A research report to be submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce (Taxation) 31 March 2016 / The aim of the report is to determine whether the current Value-Added Tax (‘VAT’) treatment relating to the exemption applied on educational services should be retained and to ascertain whether the policy considerations which applied when VAT was introduced are still relevant, or whether changed circumstances would justify the introduction of a different treatment or concessions in relation to these services. The most critical and significant challenge being faced by VAT vendors and universities in particular is compliance with a vast array of amendments to the VAT Legislation, Binding Rulings, Guides and Interpretation Notes issued by the South African Revenue Service (‘SARS’). Noncompliance for whatever reason may result in irregular expenditure and significant penalties and interest imposed for non-compliance, especially in light of the additional penalties being imposed in terms of the Tax Administration Act which was promulgated in October 2012. VAT therefore has a direct impact on the financial affairs and cash flow of VAT registered entities. Furthermore, government funding in respect of tertiary institutions has been on the decline in recent years while the costs of running a tertiary institution have continued to be on the rise. This development has necessitated a change of approach in how tertiary institutions manage their operations. Consequently, there developed a strong need for tertiary institutions to find alternative ways of raising extra funds to make up for the shortfall caused by the decline in funding from government. The provision of short courses, in addition to the traditional full semester diploma and degree courses provided by the institutions, was identified as an opportunity to deliver a certain varied level of educational services to an existing suitable market. This opportunity presented attractive prospects as an alternative source of funding for the institutions in the wake of depleting government funding. In this regard, many of the institutions formed a number of vehicles in order to offer the short courses to the market. The rationale behind such approaches is in order to distinguish the traditional education services (diploma and degree courses) from the non-traditional educational services (short courses). / MT2017

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg A proposal for a research report to be submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce / Value-Added Tax (VAT) on imported services in South Africa and the VAT treatment of banking income / products has been a contentious issue for a number of years in South Africa. South African companies, individual taxpayers, students and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have difficulty to interpret whether section 7(1)(c) and section 14 of the Value-Added Tax Act No. 89 of 1991 is applicable to certain transactions. The aim of the study is to discuss and analyse VAT on imported services in South Africa in order for an individual taxpayer, company and SARS to understand which section should be applied to a certain transaction. This study also aims at clearly showing the type of income / products generated in the banking industry and how VAT is treated on the types of income / products in the bank. This will give students, tax professionals in the financial industry, auditors, companies, individuals and the SARS a better understanding of how VAT is treated in the financial industry. / MT2017

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

Os tratados internacionais firmados após a segunda metade do século XX, em particular aqueles que pretendem superar os tradicionais acordos de livre comércio ou união aduaneira, seguem desafiando o direito contemporâneo. Por serem mais ambiciosos, ultrapassam a clássica forma de cooperação entre países soberanos e exigem uma estrutura institucional mais elaborada, capaz de fazer emergir a vontade expressa nos tratados e de estabelecer as liberdades que serão asseguradas nesse novo ambiente, uma vez que a máxima um povo, um governo, um território, não o define. A experiência mundial bem sucedida que conseguiu erigir um mercado comum, assim compreendido como um espaço sem fronteiras em cujo interior circulam livremente pessoas, serviços, mercadorias e capitais, foi a vivenciada pelas Comunidades Europeias. A clareza dos objetivos traçados, a capacidade de superar as fases de estagnação, a solidez das instituições e, sobretudo, o reconhecimento da supremacia do direito comunitário foram determinantes para o êxito europeu. O triunfo assentou-se, dentre tantos outros pilares, no processo de harmonização das legislações tributárias dos países membros, em especial as que alcançam o consumo de bens e serviços, razão pela qual é reconhecido, pela doutrina e jurisprudência comunitárias, como um dos principais motores da União Europeia. Após vários fracassos nas tentativas de aproximação dos países na América Latina, o Mercado Comum do Sul (MERCOSUL) foi idealizado para atingir o patamar de um mercado comum e reconhecer, entre os seus membros, as quatro liberdades fundamentais de um mercado integrado. Como a harmonização das legislações fiscais constitui uma etapa fundamental para a consecução desse espaço econômico sem fronteiras, a tese analisa as espécies tributárias que alcançam o consumo de bens e serviços nos países membros do MERCOSUL e avalia a possibilidade de avanço rumo à integração regional iniciada pela assinatura do Tratado de Assunção. Nesse sentido, demonstra em quais aspectos o sistema tributário brasileiro representa um importante entrave à integração no âmbito do MERCOSUL. / The international treaties signed after the second half of the 20th century , especially those meant to supersede the traditional free trade agreements or customs union, still challenge contemporary law. Given that they are more ambitious, they override the classic mode of cooperation between sovereign countries and survive on a more carefully elaborated institutional structure, capable of making the wills expressed in the treaties emerge and establish the freedoms that will be guaranteed in this new environment, once the maxim a people, a government a territory does not define it. The well succeeded world experience that led to the creation of a common market, construed as a space with no boundaries, within which people, services, goods and capital circulate freely, was experienced by the European Union. The clarity with which the aims were set forth, the power to overcome stagnation spells, the solvency of the institutions and, above all, the recognition of the supremacy of the communitarian law were decisive in the consolidation of the European success. Triumph, among so many other pillars, played a role in the process of harmonization of the tax law of the member countries, especially the law that contemplates the consumption of goods and services, which is the reason why it is known for its communitarian doctrine and jurisprudence, as one of the compelling forces of the European Union. After a succession of frustrated attempts to bring together the Latin American counties, the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) was conceived to attain the status of a common Market and recognise, among its members, the four fundamental freedoms of an integrated Market. As the harmonization of the fiscal laws is a stage of prime importance in the construction of this boundless economic space, the thesis analyses the types of taxes that affect the consumption of goods and services in the MERCOSUR member-countries and evaluates the possibility for is advancement towards the regional integration set on train with the signature of the Asunción Treaty. In this sense, it highlights which aspects of the Brazilian tax system pose a serious barrier to integration within the context of MERCOSUR.

The presented diploma thesis deals with VAT rules applied to supply of services as settled by the VAT directive. The main aim of the work is to analyze the application of the VAT law by Czech Republic, France and Slovakia. The work also describes how the selected countries have made use of derogations and compulsory provisions. The taxation of services is described according to national legislation in force on 31/07/2019.

Taxable persons’ right to deduct input VAT is an integral part of the VAT system and may in principle not be limited. Carousel schemes deprive the Member States a great deal of tax revenue, investigations show that up to EUR 100 billion disap-pear every year. In order to stop these trading arrangements and reduce the big amount of tax revenue which disappears every year, some Member States would like to deny traders involved in carousel frauds the right to deduct the input VAT. It exist different opinions regarding taxable persons’ ability to deduct input VAT when involved in carousel frauds. The ECJ has given judgements in three interest-ing cases dealing with the right to deduct in case of carousel fraud. In the Optigen case, it was established that taxable persons who do not know or have any reason to believe that they are involved in a carousel fraud cannot be denied the right to deduct the input VAT. In the FTI case, it was concluded that taxable persons in-volved in carousel frauds can be jointly and severally liable to pay the VAT to-gether with the person, actually liable to pay the VAT. A precondition for making a taxable person jointly and severally liable is that the taxable person has to be aware or should have been aware that the transaction made, was involved in such a scheme. If the taxable person did not know or had no reason to suspect this, he cannot be made jointly and severally liable. The ruling in the Kittel case confirms the Optigen judgement as well as concludes that when a taxable person is aware or should have been aware that he is involved in a carousel scheme, he is not enti-tled to deduct the input VAT. If this is the case, it is possible for the tax authori-ties in the different Member States to deny taxable persons this right as well as claim a refund. These judgements clarify when the national tax authorities can deny a taxable per-son the right to deduct input VAT when the transactions are made in a chain of fraud. However, another problem occurred, it is up to the national courts to de-cide when a taxable person should be aware that he is involved in a carousel fraud. This decision shall be based upon objective factors, no guidelines or any other help as to what these objective factors should consist of have been published. This creates an interpretation gap for the national courts followed by the risk of having an outcome with different interpretations from the courts in the Member States. / Den avdragsrätt som beskattningsbara personer besitter utgör en oskiljaktig del av mervärdesskattesystemet och kan därför i princip inte inskränkas. Karusellhandel berövar medlemsstaterna på stora mängder skatteinkomster. Olika undersökning-ar visar att upp till 100 miljarder euro försvinner varje år till följd av karusellbe-drägerier. Vissa medlemsstater vill kunna neka avdragsrätt för beskattningsbara personer som är inblandade i olika typer av karusellhandel som ett försök att stoppa dessa arrangemang och för att minska de skatteintäkter som årligen förlo-ras. Det finns olika åsikter om möjligheten att neka avdragsrätt för beskattningsbara personer involverade i karusellhandel. EG-domstolen har avkunnat domar i tre in-tressanta mål som rör avdragsrätten vid karusellhandel. I Optigen målet fastställ-des att beskattningsbara personer som inte vet eller har någon anledning att miss-tänka att de är inblandade i en karusellhandel inte kan bli nekade att dra av den in-gående mervärdesskatten. I FTI målet drogs slutsatsen att beskattningsbara per-soner involverade i karusellhandel kan bli solidariskt betalningsansvariga för sälja-rens mervärdesskatteskuld. Förutsättningen för att sådant ansvar skall kunna åläg-gas är att den beskattningsbara personen visste eller hade skälig anledning att misstänka att han var involverad i ett karusellbedrägeri. Däremot kan en beskatt-ningsbar person som inte visste eller hade skälig anledning att misstänka att han var inblandad i ett karusellbedrägeri inte åläggas solidariskt betalningsansvar. Do-men i Kittel målet bekräftar Optigen domen samtidigt som den fastställer att be-skattningsbara personer som medvetet eller som haft skälig anledning att misstän-ka att han är inblandad i ett karusellbedrägeri kan förlora avdragsrätten. Om så är fallet kan följaktligen de nationella skattemyndigheterna neka avdragsrätt för en beskattningsbar person samt kräva en återbetalning av redan utbetalad mervärdes-skatt. Dessa domar klarlägger när de nationella skattemyndigheterna kan neka en be-skattningsbar person avdragsrätten när en transaktion är genomförd i samband med ett karusellbedrägeri. Ett annat problem uppstod dock eftersom det är upp till de nationella domstolarna att bestämma när en beskattningsbar person skall ha skälig anledning att misstänka att han är involverad i ett karusellbedrägeri. Detta beslut ska baseras på objektiva faktorer, det finns emellertid inga riktlinjer eller annan hjälp att ta till för att bestämma vad dessa objektiva faktorer skall vara. Det-ta skapar ett tolkningsproblem för de nationella domstolarna, vilket kan resultera i olika tolkningar mellan medlemsstaterna.

This dissertation evaluates the empirical relation between the value-added tax (VAT) and the level of aggregate consumption. Furthermore, it develops a theoretical framework and an empirical analysis to study the impact of the VAT, as a form of taxing consumption, on capital accumulation, productivity growth, and overall economic growth. While recent theoretical work shows that the VAT may boost capital accumulation and growth by encouraging more savings, we find that the net impact of consumption taxes on growth and its sources is theoretically ambiguous, and depends on the interaction between utility parameters, the interest rate, and the tax structure. Moreover, we develop a theoretical model to study the tax design problem in order to rationalize the observed variation in effective VAT rates over time in our sample. This framework considers both equity and efficiency as important factors determining optimal tax structure, and we identify conditions under which taxes could be evolving or constant over time. Empirically, we use a panel of 15 European Union countries and employ the recently developed GMM dynamic panel techniques. After controlling for the potential biases associated with persistence, endogeneity, simultaneity, measurement error, omitted variables, and unobserved country-specific effects, we find that (i) the VAT exerts a negative impact on the level of aggregate consumption, (ii) the VAT affects physical capital accumulation positively, which feeds through to overall GDP growth, and (iii) productivity growth seems to be a less relevant channel for the VAT to influence economic growth.

This article aims to explore the influence of Mainland China's inter-governmental relations to the logistics in the Yangtze River Delta region. In short, research results can be summed up and related to Yangtze River Delta regions relationship between inter-structural governmental factors, to allow readers to understand the status of the logistics industry and policy development in the Yangtze River Delta and it¡¦s obstacles. Through governmental inter-system structure, relating to the Yangtze River Delta region's logistics industry environment review, analysis between local government in Yangtze River Delta, and the existence of competitive behavior, different difficulties, as well as logistics management system of the Government; on the other hand, Central Government policies on logistics development in Yangtze River Delta region and the role it plays, furthermore what means of intervention is necessary. Finally we can conclude that, Under the influence of inter-institutional structure, logistics reforms in the management of the local government and functions of the Central Government policies have been meet with difficulty; on the other hand, tax reform in logistics by means of Central Government macro-control, yet still compressed direct access to tax revenue of the local governments financial capacity, resulting in local governments to rely more on other non-tax revenues, indirect effects of layouts and the operation of the logistics industry chain. Due to these structural factors that affect local government in Yangtze River Delta areas causes a dilemma in choosing to compete or cooperate; reflecting to the effectiveness of the reform policies of the Central Government.

This thesis analyzes tha value added tax (VAT) in the European Union (EU). Primarily,the issue of tax harmonization and legal basis of tax harmonization in the context of European Union is studied. Furthermore, this thesis makes a comparision of VAT legislation in the EU and Turkey and identifies differences between the EU VAT system and Turkish VAT Law.Lastly, within the framework of finding similarities between Turkish and EU VAT legislation,the thesis tries to examine whether major harmonization laws are needded to be adopted in the accession process in the field of VAT.

<p>Taxable persons’ right to deduct input VAT is an integral part of the VAT system and may in principle not be limited. Carousel schemes deprive the Member States a great deal of tax revenue, investigations show that up to EUR 100 billion disap-pear every year. In order to stop these trading arrangements and reduce the big amount of tax revenue which disappears every year, some Member States would like to deny traders involved in carousel frauds the right to deduct the input VAT.</p><p>It exist different opinions regarding taxable persons’ ability to deduct input VAT when involved in carousel frauds. The ECJ has given judgements in three interest-ing cases dealing with the right to deduct in case of carousel fraud. In the Optigen case, it was established that taxable persons who do not know or have any reason to believe that they are involved in a carousel fraud cannot be denied the right to deduct the input VAT. In the FTI case, it was concluded that taxable persons in-volved in carousel frauds can be jointly and severally liable to pay the VAT to-gether with the person, actually liable to pay the VAT. A precondition for making a taxable person jointly and severally liable is that the taxable person has to be aware or should have been aware that the transaction made, was involved in such a scheme. If the taxable person did not know or had no reason to suspect this, he cannot be made jointly and severally liable. The ruling in the Kittel case confirms the Optigen judgement as well as concludes that when a taxable person is aware or should have been aware that he is involved in a carousel scheme, he is not enti-tled to deduct the input VAT. If this is the case, it is possible for the tax authori-ties in the different Member States to deny taxable persons this right as well as claim a refund.</p><p>These judgements clarify when the national tax authorities can deny a taxable per-son the right to deduct input VAT when the transactions are made in a chain of fraud. However, another problem occurred, it is up to the national courts to de-cide when a taxable person should be aware that he is involved in a carousel fraud. This decision shall be based upon objective factors, no guidelines or any other help as to what these objective factors should consist of have been published. This creates an interpretation gap for the national courts followed by the risk of having an outcome with different interpretations from the courts in the Member States.</p> / <p>Den avdragsrätt som beskattningsbara personer besitter utgör en oskiljaktig del av mervärdesskattesystemet och kan därför i princip inte inskränkas. Karusellhandel berövar medlemsstaterna på stora mängder skatteinkomster. Olika undersökning-ar visar att upp till 100 miljarder euro försvinner varje år till följd av karusellbe-drägerier. Vissa medlemsstater vill kunna neka avdragsrätt för beskattningsbara personer som är inblandade i olika typer av karusellhandel som ett försök att stoppa dessa arrangemang och för att minska de skatteintäkter som årligen förlo-ras.</p><p>Det finns olika åsikter om möjligheten att neka avdragsrätt för beskattningsbara personer involverade i karusellhandel. EG-domstolen har avkunnat domar i tre in-tressanta mål som rör avdragsrätten vid karusellhandel. I Optigen målet fastställ-des att beskattningsbara personer som inte vet eller har någon anledning att miss-tänka att de är inblandade i en karusellhandel inte kan bli nekade att dra av den in-gående mervärdesskatten. I FTI målet drogs slutsatsen att beskattningsbara per-soner involverade i karusellhandel kan bli solidariskt betalningsansvariga för sälja-rens mervärdesskatteskuld. Förutsättningen för att sådant ansvar skall kunna åläg-gas är att den beskattningsbara personen visste eller hade skälig anledning att misstänka att han var involverad i ett karusellbedrägeri. Däremot kan en beskatt-ningsbar person som inte visste eller hade skälig anledning att misstänka att han var inblandad i ett karusellbedrägeri inte åläggas solidariskt betalningsansvar. Do-men i Kittel målet bekräftar Optigen domen samtidigt som den fastställer att be-skattningsbara personer som medvetet eller som haft skälig anledning att misstän-ka att han är inblandad i ett karusellbedrägeri kan förlora avdragsrätten. Om så är fallet kan följaktligen de nationella skattemyndigheterna neka avdragsrätt för en beskattningsbar person samt kräva en återbetalning av redan utbetalad mervärdes-skatt.</p><p>Dessa domar klarlägger när de nationella skattemyndigheterna kan neka en be-skattningsbar person avdragsrätten när en transaktion är genomförd i samband med ett karusellbedrägeri. Ett annat problem uppstod dock eftersom det är upp till de nationella domstolarna att bestämma när en beskattningsbar person skall ha skälig anledning att misstänka att han är involverad i ett karusellbedrägeri. Detta beslut ska baseras på objektiva faktorer, det finns emellertid inga riktlinjer eller annan hjälp att ta till för att bestämma vad dessa objektiva faktorer skall vara. Det-ta skapar ett tolkningsproblem för de nationella domstolarna, vilket kan resultera i olika tolkningar mellan medlemsstaterna.</p>