojų apmokestinimo klausimas paliekamas spręsti kiekvienai Europos Sąjungos valstybei narei. Planuojama, kad ir ateityje, kai Europos Sąjunga pasieks dar didesni integracijos lygį, tai bus palikta kiekvienos šalies narės diskrecijai. Gyventojų pajamų mokestis yra vienas svarbiausių mokesčių mūsų valstybėje, kuris yra per didelis daugeliui gyventojų. Šiuo klausimu yra daug diskusijų, kokiomis priemonėmis geriau mažinti šio mokesčio naštą. Daugelyje kitų Europos Sąjungos valstybių narių yra taikomas progresinis gyventojų pajamų apmokestinimas, mokesčio tarifas priklauso nuo mokėtojo kategorijos ir nuo gaunamų pajamų dydžio. Dvigubo pajamų apmokestinimo srityje Europos Sąjungos šalys narės tarpusavyje bei su trečiosiomis šalimis sudaro dvigubo pajamų apmokestinimo išvengimo sutartis, kad gyventojų pajamos nebūtų apmokestinamos du kartus. / The final master‘s paper is dedicated to the analysis of income tax in the European Union and in the Member States. The main task is to study and to explain the features of the income tax. Income taxation – is the system, which establishes the taxpayers, objects and the rules of how to pay the income tax. Herein the competence of the European Union on the income taxation issue was analyzed, as well the double taxation policy in the European Union. It was established that the sphere of the income tax would be left to the Member States, even when the European Union achieves a higher level of integration than at present. The income tax is one of the most important taxes in Lithuania, which is too big according to the income that people receive. And there are a lot of discussions, on how to choose the best way to decrease the burden of the income tax. The tariffs of the income tax are progressive in a lot of European Unions Member States. The amount of taxes that the residents need to pay depends on many things, such as the amount of income, the category of taxpayers. Speaking about the double taxation, the Member States conclude double taxation treaties with each other and with third countries, to avoid the cases, when the income are taxed twice.

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o impacto da criação do Cadastro Positivo na concessão de crédito aos consumidores no Brasil, a partir do ponto de vista teórico-legal e da análise comparativa entre países que já possuem este mecanismo de consulta consolidado e os que não o utilizam. Para tanto, apresentaram-se aspectos teóricos, legais e conceituais sobre os arquivos de consumo utilizados para a concessão de crédito no Brasil. Há, também, o estudo dos aspectos conceituais da Teoria da Informação Assimétrica aplicada ao mercado financeiro, tanto nos aspectos de Risco Moral, como de Seleção Adversa. A experiência internacional é estudada primeiramente através da análise dos países selecionados a partir do artigo de Japelli e Pagano (1999) e, posteriormente, por meio de um levantamento de artigos que realizam análises empíricas sobre bancos de dados para concessão de crédito. Por fim, faz-se uma análise da implantação do Cadastro Positivo no Brasil, por meio do estudo da jurisprudência de todos os casos tramitados no STJ, com a palavra-chave “cadastro positivo” até dezembro de 2016. Assim, foi possível verificar que o Cadastro Positivo é um instrumento benéfico para o mercado de crédito brasileiro. / This Master Thesis aims to analyze the impact of the institution of the Positive Credit Information database had in Brazilian credit market, from theoretical and legal points of view and through a comparative analysis of countries that have already had this mechanism and those which do not use. Therefore, theoretical, legal and conceptual aspects of consumer files used for the granting of credit in Brazil are presented. It comprehends, also, the study the conceptual aspects of Asymmetric Information Theory applied to the financial markets, both in the aspects of Moral Hazard, as well as Adverse Selection. International experience is primarily studied through the analysis of countries selected based in Japelli and Pagano’s article (1999) in the following and, later, through a survey of articles that carry out empirical analysis of credit bureaus. The last section comprises an analysis of the implementation of the Positive Credit database in Brazil, through the study of jurisprudence in all cases within the Brazilian’s “Superior Tribunal de Justiça”, using the keyword “Positive Information” until May 31, 2016. Thus, it was possible to verify that the Positive Credit is a beneficial tool for the Brazilian credit market.

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o impacto da criação do Cadastro Positivo na concessão de crédito aos consumidores no Brasil, a partir do ponto de vista teórico-legal e da análise comparativa entre países que já possuem este mecanismo de consulta consolidado e os que não o utilizam. Para tanto, apresentaram-se aspectos teóricos, legais e conceituais sobre os arquivos de consumo utilizados para a concessão de crédito no Brasil. Há, também, o estudo dos aspectos conceituais da Teoria da Informação Assimétrica aplicada ao mercado financeiro, tanto nos aspectos de Risco Moral, como de Seleção Adversa. A experiência internacional é estudada primeiramente através da análise dos países selecionados a partir do artigo de Japelli e Pagano (1999) e, posteriormente, por meio de um levantamento de artigos que realizam análises empíricas sobre bancos de dados para concessão de crédito. Por fim, faz-se uma análise da implantação do Cadastro Positivo no Brasil, por meio do estudo da jurisprudência de todos os casos tramitados no STJ, com a palavra-chave “cadastro positivo” até dezembro de 2016. Assim, foi possível verificar que o Cadastro Positivo é um instrumento benéfico para o mercado de crédito brasileiro. / This Master Thesis aims to analyze the impact of the institution of the Positive Credit Information database had in Brazilian credit market, from theoretical and legal points of view and through a comparative analysis of countries that have already had this mechanism and those which do not use. Therefore, theoretical, legal and conceptual aspects of consumer files used for the granting of credit in Brazil are presented. It comprehends, also, the study the conceptual aspects of Asymmetric Information Theory applied to the financial markets, both in the aspects of Moral Hazard, as well as Adverse Selection. International experience is primarily studied through the analysis of countries selected based in Japelli and Pagano’s article (1999) in the following and, later, through a survey of articles that carry out empirical analysis of credit bureaus. The last section comprises an analysis of the implementation of the Positive Credit database in Brazil, through the study of jurisprudence in all cases within the Brazilian’s “Superior Tribunal de Justiça”, using the keyword “Positive Information” until May 31, 2016. Thus, it was possible to verify that the Positive Credit is a beneficial tool for the Brazilian credit market.