This dissertation entitled "Deferred Tax and its Conceptual Complexities" addresses two immensely complex and intricate issues of deferred taxes and business combinations. Its aim is not only to analyse the development of accounting standards both individually and in mutual dependence, but also, with the help of scholarly works and practical reflections, to draw conclusions on the current state of accounting for deferred tax and on the process of international convergence. In order to achieve this goal, the following approaches were used: close reading of accounting standards as well as professional papers, analysis of the past development from both historical and regional perspective, and deduction of the author's personal conclusions using illustrative charts and a practical example. The dissertation is composed of three interlocking parts looking at deferred tax on its own, the deferred tax in business combinations and deferred tax in a broader context. It is evident, that deferred tax lies at the core of the whole study; however, it does not mean that the ultimate purpose was to dwell on its tiniest details. On the contrary, details, such as the distinction between enacted and substantively enacted tax rates and laws, are pointed out only to shed additional light on the general situation -- especially as the short-term convergence project on deferred taxes is coming to its end -- and on the role of rules versus principles in the current accounting standards, especially on the role of the true and fair view principle. In the first part, the fundamental building blocks (such as the methods of accounting for deferred taxes and the various differences) are introduced from the viewpoint of standards applicable in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the Czech Republic, and of International Financial Reporting Standards. All the standards are first discussed in chronological order with only the defining issues being analysed; afterwards, the standards are grouped according to the relevant standard setters and discussed in greater detail. The overall picture summarises the main points of the first three chapters. The second part provides the reader first with a general overview of deferred taxes in business combinations, and then focuses on deferred tax assets and the temporary difference arising from the initial recognition of goodwill. The conceptual inconsistencies and the gradually increasing complexity are portrayed using illustrative charts and the results of a simplified practical example based on the data taken from the standards themselves. The conclusion of this part is quite simple: something needs to be done. The question is what. The third part tries to provide the answer. The tentative conclusion is that the path followed by UK standards might currently be the most principle-based, and therefore it could be worth looking at; moreover, it can show that the effort devoted to the reconciliation of US and international standards might be worthless unless it also reconsiders the logic of using the balance sheet liability method with comprehensive allocation but without discounting. The competition among individual standard setters has proved to be of a great importance as it demonstrates that the acceptable alternatives are working not only in the minds of academics, but also in the real world. Finally, the issues of individual responsibility and professional judgement are raised, the pros and cons weighed, and the direction for further research indicated.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nusl.cz/oai:invenio.nusl.cz:76826 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Filinger, Marek |
| Contributors | Žárová, Marcela, Sedláčková, Dana, Tumpach, Miloš |
| Publisher | Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze |
| Source Sets | Czech ETDs |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
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