Forest property taxes play an integral role when private landowners make land use and management decisions. Economists often suggest that taxes should be neutral, thus causing no change in land use or management decisions compared to the pre-tax condition. The traditional ad valorem property tax has long been criticized, particularly as it pertains to forestry, because of its distortionary properties and inherent bias against long-rotation investments. Alternatives to the traditional forest property tax include current use assessment, productivity, yield, and site value taxes. The site value tax is a property tax on the market value of bare land only, exempting improvements. In theory, the site value tax has been championed as the only neutral property tax alternative; however, in actual application, a forest site value tax may prove to be non-neutral and, by certain measures, inequitable. The degree of the tax's neutrality can be linked to the method of tax administration and the ability of assessors to accurately determine bare land market values for a wide range of site qualities. This paper reviews literature on forest property tax alternatives and theoretically examines the efficiency of an applied forest site value tax. The adequacy and equity of a proposed forest site value tax are examined in detail and compared for two study areas: Western Oregon and Alabama; in light of local governmental budget constraints. Although the site value tax may represent a less-distortional vehicle for collecting local taxes, it is unlikely to be politically or administratively feasible. Also, given the existence of other distortions in the economy, a site value tax may not prove to be the most efficient tax in application, despite its neutral properties. / Master of Science

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sweden and Finland chose to join NATO, but Ireland and Switzerland chose to remain neutral. This study asked how Irish and Swiss neutrality differs with regards to integration and screening; why does their neutrality differ and how well can structural realism and neoclassical realism explain Irish and Swiss neutrality? The purpose was to gain an understanding of how neutral Ireland and Switzerland could be considerd to be since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and test if Irish and Swiss neutrality could be explained by structural and neoclassical realism. This study used four factors: national defense policy, strategic culture, public opinion, and the policy process. An analytical framework was applied to understand how their neutrality differed. The factors were compared to find where the biggest differences lie which could explain why their neutrality differed. Finally, how they differed was compared with why they differed to understand if the theories used explained their neutrality. The study found that Irish neutrality was more integrated compared with Swiss neutrality. Their neutrality differed due to differences in defense policy and policy process whilst similarities were due to strategic culture and public opinion. Finally, this study found that structural and neoclassical realism could explain Irish and Swiss neutrality, but studies using other theories and methods need to be made to strengthen these results

The Master‘s thesis deals with the issue of missing VAT in carousel frauds in case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic. Partial issues are identification of missing VAT and subjects in fraudulant supply chain whose right to deduct input VAT can be denied along with question of sanctional or reparational character of denial of right to deduct input VAT. The thesis contains recommended procedure for tax payers to minimize risks related to deduction of VAT.

Master of Arts / Department of Economics / Tracy M. Turner / This paper attempts to shed some light on the issue of net neutrality by examining the extent to which Internet usage is efficiently allocated under current conditions. I discuss the unique features of Internet usage which make it a good that markets will tend to provide at an inefficient level. I then discuss alternative pricing regimes that will move the market for Internet usage to efficiency. I conclude with a discussion of the current economic research on the topic.

Ökonomen wie Wirtschaftspolitiker berufen sich auf die Neutralitätstheorie des Geldes, wenn sie eine Entpolitisierung der Geldpolitik fordern. Sowohl die Theorie der Geldneutralität als auch das Paradigma der Entpolitisierung der Geldpolitik sind jedoch problematisch. Die politökonomischen Entwicklungen nach der globalen Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise 2007/2008 und die jüngsten Kontroversen über die Rolle und Bedeutung von Geld haben dies deutlich vor Augen geführt. Die vorliegende Arbeit diskutiert zunächst die konzeptionellen Grundlagen und theoretischen Modelle der Geldneutralität. Anschließend werden die zentralen theoretischen Annahmen und Aussagen der Neutralitätstheorie aus einer kritischen heterodoxen Perspektive hinterfragt. Es wird argumentiert, dass Geld eine nicht-neutrale Produktionskraft ist, die weder ökonomisch noch sozial neutral ist. Die Bedingungen, unter denen Geld verfügbar ist und zirkuliert, sind richtungsweisend für die ökonomische Entwicklung. Daher kann es auch kein neutrales Geld oder gar eine apolitische Geldpolitik geben. / The assumption of the neutrality of money is a widespread belief in mainstream economics. Accordingly, money is regarded as a neutral means of exchange that has no lasting effects on the real side of the economy. This study questions the conceptual validity of the neutrality assumption and its theoretical models arguing that its basic insights and predictions are problematic because they misrepresent the circumstances and conditions of the real economy. First, it discusses the conceptual grounds of the neutrality argument, which is based on the classical dichotomy approach and the notion of exogenous money. In a second step, it exposes the theoretical weaknesses of both the traditional and the contemporary versions of the neutral money models, that is, of the quantity theory and the rational-choice theory, by questioning its basic assumptions and implications. Finally, it argues from a critical heterodox perspective that rather than exogenous and neutral, money is endogenous and non-neutral, both in economic and social terms.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

The small island of St Barthélemy was a Swedish colony 1784–1878 and saw its greatest population growth and trade during the turn of the nineteenth century. This was because of Gustavia, the Swedish founded free port, which attracted mariners from the Caribbean, North America and Europe. Their goal was to become Swedish subjects, as Swedish neutrality provided a benefit during the various wars at this time between France, Great Britain and the United States. As these mariners changed their national allegiance from their country of origin to Sweden, questions about their political rights emerged. The makeup, as well as the role, of the local council became a contested issue between native and naturalized Swedes. This conflict, as well as many other local and global issues, was discussed in various mediums. I have examined petitions, the newspaper The Report of Saint Bartholomew and discussions within the council, to create an understanding of how political expression was formed by the population, as well as controlled by Swedish administrators. This analysis has been performed through an intersectional framework considering gender, race and ethnicity. My study shows that while most native and naturalized Swedes believed in input from the population, they had different perceptions of what the purpose of this input was. The Swedish administration saw the political participation of the naturalized population as purely advisory, without any obligation to perform its wishes, which the population resented and protested. Gender played a significant role in the formation of political expression, as masculinity was essential to the identity of white men and free men of colour as political subjects. Yet ethnicity, in terms of place of birth, had no significant impact among the free population’s political identity, although it did render them politically unreliable in the eye of native Swedish administration.

Sweden is currently viewed as a small country of North Europe. However, it can be proud of a long historical tradition with a number of political successes -- the fact that there has not been a war for more than two hundred years due to neutrality can be considered as the biggest one. The neutrality is perceived as a politico-security conception. The thesis tries to sum up the perception of Swedish neutrality, to chart its changes in time and to measure its compatibility with the EU membership through the observation of the Swedish foreign policy, the participation in Common Foreign and Security Policy, Common Security and Defence Policy and the preparation of the EU Council Presidency. The aim is to confirm the hypothesis that Sweden is due to changes in the perception of neutrality concept the full member of the European Union also in such complex things as Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy.

Thesis advisor: Robert K. O'Neill / World War II is regarded as the modern war in which it is easiest to make moral judgments about right and wrong. How could Ireland – a nation more closely tied to its religion than almost any other – have remained on the sidelines while Europe was torn apart in a bloody struggle to save democracy? This paper examines the ways in which the charismatic and savvy leadership of prime minister Eamon de Valera, a man of both pragmatism and principle, the strict war-time censorship which was imposed on the media (specifically the country's proudest, and most pro-British, newspaper, the Irish Times), and the lenses through which the people viewed the war – most notably, that of their Catholic faith – combined to make neutrality a policy which was not just accepted but embraced as a defining step for Ireland as a nation. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2005. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Regulation of Internet Abstract The internet is today one of the most rapidly evolving technological tools at our disposal. What started out being used for research and academic purposes over four decades ago, has evolved into a behemoth virtual community that has been shaped by millions of role-players and users. What started out as a self-regulated platform is coming under serious scrutiny as more and more we are finding that the current regulatory framework has massive gaping holes and human rights breaches are happening by the thousands, on a daily basis, across various internet platforms. It seems it is only a matter of time before a serious human rights or data catastrophe is on our hands. Regulation created under the stress of trying to recover from a catastrophe would be strict and have excessively tight controls and result in the loss of many freedoms which the internet has afforded the world. It is in light of this that the topic of the regulation of the internet is explored through this thesis. The internet has grown and evolved exponentially, and it is time that regulation of this space catches up to this evolution and is able to effectively govern and regulate this vast and multidimensional layer. The aim of this diploma thesis was to understand the dynamic relationship between regulation and...