Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [66]-73).

Recent accounting scandals and current global financial crisis have brought new demands on the whole corporate world. The call for better corporate governance is strengthening in all business areas including tax. Tax non -- compliance brings substantial risks for both tax payers and tax revenue authorities. The way how companies manage their tax risks can significantly influence their overall financial performance and reputation. The paper deals with issues of tax non -- compliance as a lack of good corporate governance practice. The main goal of the paper is to put tax into the concept of corporate governance. Moreover, the paper deals with the concept of tax risk management as a way of how tax compliance in general could be enhanced and introduces the current international practice in this field.

Lewellen ¡]1971¡^ proposed merge and acquisition ¡]M&A¡^ activity will change the tax incentives when one enterprise reorganizes its capital structure. In 1986, the empirical evidences provided by Gilson ¡]1992¡^ proved that the Tax Reform Act in U.S. was not only a critical tax incentive in M&A activities but also a superior synergy to the firms. Besides, in Lewellen¡¦s assumption, the alterations of enterprise¡¦s capital structures are the crucial elements of its tax burden, not the tax law itself. That¡¦s why accounting principle cannot be omitted in the research of capital structure. The Financial Supervisory Commission announced Taiwan will apply International Financial Report Standard ¡]IFRS¡^ in 2013. Thus, the tax issues in M&A activities will be vital for the firms due to the upcoming revolution of accounting principle in Taiwan. This document will list the tax incentives and risks after the implementation of IFRS in M&A activities. The tax incentives will not be the major motives in M&A transactions after the implementation of IFRS. If one enterprise actively manipulates the M&A activity for the tax benefits after the implementation of IFRS, the radical transaction will draw the National Tax Administration¡¦s attention and lose the goal of achieving better synergy after the M&A. Generally speaking, tax risks should be the dominant issues in M&A activities rather than the tax incentives. Due to the complicity of the tax law, identification of tax risks will be the most difficult part in the risk management process. This research will propose the concept of the Tax Risk Matrix as an instrument to identify the tax risk. The matrix is composed with the nationality of enterprise, types of transactions and taxation. For example, once the nationality of enterprise and types of transactions are determined, using this matrix can assist the management concerned to identify what kinds of tax risks they might confront. When the risks are anticipated, this research also comes up with a standard operation process for those enterprises involved in M&A as a tool to control the tax risks. For those complex and extensively different tax issues in the M&A transaction, the systematic methods proposed can decrease the tax risks for the firms. Moreover, the firms and the experts interested in M&A can also develop the best practical solutions with this process and bring up more propositions to the unreasonable and ambiguous articles in the tax law nowadays. In conclusion, the tax law should play a neutral role in the M&A activities not the favorable motives.

This study attempted to establish a tax risk framework (TRF) with guidelines to equip parties concerned in a business environment with the necessary tax risk management (TRM) skills and knowledge .Countries obtain a significant part of their financing from taxes. Regardless of normal risks within a business environment, there are also payable taxes to be dealt with. Existing procedures in businesses do not have a TRM-function. Control Environments in businesses do not necessarily have a TRM component. As tax is the single main contributing expense on the income statement bottom-line, it is imperative that it should be included in the risk assessments. TRM is the process of understanding, interpreting and implementing tax laws in order to mitigate tax risks. The basic definition of TRM is to apply tax laws to such an extent that the minimum amount of tax is paid, whilst adhering to the law. A TRM-framework must comply with international reporting standards and governance. Existing frameworks, guidelines and policies available on risk management do not cover the specific area of tax, which complicate the establishment of a single framework. SARS is changing its auditing approach and joining hands with taxpayers, trying to determine their ways in managing tax risks. Grey areas in legislation cause loopholes and misinterpretations – leading to incorrect calculations, risks and incorrect amounts of taxes being paid. More companies in South Africa expand their business activities to Africa from which export/import tax issues arise. A proper TRM framework will enable persons to estimate risks the moment they make a new deal. This will save a great deal of time and money. AFRIKAANS : Die doel van hierdie voorlegging is om ‘n raamwerk vir belastingrisiko met riglyne aan betrokke partye in besighede voor te stel. Dit sal hulle toerus met die nodige vaardighede om belastingrisiko’s te identifiseer en te hanteer. Lande se enkele grootste bron van finansiering is vanuit belasting. Afgesien van normale risiko’s in `n besigheid is daar ook die kwessie van betaalbare belasting wat bestuur moet word waarvoor huidige besigheidstelsels nie voorsiening maak nie. Vanweë die feit dat belasting die enkele grootste uitgawe op die inkomstestaat is, is dit van kardinale belang dat dit deel vorm van die risiko assesserings proses in besigheid. Belastingrisikobestuur behels die begrip, interpretasie en implementering van belastingwette om risiko’s te verminder. Die minimum belasting moet betaal word, maar belastingwetgewing moet steeds nagekom word. Hierdie raamwerk vir belastingrisikobestuur moet egter steeds aan internasionale verslagdoening standaarde voldoen ten einde finansiële inligting aan te meld en te reguleer deur middel van goeie korporatiewe beheer. Bestaande raamwerke, riglyne en beleide rakende risikobestuur maak nie spesifiek vir belastingrisiko’s voorsiening nie wat die daarstel van ‘n afsonderlike belastingraamwerk bemoeilik. Die Suid-Afrikaanse Inkomste Diens is besig om die benadering van oudits te hersien en ‘n nouer verwantskap met belastingbetalers te sluit ten einde hul bestuur van belastingrisiko’s te bepaal. Grys areas in wetgewing veroorsaak skuiwergate en verkeerde interpretasie met foutiewe berekenings, risiko’s en betalings. Al hoe meer besighede in Suid-Afrika brei hul sakebelange na Afrikalande uit, waaruit invoer-/uitvoerkwessies rakende belasting ontstaan. ‘n Deeglike risikobestuursplan wat belastingkwessies aanspreek, sal die rolspelers instaatstel om risiko’s onmiddellik te bepaal sodra ‘n transaksie gesluit word. Sodoende kan tyd en geld bespaar word. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Taxation / unrestricted

This thesis employs Bourdieu's theory of practice to explore small immigrant business owners' adaptation to the host country's income tax system. In doing this, the thesis applies a sociological perspective in the theorizing and study of their tax compliance behaviour. Drawing on a survey (N=101) and in-depth interviews (N=27) with Bangladeshi family business owners and their tax advisers in the UK, this thesis demonstrates that immigrant business owners' engagement with the host country's tax system is grounded in the sociocultural status they inherit from their country of origin, even though their social class positions in the new society unconsciously condition and impact on how they practise tax compliance. Findings suggest that the power relations inherent in the tax professional-taxpayer relationship act as a critical factor in the reproduction and transformation of immigrant business owners' moral disposition towards compliance with tax laws. The thesis argues that the ways small Bangladeshi family business owners think, feel and act in their approach to tax compliance is likely to differ not only from those of native business communities but also from those of other immigrant communities in the UK.

<p>Skattemyndigheter världen över arbetar med att hantera den skatteinbetalning som behövs för att finansiera och driva samhället. Fullständig skatt betalas inte in och de uteblivna skatteintäkterna utgör det så kallade skattefelet, vilket definieras som skillnaden mellan den teoretiskt korrekta skatten som borde betalats in och den faktiskt fastställda skatten. Alla skattemyndigheter arbetar med olika medel och i olika omfattning för att minska skattefelet. De utför delvis kontroller och granskningar samt informerar och uppmuntrar skattebetalarna till att göra rätt. Kontroller kan utföras dels genom olika typer av stickprov, eller genom att identifiera riskområden och primärt inrikta resurserna till dessa områden.</p><p>Globaliseringen har medfört att företag ofta både opererar och handlar i ett flertal länder. Detta bidrar till en allt mer komplicerad skattemiljö vilken har gett upphov till ett behov av en förändring. Främst påverkas de stora företagen som också står för en betydande del av skatteintäkterna. Skattemyndigheter i vissa länder har med olika metoder börjat arbeta för en ökad relation tillsammans med de stora företagen. Genom att erhålla utökad information om företagen blir det lättare att identifiera risker för fel och kontrollera dessa. Företagen tjänar på att behovet för kostsamma revisioner minskar och att de erhåller en ökad säkerhet i sin skatteposition, då avklarade ärenden inte kommer att granskas i framtiden.</p><p>Skatteverket i Sverige driver idag ett riksprojekt mot skatteplaneringsaktiva som bland annat syftar till att skapa en ökad effektivitet genom en förbättrad riskhantering. Det nya arbetssättet kan, enligt indikationer, komma att ha liknelser med en del utländska arbetssätt. I och med detta fann vi det aktuellt att utföra en komparativ fallstudie av ett urval av länder för att se hur de arbetar med riskhantering och hur det visat sig fungera.</p><p>Vår undersökning visar att dessa typer av arbetssätt överlag har fått positiv respons av både företag och skattemyndigheter i samtliga av de undersökta länderna. Det har bland annat bidragit till en ökad effektivitet i granskningsprocesser, en förbättrad relation mellan parterna samt en ökad säkerhet hos företagen gällande deras skatteposition. Dock finner vi att det har visat sig svårt att frambringa ett ändrat beteende hos företagen gällande deras skatteplanering.</p>

Skattemyndigheter världen över arbetar med att hantera den skatteinbetalning som behövs för att finansiera och driva samhället. Fullständig skatt betalas inte in och de uteblivna skatteintäkterna utgör det så kallade skattefelet, vilket definieras som skillnaden mellan den teoretiskt korrekta skatten som borde betalats in och den faktiskt fastställda skatten. Alla skattemyndigheter arbetar med olika medel och i olika omfattning för att minska skattefelet. De utför delvis kontroller och granskningar samt informerar och uppmuntrar skattebetalarna till att göra rätt. Kontroller kan utföras dels genom olika typer av stickprov, eller genom att identifiera riskområden och primärt inrikta resurserna till dessa områden. Globaliseringen har medfört att företag ofta både opererar och handlar i ett flertal länder. Detta bidrar till en allt mer komplicerad skattemiljö vilken har gett upphov till ett behov av en förändring. Främst påverkas de stora företagen som också står för en betydande del av skatteintäkterna. Skattemyndigheter i vissa länder har med olika metoder börjat arbeta för en ökad relation tillsammans med de stora företagen. Genom att erhålla utökad information om företagen blir det lättare att identifiera risker för fel och kontrollera dessa. Företagen tjänar på att behovet för kostsamma revisioner minskar och att de erhåller en ökad säkerhet i sin skatteposition, då avklarade ärenden inte kommer att granskas i framtiden. Skatteverket i Sverige driver idag ett riksprojekt mot skatteplaneringsaktiva som bland annat syftar till att skapa en ökad effektivitet genom en förbättrad riskhantering. Det nya arbetssättet kan, enligt indikationer, komma att ha liknelser med en del utländska arbetssätt. I och med detta fann vi det aktuellt att utföra en komparativ fallstudie av ett urval av länder för att se hur de arbetar med riskhantering och hur det visat sig fungera. Vår undersökning visar att dessa typer av arbetssätt överlag har fått positiv respons av både företag och skattemyndigheter i samtliga av de undersökta länderna. Det har bland annat bidragit till en ökad effektivitet i granskningsprocesser, en förbättrad relation mellan parterna samt en ökad säkerhet hos företagen gällande deras skatteposition. Dock finner vi att det har visat sig svårt att frambringa ett ändrat beteende hos företagen gällande deras skatteplanering.

Выпускная квалификационная работа (магистерская диссертация) посвящена выявлению, оценке и управлению налоговыми рисками на предприятии. Основной целью магистерской диссертации является предложение мероприятия по снижению налоговых рисков и рассчитать их экономическую эффективность для анализируемого хозяйствующего субъекта. / Final qualifying work (master's thesis) is devoted to the study of tax risks of a commercial enterprise. The main purpose of the master's thesis is to propose measures to reduce tax risks and calculate their economic efficiency for the analyzed economic entity.

L’objectif principal de la présente thèse est d’examiner l’impact des mécanismes internes de gouvernance sur le risque fiscal dans le contexte tunisien. Les notions de risque fiscal et de gestion du risque fiscal ont été définies dans un premier chapitre. Un deuxième chapitre présente le fondement théorique de notre étude. La théorie des jeux est présentée en premier lieu. Elle constitue un cadre propice pour analyser les comportements des deux acteurs principaux dans le cadre de cette étude, à savoir l’entreprise et l’administration fiscale, vis-à-vis du risque fiscal. La théorie partenariale de la gouvernance a été mobilisée, en deuxième lieu, afin d’examiner le rôle des mécanismes de gouvernance dans la réduction du risque fiscal. Les hypothèses issues de cette théorie supposent l’existence d’un effet négatif de l’indépendance du conseil, de la séparation des postes de directeur général et de président du conseil d’administration, de l’expertise comptable ou fiscale du comité d’audit et de l’expertise comptable ou fiscale de la fonction d’audit interne sur le risque fiscal. La méthodologie de notre recherche comporte trois étapes. D’abord, une analyse de contenu des arrêts fiscaux rendus en cassation entre les entreprises et l’administration fiscale a permis de dégager les divers types de risques fiscaux des entreprises détectés lors du contrôle et confirmés par la procédure juridictionnelle. Ensuite, l’analyse de contenu des états financiers et des rapports généraux des commissaires aux comptes des sociétés tunisiennes cotées sur une période de cinq ans a mis en évidence la divulgation d’informations sur le risque fiscal et ce conformément aux exigences réglementaires. Enfin, l’analyse de régressions logistiques a permis de mettre en évidence le rôle joué par le conseil d’administration et le conseil externe dans la gestion comptable du risque fiscal. Cette analyse a montré aussi que les acteurs qui exercent un impact sur la gestion comptable du risque fiscal différent entre les entreprises non financières et celles appartenant au secteur financier. Globalement, l’analyse de l’interaction entre le système de gouvernance et le risque fiscal a permis d’identifier les acteurs qui participent activement dans la gestion comptable du risque fiscal Ces acteurs semblent en faveur de la transparence fiscale de l’entreprise à l’égard des actionnaires et de l’administration fiscale. Cette thèse s’insère ainsi pleinement dans la problématique plus générale de la responsabilité sociale de l’entreprise. / The main objective of this thesis is to examine the impact of internal governance mechanisms on tax risk in the Tunisian context. The concepts of tax risk and tax risk management were defined in the first chapter. The second chapter presented the theoretical framework of our study. In fact, game theory provides a suitable framework for analyzing the behavior of the two main actors in the context of this study, firms and tax authority, vis-à-vis the tax risk. Governance stakeholder theory was also mobilized to examine the role of governance mechanisms in reducing tax risk. Assumptions from this theory assumes the existence of a negative effect of board independence, separation of the positions of CEO and Chairman of the Board, accounting or fiscal expertise of the audit committee and accounting or tax expertise of the internal audit function on the tax risk. Our research methodology involves three steps. First, a content analysis of tax judgments between businesses and tax administration has identified various types of firm tax risks detected during the control and confirmed by judicial proceedings. Second, the content analysis of financial statements and reports of the auditors of listed Tunisian firms over a period of five years has emphasized the existence of tax risk disclosures in accordance with regulatory requirements. Finally, logistic regression analysis has highlighted the role played by the board of directors and the external advisor in the accounting management of tax risk. This analysis also showed that the actors who have an impact on the accounting management of tax risk differ between financial and non-financial firms. Overall, the analysis of the interaction between governance and tax risk identified actors who are actively involved in the accounting management of tax risk. These actors appear in favor of the tax transparency of the company in respect of stockholders and tax authorities. Thus, this thesis fits into the broader issues of corporate social responsibility.

This dissertation consists of five separate essays (and a short introductory chapter) that analyze the effects of debt policy on private consumption. Essay 1: Government Debt and Private Consumption: Theory and Evidence. The Ricardian equivalence theorem has been widely debated since (at least) the seventies. The theorem states that households should not change their consumption path in response to changed timing of taxes, given the path of government consumption. In this essay, theoretical models giving rise to the equivalence result as well as models predicting deviations from debt neutrality are presented. In general, the Ricardian models are based on unrealistic assumptions, such as infinite horizons, perfect capital markets and lump-sum taxes. The issue of Ricardian equivalence is thus perhaps better viewed as a question concerning to what extent the equivalence hypothesis is a reasonable approximation of the real world. This could only be established by empirical studies. To formulate a test of Ricardian equivalence, it is however vital to extend the standard analysis in deterministic models to stochastic models. In a stochastic model we need to incorporate the fact that agents have to make predictions about future levels of government consumption, and that public debt might be a useful predictor for that purpose. It is therefore necessary that an empirical study distinguishes between debt as a potential source of net wealth, which is the concern of the equivalence proposition, and debt's role as a signal of future levels of government consumption, which is due to the stochastic nature of the world. It is argued that there are few empirical studies that make this distinction, and in case the distinction is made, the evidence is in favor of the Ricardian equivalence proposition, namely that public debt is not net wealth to households. Changing the timing of taxes will therefore not change private consumption. In other words, although the Ricardian equivalence hypothesis is burdened with unrealistic assumptions, it seems (historically) to provide a reasonable approximation of actual data. Essay 2: An Investigation of Ricardian Equivalence in a Common Trends Model. A common trends model for gross national income, private consumption, government consumption and net taxes is estimated on US data. The system has two cointegrating vectors and thus two common stochastic trends, interpreted as a technology trend and a public sector trend. The two temporary shocks are interpreted as a private demand and government financing shock, respectively. Theoretical models suggest that the two cointegrating vectors could be due to the private and public sectors' intertemporal budget constraints. We find two co-integrating vectors, as predicted by no-Ponzi game constraints on the sectors. However, a stronger version of the no-Ponzi game constraint is a solvency condition, which implies particular co-integrating vectors. These cointegration vectors are both rejected for the sample period, indicating that the public sector will not be able to repay its debt if the current policy is maintained. However, the private sector is at the same time accumulating wealth, which is consistent with predictions from a Ricardian model. Further, the equivalence theorem predicts that private consumption should be unaffected by financing shocks. Data, however, indicate that there is a significant short run effect on both income and private consumption from the financing shock, but the effect indicates that increasing taxes is accompanied by increasing private consumption, contrary to both standard Ricardian and Keynesian models. In the theoretical world, this type of pattern could be generated in models with risk averse individuals and uncertainty about future taxes. Essay 3: Risky Taxes, Budget Balance Preserving Spreads and Precautionary Savings. This essay analyzes the effects on consumption from changes in the riskiness of taxes. It starts by reinterpreting the Sandmo [1970] paper on general capital income risk to the case of risky capital taxation. In his framework the concept of a mean preserving spread (MPS) is used for the risk analysis. In connection with risky taxes it is however possible to explicitly connect the tax risk with the government's budget constraint. In this essay the concept of a budget balance preserving spread (BBPS) is developed and used for the analysis of stochastic taxes. The essay is concluded with a comparison of the effects that a MPS and a BBPS has on consumption decisions. It is shown that the comparative statics results for a BBPS could be different from the results obtained with a MPS. Essay 4: Budget Deficits, Tax Risk and Consumption. This essay analyzes the effects of budget deficits on consumption when individual taxes are stochastic. It is shown that the co-movements between budget deficits and private consumption will depend on how risk averse individuals are. In the case of lump-sum taxes, it is sufficient to assume that individuals have a precautionary savings motive to obtain the result that consumption today will decrease with increased disposable income today. Furthermore, if we use a time separable iso-elastic utility funcition, the standard analysis of capital income risk predicts (precautionary) savings to increase with increased risk if the coefficient of relative risk aversion is greater than one. This is no longer sufficient when the risk is due to uncertain capital income taxes. In general, the coefficient must be greater than one to obtain precautionary savings in response to the greater risk implied by a budget deficit. The results in the paper are consistent with Ricardian equivalence only for some specific utility function, but not in general. However, in the same way, the results are consistent with standard Keynesian models that display a positive relation between debt and private consumption only for certain utility functions, and could equally well generate the opposite result for individuals that are enough risk averse or prudent, without changing the expected value of government consumption. In other words, if future taxes are uncertain, increased disposable income in the present period will decrease present consumption, if households are prudent enough. Essay 5: Budget Deficits, Stochastic Population Size and Consumption. This paper analyzes the effects on present consumption of budget deficits under different assumptions regarding demographics. In the first part, birth and death rates are deterministic, and in the second part, birth rates are assumed to be stochastic. In the case of a deterministic population size, an increase in public debt raises present consumption, if the (deterministic) birth rate is greater than zero, while with a zero birth rate we obtain debt neutrality. This is consistent with the results in Blanchard [1985] and Buiter [1988]. However, for the case of stochastic birth rates, it is shown that we can obtain the result that present consumption will decrease when public debt is increased, both when we have a zero expected birth rate, and when the expected population size is assumed to be constant, so that the expected birth rate is positive and equal to the death rate. The explanation is that with an uncertain birth rate, the future tax base is uncertain, which makes per capita taxes uncertain in the future. Shifting taxes to the future thus implies greater uncertainty about future net income, and induces precautionary savings. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.