D.Phil. (Taxation) / Any modern economy depends largely on taxation as a source of revenue and governments therefore realise the importance of having a willing taxpayer base. Many tax authorities use a compliance model to engage with taxpayers, in terms of which different strategies are used to encourage compliance, ranging from enforcement strategies on the one hand, to strategies of assisting taxpayers to comply, on the other. It is widely recognised in the literature that the majority of taxpayers are voluntarily tax compliant, but it appears that tax authorities place more emphasis on how they can enforce compliance than on how they can recognise those who are voluntarily compliant. The concept of voluntary compliance is not well defined in the literature and is commonly used in the sense of “compliance in the absence of an external enforcement action.” By means of an in-depth review of the literature from a socio-economic viewpoint, the present thesis aimed to define principles and also construct a framework for understanding voluntary tax compliance. It was found that voluntary tax compliance means the acceptance of a tax obligation by a taxpayer without having to be forced, driven by personal and internalised social norms, within a climate of trust between the taxpayer and tax authority. The framework for voluntary compliance was shown to consist of three dimensions: strong personal norms; internalised social norms; and a climate of high trust. Each dimension encompasses its own variables that also influence one another. Strategies used by tax authorities to encourage voluntary tax compliance were analysed with the aim of identifying strategies based on a power orientation, a service orientation, or a norm orientation. It was shown that different strategies influence different variables of the voluntary ii compliance framework, such as tax knowledge, fairness, trust, and ethical values. Through this analysis, principles for building a voluntary tax climate could be identified...

Research for the past decade has examined academic performance gaps among students from the perspective of sex, race and ethnicity groups, and low socio-economic status. Across those studies school attendance has been identified as a primary correlate with academic success. I used a descriptive non-experimental design to investigate the relationship of student academic outcomes (i.e., GPA, credits earned toward graduation) among student groups (i.e., sex, race, and special education status) on attendance type of unexcused or excused absences. This study included two cohorts of 9th grade high school students (n = 2,262) from the Eugene 4J School District during the 2013 to 2016 school year. I calculated Chi-square tests, Independent t-tests, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient to examine the relationship of attendance with student academic outcomes for GPA and credits earned toward graduation and to further compare attendance type (i.e., unexcused or excused absences) among student groups. Findings indicated statistically significant differences for unexcused and excused absences and for GPA and credits earned by specific demographic subgroups – males v. females, white v. minority, special education v. not special education. There were also statistically significant correlations for GPA and credits earned based on unexcused and excused absences among demographic subgroups. In addition, there were statistically significant differences by academic and attendance variables for students who remained in comparison to students who left Eugene 4J.

No description available.

This dissertation analyzes the basis for and magnitudes of discount factors based on the characteristics of greenhouse gas emission (GHGE) offsets that are applied to the GHGE reduction projects, concentrating on agricultural projects. Theoretical approaches to discount factors, estimation and incorporation of discount factors procedures are developed. Discount factors would be imposed by credit purchasers due to noncompliance with regulatory program of the credits with GHG program including consideration of shortfall penalties and limited durations. Discount factors are proposed for (i) additionality, (ii) leakage, (iii) permanence, and (iv) uncertainty. Additionality arise when the region where an AO project is being proposed would have substantial adoption of the AO practice in the absence of GHG programs (business as usual GHGE offset). Leakage arises when the effect of a program is offset by an induced increase in economic activity and accompanying emissions elsewhere. The leakage effect depends on demand and supply elasticities. Permanence reflects the saturation and volatility characteristics of carbon sequestration. Carbon is stored in a volatile form and can be released quickly to the atmosphere when an AO practice is discontinued. The permanence discount depends on the project design including practice continuation after the program and the dynamic rate of offset. Also, consideration of multiple offsets is important. Uncertainty arises due to the stochastic nature of project quantity. The uncertainty discount tends to be smaller the larger the size of the offset contract due to aggregation over space and time. The magnitude of these discounts is investigated in Southeast Texas rice discontinuation study. The additionality and the leakage discounts are found to play an important role in case of rice lands conversion to other crops but less so for pasture conversions and yet less for forest conversions. The permanence discount is important when converting to other crops and short rotation forestry. When all discounts are considered, rice lands conversion to forest yields claimable credits amounting to 52.8% ~ 77.5% of the total offset. When converting rice lands to pasture, the claimable credits 45.1% ~ 64.2%, while a conversion of rice lands to other crops yields claimable credits 38.9% ~ 40.4%.

This dissertation analyzes the basis for and magnitudes of discount factors based on the characteristics of greenhouse gas emission (GHGE) offsets that are applied to the GHGE reduction projects, concentrating on agricultural projects. Theoretical approaches to discount factors, estimation and incorporation of discount factors procedures are developed. Discount factors would be imposed by credit purchasers due to noncompliance with regulatory program of the credits with GHG program including consideration of shortfall penalties and limited durations. Discount factors are proposed for (i) additionality, (ii) leakage, (iii) permanence, and (iv) uncertainty. Additionality arise when the region where an AO project is being proposed would have substantial adoption of the AO practice in the absence of GHG programs (business as usual GHGE offset). Leakage arises when the effect of a program is offset by an induced increase in economic activity and accompanying emissions elsewhere. The leakage effect depends on demand and supply elasticities. Permanence reflects the saturation and volatility characteristics of carbon sequestration. Carbon is stored in a volatile form and can be released quickly to the atmosphere when an AO practice is discontinued. The permanence discount depends on the project design including practice continuation after the program and the dynamic rate of offset. Also, consideration of multiple offsets is important. Uncertainty arises due to the stochastic nature of project quantity. The uncertainty discount tends to be smaller the larger the size of the offset contract due to aggregation over space and time. The magnitude of these discounts is investigated in Southeast Texas rice discontinuation study. The additionality and the leakage discounts are found to play an important role in case of rice lands conversion to other crops but less so for pasture conversions and yet less for forest conversions. The permanence discount is important when converting to other crops and short rotation forestry. When all discounts are considered, rice lands conversion to forest yields claimable credits amounting to 52.8% ~ 77.5% of the total offset. When converting rice lands to pasture, the claimable credits 45.1% ~ 64.2%, while a conversion of rice lands to other crops yields claimable credits 38.9% ~ 40.4%.

Urban and industrial settings represent potential areas for increased carbon (C) sequestration and storage through intensified tree growth. Consisting of an estimated 1270 ha of land once entirely forested, Burnside Industrial Park (BIP) in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Our study examines the degree to which intensified urban tree planting within the BIP ecosystem could enhance C sequestration and storage. This was achieved by conducting a geospatial analysis in combination with construction of a C model. Three scenarios urban forest development were examined. If all potential planting spots are filled with trees by 2020, an estimated 26,368 tC, at a sequestration rate of 635 tC/yr, could be achieved by 2050. Next, we explored the challenges and opportunities associated with pursuing C offset markets as a means for funding urban forest development within BIP. A basic framework from which a community?based C offset market could potentially be established was recommended.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of California, Berkeley, 2009. / Text document in PDF format. Title from PDF title page (viewed on April 3, 2010). "Fall, 2009." Includes bibliographical references (p. 84-90).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2002. / Bibliography: leaves 170-182.

The graduation thesis is focused on personal finance and it is specialized in possibilities of financing own living. Products of building savings and mortgage credits are described in the graduation thesis and they are compared in accordance with RPSN. Further the effect of various parameters to RPSN is searched, especially the credit term of expiration and the size of the credit. In the end some specific examples of financing living are solved. Last part also includes the example of the investment in a real estate by buying a real estate in order to lease it.