The decisions of the self-employed are of empirical interest because these individuals report their income under the personal income tax system. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that the personal income tax system is the biggest source of revenue for the government. In this paper I use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to analyze the effect that The Tax Reform Act of 1986 had on the decision to become or remain self-employed. To accomplish this I will use a simple difference method that compares the movement between employment groups in the aftermath of The Tax Reform Act of 1986 (treatment period) to the movement between employment groups before this tax legislation was enacted (control period). I find that The Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86) had an adverse effect on self-employment and actually caused more unemployment.

This study addresses the question of whether the relation between investor-level taxes and a firm's capital structure decisions varies predictably with financial constraints. Using the setting of the 2003 reduction in individual tax rates for ordinary income, dividends, and capital gains, this study documents that constrained firms decrease their debt use in response to the 2003 tax cuts, while unconstrained firms increase their debt use over the same period. I find these effects are only evident among firms with relatively high individual ownership, which is the group of firms that theory suggests will react to the tax cuts. This paper contributes to the literature on how investor-level taxes influence firms' financing decisions as well as the literature pertaining to the 2003 Tax Act.

I use an instrumental variable approach to estimate the effect of excise taxes on cigarette smuggling. The IV approach addresses the potential endogeneity of excise taxes while controlling for other determinants of smuggling. I use panel data on 47 states from 1990-2009. The main results confirm the validity of the instrument, the percent of Democrats in the upper house of state legislatures, but do not reject exogeneity of excise taxes. Robustness tests using an alternative measure of cigarette smuggling find the opposite result. All models find that per capita income and the number of federal police per 100,000 residents are significant determinants of smuggling.

The primary purposes of this study are fourfold, namely: (1) to summarize the writings of specialists in school finance and public finance which are judged to have significance concerning the nature, source, control, and measurement of local fiscal ability; (2) to develop an analytical evaluation of the "bases" of the proposed measures; (3) to develop a criterion of the relative taxpaying ability of Arkansas counties in terms of the actual valuation of real property; and (4) to determine the significance of the association among the three measures and the relative significance of the degree of relationship of each measure to the criterion.

In this era of globalization, small medium-sized fast-growth enterprises are central and pivotal to economic growth and prosperity, and firms that grow are most likely to survive, become successful and be competitive. Significant variables have been identified to impact on the growth of SMEs. The key influential factors of business growth include elements drawn from the entrepreneur and their resource variables. However, the influence of the external environment relative to the growth of SMEs, though imperative in the academic inquiry, has not been studied extensively particularly in the case of developing economies. It is against this backdrop that this thesis seeks to fill this knowledge gap by inquiring into the factors that affect the development and growth of SMEs in the context of a developing African country, Ghana. The thesis draws mostly on three research approaches to SMEs growth organized on analytical distinctions between the entrepreneur and their resources, the business level and the business strategy. At the empirical level, the research makes use of 75 SMEs owner/managers in Ghana in investigating the subject in detail. The study uses thematic analysis to analyse the interview transcripts. Findings indicate that the development and growth of SMEs was greatly influenced by the level and cost of energy (electricity) supply. The erratic energy supply with its huge tariffs, and resulting in acute energy crisis constrains business performance and pushes a host of SMEs out of business. The findings further show that government policy on taxes greatly affects the development and growth of SMEs. Unfavourable tax policy where businesses are taxed at the local government level as well as the national level, and high customs duties constrain the development and growth of SMEs. The findings, again, unravel that competition influences the performance of SMEs; hostile competition from direct and indirect foreign activities (imports) adversely affect the entrepreneurial activities of local producers. The study also shows that economic factors greatly influence the development and growth of SMEs. Sustained inflation adversely affects the operations cost of businesses, suppresses profit levels and ultimately inhibits expansion through plough-back profit. The study disputes the influence of the adoption and use of web technology (e-commerce) identified in literatures, but affirms the influence of education, while new factors are identified, showing that context impacts on the development and growth of SMEs. The study recommends sustained and affordable energy supply, measures to control or defuse hostile competition, review lending and borrowing regulations, review tax policies and suppress sustained inflation. This study therefore enhances the ongoing development relative to the understanding of factors that affect the development and growth of SMEs. More significantly, the role of context is of essence in SMEs research and entrepreneurship as a whole.

Thesis advisor: Philip E. Strahan / In the first essay of this dissertation I examine the bank credit supply and industry growth effects stemming from the introduction of bank account debit (BAD) taxes using a sample of Latin American countries between 1986 and 2005. I first show that the introduction of BAD taxes is followed by a reduction in the provision of bank credit to the private sector. I identify that a key channel through which these taxes affect credit is by creating a strong incentive to hold cash and reduce the use of bank deposits. I also provide evidence that their implementation ultimately affects economic growth, mainly by reducing the growth prospects of industries that are more susceptible to distortions in the supply of credit. In the second chapter I use a large sample of private firms in Colombia to investigate the impact of the introduction and changes of BAD taxes on the financing and investment decisions of firms. I first document that bank leverage decreases from an average of 23% in the years before the tax to 18% in the post-tax years. Furthermore, using a differences-in-differences empirical strategy, I find that small-risky firms reduce more their leverage and capital expenditures relative to large-high credit quality firms, even after controlling for firms' demand characteristics. In the last essay, written jointly with Heitor Almeida, Miguel A. Ferreira and Igor Cunha, we exploit the sovereign ceiling policy by credit rating agencies to show that sovereign rating downgrades have a real impact on firm investment and financial policy. We identify these causal effects by exploring the effect of sovereign downgrades on corporate ratings that are due to the rating agencies' sovereign ceiling rules. We find that sovereign downgrades lead to greater reduction in investment and leverage at firms that are at the sovereign rating bound than at otherwise similar firms that are below the bound. Consistent with a contraction in capital supply, bond yields of firms at the bound increase more than yields of firms below the bound. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Finance.

Thesis advisor: Donald Richter / Taxing different classes of property at different effective rates is a widespread occurrence in the United States, even though the practice violates many state constitutions. For purposes of tax discrimination, urban real property is commonly divided according to the use to which the property is applied. Typically, the major property categories considered are residential and business, or residential, commercial, and industrial. This thesis investigates the structural and welfare effects of a change from a tax structure in an urban area that classifies property by use for tax purposes to one that does not discriminate in its treatment of property. To accomplish this, long run equilibrium models of urban spatial location are developed. In all models wage rates, and for one model output price of a composite commodity produced in the urban area, can vary in response to the change in tax policy. Conditions guaranteeing the existence of equilibrium for some of the models are developed, and proofs of the existence of equilibrium for those models are provided. Due to the analytical intractability of the models, the tax policy changes are simulated numerically through the use of a fixed point algorithm. The models are stylized, to the extent possible, to the Boston metropolitan area. In particular, the classification tax structure and parameterization of the functions of the model are chosen so that a resultant equilibrium resembles the Boston metropolitan area in or around 1980. General equilibrium versions of compensating and equivalent variations in income are used as measures of welfare change. The qualitative welfare results obtained are quite robust. In all of the simulations conducted there is a welfare gain in moving from the particular classification tax structure used to one in which all property is taxed at the same effective rate. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 1984. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.

Thesis (M.Com. (Accountancy))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Accountancy, 2014. / At the 2013 budget presentation, the South African government indicated its intention to introduce carbon tax starting 1 January, 2015 at the rate of R120 per ton of Co2 equivalent. Prior research confirmed that carbon taxes have the potential to increase price levels, make exports uncompetitive and reinforce income inequality. It was suspected that the proposed carbon tax in the face of other similar taxes in South Africa would result in similar outcome. Furthermore, the socio-economic circumstance of South Africa could make the tax unfair to taxpayers. The object of this research was to evaluate the fairness of the proposed carbon tax in South Africa using the tenets of tax fairness Proposed by Smith (1776). The research methodology adopted was content analysis and correspondence analysis to analyse survey responses. The results of the analysis confirmed that the proposed carbon tax would result in price increases, make exports uncompetitive and reinforce income inequality. It was concluded that the proposed carbon tax would be unfair to taxpayers if implemented as currently designed

Imposition of taxes by subordinate legislation Abstract This diploma thesis is focused on assessing to what extent the Czech tax law (and fee law) is in compliance with the constitutional limit contained in Article 11, Section 5, of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, according to which taxes and fees may be imposed only on the basis of a statute. It was, therefore, studied whether, and if so in what way, the taxes and fees are imposed by subordinate legislation. For these purposes, it was necessary to define the criteria by which the constitutionality of particular subordinate legislation could be assessed. The 'on the basis of a statute' expression must be interpreted in such a way that the existence of subordinate legislation is not a priori excluded, however, a statute must contain basic structural elements of taxes (or fees). As a corrective, I have added the aspect of legitimacy to the evaluation in this thesis in order to eliminate the strictly formal application of the first criterion. The importance of Article 11, Section 5, of the Charter is that the imposition taxes by a statute guarantees citizens greater influence and greater control over the taxation. These guarantees should not be unreasonably weakened by creating a wide range of legal empowerment for the executive, where this...

O fenômeno da globalização vivido nas últimas décadas acirrou a competitividade no mundo e aumentou a importância do marketing para as empresas. Considerando que as estratégias empresarias precisam estar refletidas na decisão das variáveis ditas controláveis de marketing (Produto, Preço, Promoção e Praça), destaca-se a variável preço por sua relevância como elemento estratégico e por ser a única das variáveis geradora de receita. Independente da abordagem de precificação, sendo as principais voltadas para o cliente, para o mercado e de custos, verificam-se distinções importantes no que se refere à precificação de bens ou serviços. Além das diferenças mais evidentes, como a intangibilidade dos serviços, que dificulta a mensuração do custo, chamam a atenção os fatores que são agregados ao preço durante a etapa de produção. Em especial, destacam-se os impostos, por sua relevância no preço final pago pelo consumidor. Levando em consideração que o Brasil utiliza o método de \"impostos em cascata\" e a Itália, como membro da União Europeia, utiliza o IVA (Imposto sobre valor agregado), é importante saber como isso altera o preço final. Assim, realizou-se uma revisão bibliográfica abordando os conceitos de preço e as diferentes abordagens de precificação no que se refere a serviços ou bens e o impacto dos impostos no preço final ao consumidor no Brasil e na Itália. Após a revisão da literatura, realizou-se um estudo exploratório qualitativo internacional por meio de entrevistas em profundidade que seguiram um protocolo previamente estabelecido. Os entrevistados selecionados são profissionais que atuam ou já atuaram diretamente nas áreas de precificação das empresas pesquisadas. Após análises do que foi coletado nas entrevistas, concluiu-se que apesar das diversas abordagens de precificação que este trabalho apresentou e das interações entre elas, ainda não existe um modelo que seja adequado a todos os casos e todos os cenários, em especial quando se trata de serviços. Além disso, a distinção entre os modelos de tributação brasileiro italiano faz dessa componente mais um fator que torna a precificação no Brasil ainda mais complexa, mostrando que o impacto dos impostos na determinação de preços no Brasil é muito maior do que na Itália. / The globalization phenomenon experienced in recent decades has increased competitiveness and the importance of marketing for companies around the world. Considering that business strategies need to be reflected in the decision of marketing controllable variables (Product, Price, Promotion and Square), the price variable stands out due to relevance as a strategic element and because it is the only variable that generates revenue. Regardless of the pricing approach, either focused on the customer, the market or the cost, there are important distinctions regarding the pricing of goods or services. In addition to the more obvious differences, such as the intangibility of services, which makes it difficult to measure costs, more attention is drawn to the factors that are added to price during the production stages. In particular, taxes stand out because of their relevance in the final price paid by the consumer. Taking into account that Brazil uses a \"cascading taxes\" method and Italy, as a member of the European Union, uses VAT (value added tax), it is important to know how this affects the final price. Thus, a theoretical review addressing the concepts of price and the different pricing approaches regarding services or goodsand the impact of taxes on the final consumer price in Brazil and in Italy was performed. After reviewing the literature, an international qualitative exploratory study through in-depth interviews that follow a previously established protocol was conducted. The selected interviewees are professionals who work or have already worked directly in pricing of the companies participating in the study. After the analysis of the interviews, it is concluded that despite the various pricing approaches that this work presented and the interactions between them, there is still no model that is adequate for all cases and all scenarios, especially when it comes to services. Moreover, the distinction between the Brazilian and Italian taxation models makes this component one more factor that makes pricing even more complex in Brazil, showing that the impact of taxes over pricing in Brazil is much more important than in Italy.