Various levels of governments in Canada have introduced different types of tax instruments in order to encourage the development of renewable energy. This paper will look at the challenges that render those tax instruments inefficient and/or ineffective. For the ease of discussion, I will divide the said challenges by a hypothetical timeline of “before” and “during” the implementation of renewable energy. “Before” the implementation, some of the current tax incentives are criticized to be ineffective because there are better policy substitutes. It is also found that the inherent characteristics of renewable energy sources themselves render policy instruments inefficient. “During” the implementation, the currently existing “unlevel playing field” with the conventional oil and gas industry is found to be the strongest factor that causes tax incentives on renewable energy ineffective; the introduction of a carbon tax is recommended here. Lastly, even the most comprehensive tax measures are found unable to completely address the “exogenous” factors.

The current United States tax code regarding foreign sourced income is outdated for a heavily globalized and interconnected world. Multinationals have played certain games with the tax code to lower their domestic and foreign tax bill. This form of tax avoidance has real economic effects that are leading to non-optimal economic outcomes. This paper will begin by offering examples of how multinationals are avoiding taxes, especially in the pricing of intangible assets. Other countries have adopted different ways to tax foreign profits; notably most countries either have a worldwide non-deferral tax system or a territorial tax system. There are costs and benefits associated with both systems of taxation that must be considered before adoption. Ultimately, this paper will conclude that a territorial tax system combined with an overhaul of the current rules regarding transfer pricing will lead to a better economic outcome than the current U.S. system of taxation.

Mokesčių politika turi lemiamą vaidmenį tiek atskiriems ūkio subjektams, verslo plėtrai, tiek valstybės ekonomikai. Verslo išvystymas yra grindžiamas mokesčių sistemos reforma. Norint sukurti efektyvią mokesčių politiką, būtini ekonominiai ūkinių subjektų tyrimai. Magistro darbe atlikta Lietuvos pagrindinių verslo mokesčių analizė, palygintos mokesčių sistemos pokyčiai ir tendencijos Europos Sąjungos šalyse. Pasitelkus horizontalios ir vertikalios finansinės analizės būdus, įvertinta 2002 – 2006 metų AB“Mažeikių nafta“ ūkinė - komercinė veikla, nustatyta pagrindinių verslo mokesčių našta įmonei. Panaudojant scenarijaus metodą, analizuota įmonės finansinė būklė, įvertinant prognozuojamas įvairias apmokestinimo strategijas. Išaiškinama kokia apmokestinimo strategija būtų naudingiausia įmonei. Patvirtinama autorės suformuota hipotezė, kad pasirinkta mokesčių politika daro tiesioginę įtaką įmonės veiklos efektyvumui bei konkurencingumui. / Tax policy has a significant influence over individual economic entities, investments and economy of the country. Business development is grounded on tax reforms. Thus, the development of an effective tax system calls for the study of business activities of the entities. The Master‘s Thesis contains the analysis of the major taxes applicable to the Lithuanian entities, the comparison of changes in tax system and the tendencies of the European Union countries. Using horizontal and vertical methods of financial analysis AB Mažeikių Nafta’s business-commercial activities of 2002-2006 were evaluated, the burden of the major taxes applicable to the Company identified. The analysis of the financial standing of the Company was performed using the scenario method taking into consideration the different forecasted taxation strategies. Finally it provides the most beneficial taxation strategy for the Company. The scientific research hypothesis of the author stating that the selected tax policy makes a direct influence to the efficiency and competitiveness of the Company activities was proved to be correct.

Magistro darbo tyrimo tikslas – įvertinti mokesčių inspekcijos galimybes skatinti smulkaus ir vidutinio verslo plėtrą bei konkurencingumo augimą. Baigiamąjį darbą sudaro dvi dalys: teorinė ir praktinė. Pirmojoje dalyje apţvelgta mokesčių inspekcijos struktūra, funkcijos, veiklos strategija, atlikta darbo organizavimo ir administruojamų mokesčių apţvalga, identifikuotos smulkaus ir vidutiniojo verslo skatinimo kryptys. Praktinėje dalyje pateikiami susisteminti anketinės smulkaus ir vidutiniojo verslo atstovų ir mokesčių inspekcijos specialistų apklausų duomenys. Praktinio tyrimo duomenų analizė leido suformuoti išvadas apie esmines mokesčių administravimo kaitos galimybes, įtakojant smulkaus ir vidutiniojo verslo plėtrą ir pateikti pasiūlymus šiam verslui skatinti. / The aim of this master’s paper – to assess the tax inspectorate possibility to participate in the promotion of small and medium business development and competitiveness growth. The final work consists of two parts: theoretical and practical. The theoretical part describes the tax inspectorate‗s structure, functions, strategy, reviews work organization and administered taxes, identifies the small and medium business promotion and development trends. The structured results of questionnaire survey the small and medium business leaders and tax inspectorate‗s specialists are presented in the practical part. Practical data analysis allowed forming conclusions about the possibilities of fundamental changes in the tax administration for increasing its influence on small and medium business development and make suggestions for the business stimulation.

The three essays of this dissertation inform tax policy design. It is a compilation of empirical and experimental research work. The first and the second essays explore the performance of a recent tax policy reform at the sub-national level in India in terms of revenue efficiency as well as economic efficiency. India is among the only three countries in the world to have adopted a sub-national VAT. Therefore, empirically examining its performance not only improves the understanding of this important tax policy reform but also informs tax policy decision-making at the sub-national level in other developing countries. India transitioned to the state-level VAT between the years 2003 and 2008. Among other things, it was expected to achieve revenue growth and decrease tax cascading on commodities by improving economic efficiency of the indirect tax system. In the first essay, I model the impact of the VAT on revenue by adding revenue dependent administrative and compliance costs associated with taxation to an existing model developed by Keen and Lockwood (2010). The theoretical results show that replacing one type of indirect tax with another improves long-run revenue efficiency only if there is a net decrease in the administrative, compliance and distortionary costs of taxation at the margin. I then compile a unique state-level dataset for the years 1990 to 2010 to determine changes in the long-run revenue efficiency from the use of the VAT. This essay contributes to the literature by extending an existing revenue efficiency model and testing it in the unique situation of India’s sub-national VAT. The results reveal a significant improvement in the long-run revenue efficiency of the sales tax instrument used by state governments. The model implies this improvement is driven by a net fall in the marginal taxation costs from the use of the state-level VAT. This finding has important implications on the role of a sub-national VAT in the future as an effective tax instrument in the developing countries. The second essay appeals to the general theory of tax incidence which suggests that a VAT will have less impact on prices than a traditional turnover tax because the VAT does not “get stuck” in the production process as a turnover tax does. The impact should be larger for goods that have more components to the production process as the tax then “touches” more of the final product. In this essay I measure the change in the level of tax cascading with VAT by using multiple waves of the state- and household-level expenditure surveys. Specifically I test the impact of the VAT on the real consumption of households on a variety of consumption goods. I find the biggest significant decrease in the tax cascading burden of the long-term durable goods which essentially involve the maximum production components. This result is found in the 18 more developed states of India which are the focus of the empirical analysis due to data constraints. The third essay is an experimental research which looks at the influence of institutions on the economic burden of an excise tax. The traditional long-run tax incidence theory establishes that the economic incidence of an excise tax is independent of the assignment of the liability to pay tax. However, the theory is silent on the possible effects of the market institutions on tax incidence. Since all markets need an institution to function and every market institution has its own unique price and quantity determination property, it is important to understand its bearings on the incidence of taxes. Existing experimental research has tested economic incidence under many different market institutions but no previous research systematically analyzes and compares the incidence of a unit tax under two important market institutions we deal with in everyday life. One of these institutions is posted offer which dominates the consumer goods markets in developed countries and the other is double auction which is frequently observed in developing countries. I report a significant impact of these market institutions on tax incidence. In particular, I find that consumers bear a much higher burden of a unit tax in the posted offer markets as compared to the double auction markets and their burden further increases when the liability to pay the tax is on the seller.

Submitted by Tatiana Lima (tatianasl@ufba.br) on 2015-03-30T19:08:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Martins Filho, Luiz Nestor.pdf: 2758345 bytes, checksum: dea6802ea04f8b8dd0b27baa0fbcfcb1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Tatiana Lima (tatianasl@ufba.br) on 2015-04-06T18:29:29Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Martins Filho, Luiz Nestor.pdf: 2758345 bytes, checksum: dea6802ea04f8b8dd0b27baa0fbcfcb1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-06T18:29:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Martins Filho, Luiz Nestor.pdf: 2758345 bytes, checksum: dea6802ea04f8b8dd0b27baa0fbcfcb1 (MD5) / No intuito de promover o equilíbrio do desenvolvimento socioeconômico entre as diferentes regiões do País, foi estabelecida, a partir de bases constitucionais, uma política de incentivos aos micro e pequenos empreendimentos via regimes especiais e simplificados de tributação. Nesse sentido, buscamos discutir essa questão do desenvolvimento e do desequilíbrio econômico regional no Brasil a partir da Política Tributária instaurada a partir do SIMPLES Nacional, tendo por foco a relação de intercâmbio comercial realizado entre empreendimentos situados nos estados “produtores” do Sudeste e os estados “consumidores” do Nordeste. Em face da inovação legal, para ilustrar os efeitos decorrentes da Política Tributária de incentivos fiscais para micro e pequenos empreendimentos em estados “consumidores” apresentamos os efeitos sofridos pelos contribuintes do ICMS do Estado da Paraíba. Para tanto, respondemos à seguinte pergunta de partida: A partir das inovações legislativas trazidas pela LC. n° 123/2006 ao ICMS, quais foram os efeitos fiscais e tributários impostos pelo SIMPLES-N, durante os exercícios de 2007 a 2010 e suas implicações como política de incentivos fiscais para o desenvolvimento e combate ao desequilíbrio econômico regional no Estado da Paraíba? Para responder ao problema de partida, apresentamos as seguintes hipóteses, posteriormente comprovadas: 1ª – No que se refere à fiscalização e arrecadação do ICMS, com o advento da LC n° 123/2006 houve, para os contribuintes que ingressaram no regime, a título de benefício tributário, uma diminuição nominal de alíquotas. Em contrapartida, proibiu-se a aplicação integral do princípio da não cumulatividade na sistemática de apuração do tributo, acarretando: 1.) Para os contribuintes do estado “consumidor”, optantes do regime simplificado, a despeito da diminuição de alíquotas: 1.1) Que transacionem com outros contribuintes do SIMPLES-N, aumento indireto da carga tributária, em função da tributação cumulativa sob a cadeia produtiva e introdução de exceções legais ao regime, que diminuem ou anulam o beneficio fiscal concedido. 1.2) Que transacionem com contribuintes não optantes, aumento indireto dos custos, em função da adoção da não transferência plena de créditos. 2) Para os contribuintes do estado “consumidor”, sob o regime “normal”, que transacionem com contribuintes optantes do SIMPLES-N, aumento indireto da carga tributária, por transferência, em função da proibição (ou limitação) ao crédito fiscal. 3) Para a cadeia econômica de contribuintes do ICMS, independentemente do regime tributário, em função da cumulatividade do SIMPLES-N, aumento da carga tributária e sua redistribuição, sem observância aos princípios tributários da Competência, Isonomia, Neutralidade e da Capacidade contributiva, acarretando em violação ao princípio da Justiça (Equidade) Fiscal. In order to promote the balance of socio-economic development between different regions of the country, was established, based on constitutional grounds, a policy of incentives to micro and small enterprises through special schemes and simplified tax. In this sense we discuss this issue of development and regional economic imbalance in Brazil from the Tax Policy introduced from the SIMPLES Nacional It focuses on the relationship of commercial exchanges between enterprises located in the states of southeastern states and consumers in the Northeast . In the face of legal innovation, to illustrate the effects of the Tax Policy of tax incentives for micro and small businesses in 'consumers' states we present the effects of ICMS incurred by the taxpayers of the state of Paraiba. For this purpose, we answer the following question of departure: From the legislative innovations brought by LC n° 123/2006 to ICMS, what were the effects of fiscal and tax imposed by SIMPLES-N during the years 2007 to 2010 and its implications as a policy of tax incentives for development and combating regional economic imbalance in the state of Paraiba? To answer the problem of departure, we present the following hypothesis, later confirmed: 1st - As regards the supervision and collection of ICMS, with the advent of LC n ° 123/2006 was, for taxpayers who joined the scheme, as an tax benefit, a reduction of nominal rates. In return it was forbidden the full implementation of the principle of non-cumulative in the system for calculating the tax, resulting in: 1.) For taxpayers in the "consumer” state, that opted for the simplified scheme, despite the decrease in rates: 1.1) What transact with other contributors to the SIMPLES-N, increased indirect taxes, as a function of cumulative taxation under chain and introduction of statutory exceptions to the rules, which reduce or eliminate the tax benefit granted. 1.2) SIMPLES-N taxpayers that transact with “normal” taxpayers, increased indirect costs, due to the adoption of non-full transfer of credits. 2) For taxpayers in the state "consumer" under the “normal” regime of ICMS that transact with the SIMPLES-N taxpayers, increased indirect taxes, by transfer, due to the ban (or limitation) the tax credit. 2.1) suffer increased indirect costs, due to the adoption of non-full transfer of credits. 2.2) For taxpayers in the “consumer” state under the “normal” regime of ICMS that transact with the SIMPLES-N taxpayers, increased indirect taxes, by transfer, due to the ban (or limitation) the tax credit. 3.) For the economic chain of the ICMS taxpayers, regardless of the tax regime, due to the accumulation of SIMPLES-N regime, increased tax burden and redistribution, without observing the principles of tax jurisdiction, isonomy, neutrality and capacity to pay, resulting in violation of the principle of Justice Fiscal.

In this article, the author analyzes the BEPS project of the OECD and its implications in the International Tax Law of Brazil as a potential generator of a new stage in the international taxation. In that sense, he explains the Brazilian international policy, the context that led the signing of conventions and the model that was followed for it. Furthermore, he assesses the importance of the fiscal transparency and the exchange of information, aspects connected with the cooperation and competition. / En el presente artículo, el autor analiza el proyecto BEPS de la OCDE y sus implicancias dentro del Derecho Fiscal Internacional de Brasil, como el posible generador de una nueva etapa en la imposición internacional. En ese sentido, explica la política internacional brasilera, el contexto que motivó a la firma de Convenciones y el modelo que se siguió para el mismo. Asimismo, evalúa la importancia de la transparencia fiscal e intercambio de informaciones, conectado con las características de cooperación y competencia.

Ao final da primeira década dos anos 2000, com o objetivo de conter a desaceleração econômica decorrente da crise internacional do período, o governo brasileiro lançou mão da chamada política econômica anticíclica. Dentre as principais medidas adotadas destacou-se a desoneração tributária de veículos. Mas por que esse setor foi escolhido? Os impactos sobre a economia brasileira seriam menos positivos se a desoneração fosse dada a outro setor da economia, como a agropecuária? Esta tese busca analisar os efeitos dessa política sobre a economia brasileira no período, comparando-a com uma política de desoneração tributária voltada à agropecuária. Por suas características estruturais - especialmente no que se refere ao perfil de sua mão de obra e à sua distribuição territorial - espera-se que a desoneração tributária da agropecuária produzisse efeitos mais positivos sobre os agregados macroeconômicos e, principalmente, sobre a distribuição de renda e o equilíbrio regional do que a desoneração tributária da indústria automotiva. Fazendo uso de um modelo de equilíbrio geral computável inter-regional (TERM-BR), devidamente atualizado para o ano de análise (2009) e agregado de acordo com os objetivos desta tese, são simuladas e comparadas duas políticas de desoneração tributárias de mesmo custo direto para o governo. Os resultados observados permitem concluir que a desoneração de produtos agropecuários pode ser considerada superior à desoneração de veículos do ponto de vista de seus efeitos sobre o emprego, a renda, o consumo das famílias, o PIB e, especialmente, sobre a distribuição regional da atividade econômica e a distribuição de renda. Este tese discute ainda o papel da indústria no crescimento econômico como possível argumento em defesa da priorização dada à indústria automotiva em 2009, a despeito dos resultados empíricos obtidos. Conclui-se que a escolha de priorizar a indústria automotiva naquele momento possa ter sido resultado da influência política do setor sobre o governo, em um processo de captura característico de economias com forte presença estatal, como a brasileira. / At the end of the first decade of the 2000s, in order to contain the economic slowdown resulting from the international crisis, the Brazilian government made use of so-called countercyclical economic policy. Among the main measures adopted stood out the tax relief of vehicles. But why this sector was chosen? The impacts on the Brazilian economy would be less positive if the exemption was given to another sector of the economy, such as agriculture? This thesis analyzes the effects of this policy on the Brazilian economy in the period, comparing it with a policy of tax relief focused on agriculture. By their structural characteristics - especially as regards on its workforce and territorial distribution - is expected that the relief of agriculture generates more positive effects on macroeconomic aggregates and mainly on the distribution of income and the regional balance than the tax exemption in the automotive industry. Making use of a computable general equilibrium (CGE) interregional model (TERM-BR), updated to the year of analysis (2009) and aggregate in accordance with the objectives of this thesis, two alternative tax exemption policies with the same cost to the government are simulated and compared. The findings show that the tax relief of agricultural products can be considered superior to the tax relief of vehicles from de point of view of its effects on employment, income, household consumption, GDP and especially on the regional distribution of activity economic and income distribution. This thesis also discusses the role of industry in economic growth as a possible argument for the prioritization given to the automotive industry in 2009, despite the above empirical results. It follows that the choice to prioritize the automotive industry at that time may have been a result of sector policy influence on the government, in a capture process typical of economies with strong state presence, like Brazil.

La France, de même que tous les pays développés à économie de marché, possède une fiscalité élaborée et complexe, faite d’un grand nombre de prélèvements obligatoires. Le législateur poursuit, dans la détermination de sa politique fiscale, plusieurs objectifs. Au premier rang de ces objectifs figurent notamment l’efficacité et l’équité. Ces finalités de l’impôt obéissent à des logiques différentes, et peuvent parfois s’avérer contradictoires. Le système fiscal français parvient-il à atteindre ces objectifs? Divers concepts et situations – par exemple les niches fiscales et l’optimisation fiscale – étudiés dans le cas français mais également dans une perspective comparative internationale, en analysant plusieurs types de taxes et impôts, permettront d’éclairer la manière dont les politiques fiscales se positionnent au regard de l’équité et de l’efficacité, et de formuler des recommandations pour résoudre de façon optimale le dilemme entre efficacité et équité des prélèvements obligatoires. / Like all economically developed countries, France has an intricate and elaborate tax system, with a significant number of taxes and social security contributions. The French legislature conducts its tax policy with various goals in mind. Uppermost among these goals are efficiency and equity. The rationales behind each of these aims are quite different and sometime sprove contradictory.To what extent does the French tax system achieve these objectives? Several concepts and situations - aggressive tax planning and tax exemptions for instance - will be analysed through the example of numerous taxes, both from a national and an international comparative perspective. This will help us determine how well tax policies perform in terms of efficiency and equity, and make recommendations to optimally solve the dilemma between the efficiency and equity of the tax burden.

This master thesis deals with the rising issue telated to tax competition and its consequences. It si observed and analyzed the tax policy in four central-european economies: Czech republic, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia during last 10-12 years. The objective is to find out how much is the policy in particular countries different and which one is the most active in promotion of tax competition. The work focus on statutary corporate income tax rates, implicit rates and the overall tax burden in the observed economies. We come to the conclusion that the tac competition oriented policy is most obvious in Slovakia followed by Czech republic and Hungary. In case of Austria we can see that effect of tax competiton in a small region can not be ignored which leads to undertake several steps in order to remain competiitive.