Zeitschriftenartikel zum Thema „Tax authority instruments“

ASEAN Tax Forum was established in the ASEAN Minister of Finance meeting in Bali April 2011. The forum consists of tax authority among ASEAN countries intended for exchange of information on the tax regime and instruments among Member States as well as to work on the issues of avoidance of double taxation and addressing withholding tax to further support the building of a competitive ASEAN Economic Community. The tax harmonization process among member states of ASEAN needs several stages to be taken. Tax Treaty as the step to eliminate the double taxation still not implemented by all ASEAN members. Tax rate particularly corporate tax rate is varying among countries. Learning the lesson from European Union, the direction of tax harmonization is to establish the common tax base while tax rate still differentiate among member states.

<p>The study aims to investigate the causality relationship between Gross Domestic Product and its components with Tax revenues in developing countries as a case study in Palestine. This study based on an empirical approach using secondary data from Palestine monetary Authority during (1999-2014). The findings exposed mainly that the tax revenues does not Granger Cause each of the Palestinian Gross Domestic Product, Government spending, Consumption, Investment and Balance of trade. In addition, researcher divided period of study into three stages according to changing in income tax act. Moreover, results shows that the impact of macro-economic variables on tax revenues and correlations between dependent and independent variables was changing from one stage to other.</p>This paper concludes that the Palestinian authority should motivate investment conditions and improve the tax collection instruments and decrease the tax invasion. In addition, Palestinian government should rationalize the government consumption spending and increase the government expenditure for the development.

This paper reviews recent economic research in tax compliance and enforcement. After briefly laying out the economics of tax evasion, it focuses on recent empirical contributions. It first discusses what methodologies and data have facilitated these contributions, and then presents critical summaries of what has been learned. It discusses a promising new development—the analysis of randomized controlled trials mostly delivered via letters from the tax authority—and then reviews recent research using various methods about the impact of the principal enforcement tax policy instruments: audits, information reporting, and remittance regimes. I also explore several understudied issues worthy of more research attention. The paper closes by outlining a normative framework based on the behavioral response elasticities now being credibly estimated that allow one to assess whether a given enforcement intervention is worth doing. (JEL H26, H30)

The paper analyzes the Zimbabwean VAT system. The main objective was to establish and evaluate the gaps within the Zimbabwean VAT system, with the view of closing them so that the Zimbabwean VAT is attuned to the dictates of the best practice VAT. A review of literature was used and the main sources of information were the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, the South African Revenue Services, literature from various journal articles and books and various reports and legislative instruments. The key finding of the study was that the Zimbabwean VAT system falls short of both the South African and best practice VATs. The main reasons for the gap are; a narrow VAT base fuelled by rampant VAT zero-rates and exemptions; it defies the destination principle; it does not conform to the principle of tax neutrality and tax simplicity; and it has high costs of collection and compliance. The study recommends that the Zimbabwean VAT system should be aligned to the best practice VAT through streamlining VAT privileges and correctly implementing the destination principle. Adequate funding should be allocated to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority in order to embrace the Information Communication Technology (ICT) drive to reduce costs of compliance and collection.

Abstract:Public works spending was an integral component of John F. Kennedy’s fiscal policy. Drawing on a wide range of archival evidence from the Kennedy Presidential Library, we show how the administration worked to pass a $2.5 billion infrastructure bill that would give the presidency unilateral authority in determining where and when those funds would be spent. Contrary to recent accounts that emphasize Kennedy’s role in promoting massive tax cuts in 1963–64, the 1962 Public Works Acceleration Act was a key fiscal instrument that Kennedy advocated prior to the administration’s push for tax reform. Moreover, the public works policy was strictly Keynesian—designed as a proactive countercyclical “stabilizer” that would generate budget deficits in order to make up for slack in a recession. Kennedy’s plan faced stiff resistance in Congress and the history of the law offers important lessons for why infrastructure programs are often disregarded as countercyclical instruments.

Abstract With direct incentives and sanctions being the most common instruments to fight tax evasion, the theoretical literature has tended to overlook indirect schemes, such as itemised deductions, in which one agent’s behaviour affects the likelihood that others will declare their revenue. Itemised deductions provide an incentive for consumers to declare their purchases. This induces a partial shift in the demand from the black market to the legal one, for consumers need a transaction receipt to enjoy the tax deduction. I show that it is possible to increase tax proceeds by choosing a suitable level of itemised deduction, and this, for any level of taxation. Indeed, the cost for the tax authority on the consumers’ side is more than compensated for by the extra proceeds generated on the sellers’ side.

Tim Edgar's passing in December 2016 dealt a severe blow to tax scholarship in Canada and globally, not to mention being a sad loss for this journal, to which he was a contributor for over three decades. Tim's books, journal articles, and book chapters spanned a wide spectrum of tax policy issues and have played a central role in helping policy makers, academics, and students understand some of the most conceptually and technically difficult areas of tax law. Tim's book on the taxation of financial arrangements, published by the Canadian Tax Foundation, is viewed by policy makers worldwide as the definitive authority on the subject, setting out a principled path to carving out the debt component of financial instruments and subjecting it to neutral accrual taxation. In a closely related area, his detailed analysis of the difficulties confronting policy makers who seek a neutral application of the goods and services tax (GST) to financial supplies is considered to be foundational work in the field, and his proposal to remove the tax from business-to-business supplies has been adopted directly in New Zealand and via an indirect mechanism in Singapore. Tim's work on the general anti-avoidance rule is cited time and again as a key treatment of the topic, while his proposal to extend thin capitalization rules to outbound investment has been adopted in Australia. Tim's comprehensive analysis of the Canadian pseudo-imputation system opens the door to a much-needed reconsideration of the system. The more challenging the subject matter, the deeper Tim investigated and methodically dissected the topic to arrive at reasoned recommendations for reform. Tim's work will continue to be read, cited, and applied in practice for many years.

This study aimed to analyze the effects of fiscal and monetary policies interactions on public debt in Jordan during (1970 – 2019). Using Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) derived from VAR (Vector Auto regression), and examine dynamic interactions between economic variables over time, by Appling Impulse Response Function, and Variance Decomposition. The results indicated that the fiscal policy instruments affect public debt in two different directions, the expansion of government expenditure positively affect public debt, while tax revenues reduce indebtedness. The monetary policy instruments affect public debt in the same directions, as the results indicated that the central bank in controlling money supply and managing interest rate helps the fiscal authority in reducing the public debt in Jordan. The results confirm the strongest impact of government expenditure on public debt in Jordan. The study recommends the necessity of rationalizing government expenditures and combating tax evasion. In addition, more coordination between fiscal and monetary policies.

A risk-oriented approach used by the Russian tax authorities for planning control activities contains a number of shortcomings that reduce its effectiveness in terms of encouraging compliance. The stages of the risk assessment process are reflected in various legal instruments that are not integrated into any system. The legal mechanism established by the tax authorities at the subordinate level to assess risks creates a prerequisite for violation of the principles of the taxes and fees legislation. This flaw is caused by the lack of differentiation of risk criteria, which leads to the intervention of regulatory authorities in the economic activities of controlled entities, regardless of their compliance with all mandatory rules. The absence of the requirement for compliance of the control activity with the identified risk allows the regulatory authorities to carry out inspections on all taxes without sufficient grounds, which is burdensome for the controlled entities. Thus, the legal structure of this approach encourages the tax authorities to employ the law enforcement practice violating the principles of neutrality of taxation and the balance of private and public interests. Based on the experience of the United Kingdom tax authority (HM Revenues & Customs) that, like the Russian tax authorities, has been using a risk-oriented approach since 2007, the author identifies the main directions of development of this approach in Russia. Among such areas, in particular, the author has highlighted: consolidation of the norms regulating the process of applying the risk-oriented approach at all stages into a single regulatory legal act of the subordinate level; elimination of latent criteria of tax risk and the framework reflection in the system of publicly available criteria of all possible risk factors identified by the tax authority; creation of guarantees ensuring protection of bona fide persons from excessive control measures.

The transition process in Albania has revealed numerous problems uniformly spread having versatile impact. Such referring point is quality and effectiveness of fiscal policy in order to establish a sustainable connection among its goals and instruments being used. As a country that operates under conditions of market economy, Albania deems it necessary to increase the level of revenues in order to stabilize problems of economic balance and balance of payments. The analyses have shown that authority of fiscal policy has played primary role in the economic progress of the country. For that purpose, the behavior of contributors and their opportunity for evasion is taken into account as an important factor in the drafting of fiscal policies. The large business and VIP business conceal revenues; manipulate balances and the number of employees. Therefore they avoid tax liabilities. Roughly 45 % of economy in the country is informal, an informal market, an informal business and so on. Even nowadays, when a series of measures and amendments to the law have taken place, we still remain inside the transition train toward the station of a country with European standards. That is why the goal of this work is to analyze the offense of fiscal evasion and evasion of tax liabilities, the instruments in the prevention of this offense and the bodies rendering assistance in the fight against fiscal evasion. Arising questions are as following: What is the meaning of fiscal evasion?; What are the forms of fiscal evasion?; What are the established structures in the fight against tax informality?; What are the strategies used in the fight against fiscal evasion?; What are the solutions that can be offered?

Purpose This paper aims to estimate a New Keynesian small open economy dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model for Egypt using Bayesian techniques and data for the period FY2004/2005:Q1-FY2015/2016:Q4 to assess monetary and fiscal policy interactions and their impact on economic stabilization. Outcomes of monetary and fiscal authority commitment to policy instruments, interest rate, government spending and taxes, are evaluated using Taylor-type and optimal simple rules. Design/methodology/approach The study extends the stylized micro-founded small open economy New Keynesian DSGE model, proposed by Lubik and Schorfheide (2007), by explicitly introducing fiscal policy behavior into the model (Fragetta and Kirsanova, 2010 and Çebi, 2011). The model is calibrated using quarterly data for Egypt on key macroeconomic variables during FY2004/2005:Q1-FY2015/2016:Q4; and Bayesian methods are used in estimation. Findings The results show that monetary and fiscal policy instruments in Egypt contribute to economic stability through their effects on inflation, output and debt stock. The monetary policy Taylor rule estimates reveal that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) attaches significant importance to anti-inflationary policy and (to a lesser extent) to output targeting but responds weakly to nominal exchange rate variations. CBE decisions are significantly influenced by interest rate smoothing. Egyptian fiscal policy has an important role in output and government debt stabilization. Additionally, the fiscal authority chooses pro-cyclical government spending and counter-cyclical tax policies for output stabilization. Again, past values of the fiscal instruments are influential in the evolution of the future fiscal policy-making process. Originality/value A few studies have examined the interaction between monetary and fiscal policy in Egypt within a unified framework. The presented paper integrates the monetary and fiscal policy analysis within a unified dynamic general equilibrium open economy rational expectations framework. Without such a framework, it would not be easy to jointly analyze monetary and fiscal transmission mechanisms for output, inflation and debt. Also, it would be neither possible to contrast the outcome of monetary and fiscal authorities commitment to a simple Taylor instrument rule vis-à-vis optimal policy outcomes nor to assess the behavior of monetary and fiscal agents in macroeconomic stability in context of an active/passive policy decisions framework.

Introduction. The financial and economic mechanism rational use and protection of land forestry should be based on realization national land relations policy, which envisages comprehensive state support for efficient use of nature through financing of appropriate organizational measures and introduction of economic instruments, incentives for rational use of forest resources. The main levers of such a mechanism are fiscal, monetary, budgetary and other elements of influence on economic entities. Aims and tasks. To realization the delivered goal it is necessary to solve a number of tasks, namely: to determine the actual area of forest land within the respective united territorial communities in Ukraine, to determine the possible economic income from the use of these forested areas, to calculate the volumes of fiscal receipts to the budgets of united territorial communities from forestry enterprises. Results. With the help of geoinformation approach was installed, it was established that the forest area in the united territorial communities were concentrated in Zhytomyrskа (788.5 thousand ha), Chernihivska (583.6 thousand ha), Volynska (432.9 ha), Rivnenska (282, 8 thousand hectares), Sumska (216,0 thousand hectares) regions. Whereas the smallest forest area within the boundaries of the united territorial communities is concentrated in Kirovohradska, Zakarpatska, Mykolaivska, Zaporizka, Vinnytska, Donetska, Luhanska, Odeska, Khersonska regions. Conclusions. Besides, in the case of use of forest areas within united territorial communities utility companies, they pay 18% income tax, which comes fully to the budget of the united territorial communities. We have made calculation of such fiscal receipts by areas where forestry production it is profitable. Therefore, our proposed scientific approach to the development of a financial and economic mechanism for regulating the rational use of forest land use should be based on the totality of fiscal budgetary relationships between forest resources and subjects entrepreneurial activity, which are based on the application of the geospatial approach of accounting of forest areas as an integral part of information support for the effective functioning of the economic system as a whole. On the whole, due to the proposed financial and economic mechanism, the total amount of tax revenues to united territorial communities in Ukraine can be increased by 10.2% of the actual receipts from their own resources of the united territorial communities in Ukraine for 2015 – 2016, or 6.01% of total volume taxes on individuals' income the united territorial communities in 2018. At the same time, the forest area within the united territorial communities at the national level is only 18.95% as of 2019.

Relevance of research topic. Tax policy provides the largest share of revenue in the consolidated budget. In modern conditions, tax policy requires continuous improvement and adaptation to changes in the model of socio-economic development. It is necessary to develop approaches to the use of tax instruments taking into account globalization trends, structural features and the state of the domestic economy. Formulation of the problem. Despite the structural transformation of the fiscal policy in recent years, the issue of seeking a balance of interests between taxpayers and government institutions remains relevant. Harmonious coordination of relevant interests in the field of taxation will maximize the amount of tax revenues to the budget. Analysis of recent research and publications. The issue of tax policy was considered by foreign ones - A. J. Auerbach, R. M. Bird, E. M. Zolt, E. Zwick, S. Knack, J. Freedman, I. Zwick - and domestic scientists - L. Lysyak, A. Mazaraki, V. Makogon, A. Nikitishin, M. Pasichnyi, A. Sokolovska, I. Chugunov and others. Selection of unexplored parts of the general problem. Further research requires the institutional framework for the tax policy formation. An important task of the state is to increase the trust of payers in fiscal policy. The aim of the article is to develop provisions to improve the effectiveness of the tools and functionality of the tax policy of the country in the formation of the revenue of the state and local budgets in the current conditions of institutional transformation of the economy. Research methodology. A systematic and comparative analysis, a logical approach and a method of scientific abstraction are used. Results of work. The analysis of the fiscal significance of tax revenues in the formation of revenues of state and local budgets. The structure of tax revenues in the context of hierarchical levels of the budget system is investigated. The factors of influence on the dynamics of tax revenues are determined. Directions for improving tax administration are proposed. Provisions for enhancing fiscal efficiency of taxes are justified. Results of work. The results of this work can be used in the development of fiscal plans and forecasts, as well as in the educational process of the economic faculties of higher educational institutions. Conclusions. Tax policy as a component of the budget revenue generation system is influenced by economic transformations and adapts to macroeconomic conditions. Tax revenues are the financial basis for the exercise of authority by participants in the budget process and the implementation of the functions and tasks assigned to them. The level of redistribution of the GDP through the budget revenues depends on the volume and priority of the tasks and functions of public institutions, the development model and social policy. Approaches to the formation of budget revenues through tax revenues should provide opportunities for improving the tax administration, the development of the state and territorial community, strengthening financial stability and creating favorable conditions for sustainable growth.

The term organization has two general meanings. First, the organization is defined as an institution or functional group, for example: a company, a school, an association, government agencies. Second, referring to the organizing process, namely how work is organized and allocated among members, so that the goals of the organization can be effectively achieved. While the organization itself is defined as a group of people with a system of cooperation to achieve common goals. There are two help words contained in the Qur'an to study this organization. The word is Shaff and the Ummah. The word shaff inspires the concept that organizations must have members, consisting of people, in a place, there is order, purpose, leader, delegation of authority and responsibility, and there is sincere intention and struggle in the way of God. The conclusion that the organizational structure at the time of the Messenger of All āh if reached the khalifah and is now almost the same, only different ideologies. Formerly using the law of Allah SWT, based on the Qur'an and hadith, while at this time we use the Pancasila ideology, using two sources of law: the civil / criminal law of the Dutch heritage and the compilation of Islamic law. At the time of Islam, financial instruments focus on the zakat and tax sectors, while for our government today we use more tax financial instruments. Organizations in the view of Islam are not merely a container, but rather emphasize how a job is done neatly. The organization places more emphasis on regulating work mechanisms. every person who accepts the leadership task that the highest leadership belongs to Allah, for that the leadership given and carried out must always refer to the basic concepts built in Islam. The thing that must be realized that in a good organization must also be accompanied by Islamic values including sincerity, togetherness and sacrifice.

During financial crises, liquidity tends to become scarce, a problem that disproportionately affects small companies. This paper shows that obligation-clearing is a very effective liquidity-saving method for providing relief in the trade credit market and, therefore, on the supply-side or productive part of the economy. The paper also demonstrates that when used in conjunction with a complementary currency system such as mutual credit as a liquidity source the effectiveness of obligation-clearing can be doubled. Real data from the Sardex mutual credit system show a reduction of net internal debt of the obligation network of approximately 25% when obligation-clearing is used by itself and of 50% when it is used together with mutual credit. These instruments are also relevant from the point of view of risk mitigation for lenders, based in part on the information on individual companies that the mutual credit circuit manager can provide to banks (upon the circuit member’s request) and in part on the relief that liquidity-saving provides especially to NPL companies. The paper concludes by outlining recommendations for how even greater savings could be achieved by including the tax authority as another node in the obligation network.

There are two prominent views concerning the free zone concept. One view defines a free zone as a special area established in a country that is independent from the customs authority supervision on the movement of imported goods, or known as extraterritorial zone, because customs authority is no longer levied import duties on these goods. On the other hand, the free zone is also defined as a special zone under the supervision of the customs authority due to the exemption of the import duties and tax on these imported goods as customs authority must ensure the validity of this exemption. In addition, there are also international instruments providing guidance concerning free zone, namely the WCO International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures (the Revised Kyoto Convention) or the WCO RKC, and the WTO Agreement. This paper will discuss issues concerning the juridical aspects of the free zone concepts internationally and the practices in other countries in comparison to the applicable legal rules and practices related to the movement of imported goods in the Batam Free Trade Zone and Free Port (KPBPB Batam) and the surrounding islands. Abstrak: Terdapat 2 (dua) pandangan terkait konsep free zone. Satu pandangan mendefinisikan free zone adalah sebagai suatu kawasan khusus yang didirikan disuatu negara dimana daerah tersebut terlepas dari wilayah otoritas Bea dan Cukai atau‘exterritorial’ area karena tidak ada lagi pengenaan pajak impor oleh otoritas Bea dan Cukai atas impor barang tersebut. Namun dilain pihak, free zone juga didefinisikan sebagai kawasan bebas yang khusus dibawah pengawasan otoritas Bea dan Cukai karena adanya perlakuan pembebasan bea masuk dan pajak tersebu dan otoritas Bea dan Cukai harus memastikan kebenaran pemberian pembebasan pajak impor tersebut. Selain itu, terdapat juga instrumen internasional yang setidaknya memberikan paduan terkait konsep kawasan bebas yaitu Konvensi WCO terkait dengan Simplifikasi dan Harmonisasi Prosedur Kepabeanan (Konvensi Kyoto) dan Perjanjian Internasional WTO. Paper ini akan membahas terkait dengan permasalahan yuridis dari aspek konsep free zone secara internasional dan praktek di negara lain dibandingkan dengan aturan hukum yang berlaku dan praktek pelaksanaannya dalam lalulintas barang di KPBPB Batam dan gugusan pulau sekitarnya. Kata Kunci: Zona Perdagangan Bebas, Hukum Pelabuhan, Review Yuridis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the shariah-compliant status of the firms negatively influences their use of foreign exchange hedging instruments. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a logit panel regression on 350 firm-year observations from 70 nonfinancial listed firms over the period from 2010 to 2014. Shariah-compliant companies account for about 84 per cent of the sample firms. Findings Preliminarily, the results show that none of the samples of the shariah-compliant firms report any use of Islamic hedging instrument, either in the form of wa’d or tawarruq. The results of the study’s logit panel regression contradict the authors’ prediction that the shariah-compliant status negatively influences firms’ decision to hedge. In contrast, shariah-compliant companies are twice as likely as their conventional counterparts in adopting forex hedging. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to information disclosed in the items 31, 36 and 37 of financial management policies in the annual report. However, given that shariah-compliant firms must abide by the limit of 5 per cent profits before tax from clearly prohibited activities (including riba’), the need for exclusive disclosure on the adoption of Islamic or conventional hedging appears to be imperative for the viability of the Malaysian Islamic capital market. Practical implications In evaluating the shariah compliance of a company, investors (individual or institutional) must look further than just interest-based riba’ in mixed-business companies to ensure that they comply with the 5 per cent maximum requirement on the non-halal business contribution to profit. This is because the finding of this study indicates that shariah-compliant companies are twice as likely to adopt forex hedging, when none of them reports the use of Islamic hedging tools. Investors must therefore give ample allowance to riba’ that can be induced through the use of conventional forex hedging instruments. This is until the security market regulator imposes a requirement on shariah-compliant companies an explicit disclosure of the use of Islamic versus conventional hedging tools, as they had done in the case of Islamic versus conventional debt instruments. Social implications Muslim and socially responsible investors rely on the Shariah-compliant status of the company in ensuring that their wealth grows according to the Shariah principles. To sustain and develop the Islamic capital market which the firms have been relying on for external capital, Shariah-compliant firms and the authority awarding the status are equally responsible for honoring the trust that these investors by ensuring the permissibility (halal) of the business and the conduct of their business. Originality/value Conventional forex hedging instruments are criticized for violating as-sarf, a shariah principle, which requires the exchanges of particular assets (gold, silver and currency) to be delivered on the spot, and thereby infusing riba’ al-fadhl. Although Islamic (wa’d- or tawarruq-based) hedging instruments are widely available by Islamic banks in this country since they were introduced by Bank Negara Malaysia in 2010, paradoxically, the authors’ observation indicates that none of the studied firms reports the adoption of these instruments in their annual reports.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the basic premises according to the pecking order theory (POT) provide an explanation for the capital structure mix of firms operating under Islamic principles. Design/methodology/approach Pooled ordinary least squares, fixed and random effects regressions were performed to test the POT applying data from a sample of 66 Islamic-compliant firms listed on Saudi Stock Market over the period 2006–2016. Findings The results show that sale-based instruments (Murabahah, Ijara) track the financial deficit quite closely followed by equity financing and as a last alternative to finance deficit, Islamic-compliant firms issue Sukuk. In the crisis period, these firms seem more reliant on equity, then on sale-based instruments and on Sukuk as last option. The study findings also indicate that the cumulative financing deficit does not wipe out the effects of conventional variables, although it is empirically significant. This provides no support for the POT attempts by Saudi Islamic-compliant firms Research limitations/implications This research contributes to the theory of capital structure in re-validating the findings of a previous theoretical and empirical study. It helps understand the capital structure of Islamic-compliant firms in comparison with conventional firms. It highlights some areas where further research on topics related to capital structure of Islamic-compliant firms is needed. The failure of the POT to explain Saudi firms’ financing choices strongly pushed researchers to test the market timing theory for the Saudi Stock Market. Further research studies could re-examine the trade-off theory in the absence of interest tax shield as in an Islamic economy. Practical implications From a managerial perspective, this research can serve firm executive managers in their financing decisions to add value to the companies. Furthermore, policymakers, bankers and standard-setting organizations should undertake more collective work to simplify the process of issuing Islamic financial instruments including Sukuk. Moreover, the Saudi Government has to encourage the private sector to be more innovative in developing products and services that are in line with Sharia principles. Finally, to attract investors, the Capital Market Authority has to encourage transaction, efficiency and liquidity of Islamic financial instruments. Originality/value The proposed study presents several originalities. First, it explores the implications of relevant Islamic principles on financing preferences of Saudi firms. Second, the present study enables us to investigate what the sudden abundance of liquidity, generated by the record levels of oil prices, implied for the firms’ financing behavior. Finally, it provides further evidence on the impact of financial crisis on the firms’ capital structure choice in a period of considerable slowdown in the world.

The article seeks to explore the state of government regulation of transport infrastructure and to reveal its specifics in ensuring this sector efficiency in the context of economic globalization. The study suggests that the framework of legislative and strategic documents in the area of transport industry and its infrastructure development regulation should be considered at the international, national and the regional levels. The paper also provides insights to the key challenges hindering the innovative development of the transport infrastructure in Ukraine. The research findings have revealed the major gaps in the system of government regulation of the Ukrainian transport infrastructure which refer to: the absence of a single public regulatory authority in the transport sector which is empowered to perform regulatory, monitoring and the control functions; fundamental imbalances in transport infrastructure development (as to different transport categories); the lack of tax incentives for investors in infrastructure facilities; the lack of a balancing mechanism to regulate the number of operators in various transport market sectors through licensing procedures; the absence of an effective mechanism for designing appropriate pricing (tariff) policies in the transport sector focusing on the need to prevent monopolization while promoting competition in adjacent markets etc. It is argued that a strategy to eliminate the above shortcomings in government regulation practices in the area of transport infrastructure should be built through searching a balance between deregulation (decentralization) and excessive centralization in the specified sector. With the purpose of consolidating and structuring the information to ensure the efficiency of transport infrastructure development based on government intervention, the study has identified the following components of a basic government regulation toolkit which involves a wide range of organizational, regulatory, social, economic, innovative, market-based, informational and analytical instruments.

Theoretical approaches to the formation of the budget mechanism as a form of practical implementation of budget policy are made more profound; budget decentralization as a budget regulating and stimulating mechanism in the current situation in Ukraine is studiedl and perspective directions of introducing various budget mechanism are outlined. The mechanistic concept was applied to budgetary relations, thus becoming the basis for highlighting the main features of the budgetary mechanism, determining the main provisions of forming the budgetary mechanism. Emphasis is placed on the relationship between budget policy, which is manifested through the dialectical unity of budget strategy and tactics, and the budget mechanism. The budgetary mechanism is defined as a system of measures aimed at influencing the mobilization of optimal funds, their efficient distribution and rational use in order to ensure macroeconomic balance, sustainable development and preservation of state sovereignty, as defined by state policy. It is suggested to integrate the constituent elements of the budgetary mechanism into the appropriate subsystems within its framework, through which the main functions of the budgetary mechanism aimed at achieving the goal are manifested. In order to study a subsystem of the budgetary mechanism, namely the regulatory mechanism, the peculiarities of the manifestation of budgetary decentralization in Ukraine are analyzed. It is proved that the introduction of the subsidiarity principle while constructing the decentralized model of inter-budgetary relations in the unitary Ukraine is currently the best option for it to find a balance between the advantages of budgetary federalism and the unitary form of budgetary relations. Systemic problems of budget decentralization have been identified, namely: decentralization occurs by bringing in new persons to act on the national level; it does not affect the mechanisms of autonomy in decision-making on taxation and the formation of additional sources of local budget revenues; statutory tax benefits for the local tax mobilization significantly reduce the financial resources of local budgets; local budgets remain significantly dependant from the state; in the regulation of local budget revenues, preference is given to transfer instruments, and the share of budget-generating taxes is reduced. Given the theoretical construct of the public sector theory, which gives grounds to the formation of local budget revenues, and the results of the research on budget regulation in Ukraine, budget decentralization processes are only proven to be pretentious, and the need to improve the division of budget authority is identified, while emphasis is made on financial self-sufficiency.

Introduction. In the conditions of the transformational changes in the national economy, there is a need for modernization of the formation and strengthening of the financial base of local authorities, which are subject to the exercise of powers in accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine. And the very financial decentralization to date allows solving the problematic issues of ensuring the current needs of local self-government bodies, and hence the increase of local budget revenues and the sustainable development of territorial communities. Among the main tasks of the reform of decentralization of the budget system it is an increase in the financial capacity of local self-government and capacity building. At present, financial decentralization is one of the key instruments provided to local self-government in order to implement the strategy of socio-economic development of territories. By providing a significant portion of the financial resources to local self-government, in particular the united territorial communities, the government delegated some of the authority to local councils that are responsible for the management decisions made and the rational use of budget funds. The purposeof the article is to assess the role of local budget revenues as an instrument of the budget mechanism, monitoring their formation and transformation in the context of fiscal decentralization. Results. It has been established that decentralization is necessary to maximally approximate the provision of public services to the population, to improve the management system, to increase the efficiency of problem solving, transmitted to the local level. Financial decentralization reflects the urgent need to ensure the independence of local self-government bodies. The changes made to the Budget and Tax Codes of Ukraine concerning the allocation of local budgets by sources of income are considered. A new model of intergovernmental relations, which provides incentives for local authorities, is outlined. An analysis of the dynamics and structure of local budget revenues for 2013-2017 has been made, which allowed to establish the strengthening of their role as a tool of the budgetary mechanism, taking into account changes that have taken place in the context of decentralization. The features of the new model of intergovernmental relations are considered and the proposals on the formation of the revenue base of local budgets in the context of decentralization are substantiated. Conclusions. As a result of the research, it was found that in order to increase local budget revenues it is expedient to: ensure effective interaction between state authorities, local self-government, private entities and civil society institutions; to improve the mechanism of attraction and use of international technical assistance, financial resources of international financial organizations for the support of regional development; to identify and realize the hidden and underestimated development potential of each region, district, united territorial community; to raise the level of entrepreneurial initiative, use of business opportunities and the level of investment attractiveness in order to implement investment projects; to introduce self-regulation by local government tax rates for real estate and land, as well as providing incentivesfor their payment.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify, categorize and describe the Greek banking payment and settlement systems and the way to SEPA. Also, the purpose is to describe authorities that supervise money laundering through Greek payment systems and identify major categories of suspicious transaction reports and amounts of criminal assets per each category. Design/methodology/approach – The Bank of Greece, central bank of Greece, has explicit tasks in the field of payment and settlement systems. In Greece, there are three payment and settlement systems: large-value payment system (TARGET2), retail payment systems and securities settlement systems. Findings – TARGET2 is based on a technically centralized platform (single shared platform – SSP), which is provided by the central banks of Germany, France and Italy, and it replaces the decentralized structure of the original TARGET system. Migration on TARGET2 took place in Greece on May 19, 2008. Ongoing cooperation between the European System of Central Banks and the banking community through extensive consultations facilitated the smooth migration to TARGET2. Retail payment systems consist of DIAS credit transfers, direct debits, check, ATM transactions and card payments. During the year 2013, DIAS cleared 144.13 million payment transactions with a total value of €184.1 billion. Most of the transactions were credit transfers SEPA compliant. Securities settlement systems operate on the delivery versus payment principle, whereby sales of securities and respective payments are affected simultaneously, as well as the principle of dual notice. Migration of Greek data systems toward SEPA through a regulatory framework will promote the use of common European standards and business practices for a fully automated and efficient processing of payment instruments. Bank of Greece and Greek Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Authority are responsible authorities to supervise illegal activity through bank payment systems. Data show that Greek bank payment systems were used during 2012 for tax evasion and for offences that result in imprisonment for over six months. Practical implications – Above findings are useful for information technology management, legislative and compliance authorities, investors and person that operate transactions with Greek banking payment and settlement systems. Originality/value – To the best of the author’s knowledge, it is the first study about Greek banking payment systems.

Value-added tax (VAT) withholding tax is a key instrument used in various tax administrations to curb revenue leakages that emanate from clients that charge VAT on their services and supplies and then fail to remit it to revenue authorities. The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) implemented VAT withholding in 2017 with the expectation that it would positively affect VAT compliance. The motivation of this study therefore arises from the knowledge that a number of developing countries are considering implementing a withholding tax mechanism on VAT. In addition, a number of developing countries such as the Philippines, Ethiopia and Ghana, have implemented VAT withholding tax with varying outcomes. Public finance literature on the empirical analysis of VAT withholding tax is, however, limited as it requires administrative data that most tax researchers are not privy to. This paper sought to undertake a more comprehensive empirical investigation of the direct effect of the introduction of VAT withholding tax on VAT compliance. To estimate the empirical effect of VAT withholding tax on VAT compliance, this paper exploited data of VAT registered clients in ZIMRA over a 24-month period. The study used an ordinary least squares (OLS) multiple regression analysis to investigate the effects of VAT withholding tax on VAT revenue. The study further used a difference-in-differences estimator by classifying VAT taxpayers into two groups. Empirical evidence indicates that there is a positive significant relationship between implementing VAT withholding tax and VAT revenue in the ZIMRA scenario.

1.1 No discussion has taken place at governmental level about long-term taxation policy, the distribution of the tax burden, whether to distribute it between direct and indirect tax, or about the problems of tax incentives.1.2 The absence of a central tax authority, together with the neutralization of, and the erosion in, the standing of the department for state income, has led to the existence of three systems - income tax, customs and value added tax, and national insurance. National insurance lost its uniqueness a long time ago and has become, perhaps unknowingly, a fiscal, financial instrument, something that was never coordinated, at a national level, with the other tax systems.1.3 The lack of an integrated, comprehensive taxation concept has meant the existence of different tax laws, and a variety of contradictory definitions. These laws create contradictions, and provide a multitude of weird sources of tax planning, methods of assessment, collection, and enforcement.

<p dir="ltr"><span>Hannah Arendt señala que la desaparición de la autoridad del ámbito público, como fue concebida y ejercitada por los romanos antiguos, ha sido la causa de la actual crisis política de Occidente, y destaca a la revolución norteamericana (la independencia de Estados Unidos) como el único evento exitoso que en el mundo moderno estuvo más cercano a su ejercicio.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>Desde esta premisa se indaga, en clave arendtiana, sobre la posibilidad de rescatar la autoridad para el mundo moderno, búsqueda que, además de ratificar el juicio de Arendt y de concluir sobre lo imposible de lograr tal recuperación y del fracaso de las revoluciones modernas, desvela, como una consecuencia de tal pérdida, la aparición de la burocracia y, en consecuencia, la transmutación del ciudadano en funcionario, con la concomitante emergencia de la banalidad del mal y del bien como la otra cara de la misma moneda. Se trata de una burocracia cuya eficiente condición instrumental ha contribuido a la exacerbación del capitalismo en su expresión globalizante, que ha llevado al traste el esquema de estado-nación sobre lo cual se fundaba la esperanza de las revoluciones, entendidas como el regreso a un punto del cual no se debió partir.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>La única posibilidad del hombre de escapar de su condición de instrumento al servicio del trabajo y del consumo, agente útil para el incremento del capital global de las corporaciones, será la acción política mediante el cultivo de la humanidad, a lo que Derrida ha denominado la mundialización, en oposición a la globalización, cuyo estadio más propicio, a su juicio, es la universidad, ámbito desde el cual se pueda contribuir al reconocimiento del hombre en su condición plural, para que sea pensado como un fin en sí mismo.</span></p><div><span><br /></span></div>

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use the instrumental game theory to understand the behavior of the front agents tax evasion and tax authority in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach In order to analyze the taxpayer’s behavior before the Brazilian tax system and tax actions aimed at reducing tax evasion, the authors developed a theoretical model based on the payoffs of Graetz et al. (1986) and increased with situations proposed by Siqueira (2004), Lipatov (2006) and Oliveira (2011). Findings Considering the cases with and without specialists, the main results show that in high dropout situation, penalize taxpayers with high fines or deprivations of liberty may not be as effective. Another result of the analysis is that the audit and inspection costs played an important role in driving the equilibrium system. Research limitations/implications One limitation of this study is to consider how the exogenous tax authorities earnings (Federal Revenue of Brazil and Federal Police) and not as a function of the goals and certain enforcement policies for each public body. Practical implications The authors suggest the following policy: investing in tax inspectors and unbureaucratic the authorities of the cost structure become a more effective tool to combat non-compliance with tax obligations that the intensity of the penalties imposed by the act of evading. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature insofar as it models for the first time, using game theory, the behavior of the evading agent and the tax authority in Brazil.

Abstract This article refers to the issues associated with the crucial significance of the interpretation of tax law provisions made by administrative courts in the course of the judicial inspection of tax decisions, within the context of protecting the subjective rights of taxpayers. The analysis in that regard has been prepared based on the provisions of art. 153 of the Act of 25 July 2002 on Proceedings before Administrative Courts, which expresses the important rule of binding the court and the administrative authority, whose act was the subject of an appeal, with a legal assessment and instructions regarding the further proceedings described in the decision of the administrative court. As a result of this rule, a decision of an administrative court exerts the results exceeding the scope of judicial administrative proceedings, while its effect also covers the future tax proceedings. If the legal assessment made by the court refers to the regulations that affect the subjective rights of a taxpayer, it means that the administrative court imposes the effects of “its” interpretation of those provisions on a tax authority. In turn, the tax authority is obliged to respect those rights in accordance with the opinions of the court, which usually affects the final resolution of a tax case. It should be borne in mind that a taxpayer, by submitting an appeal against a tax decision to an administrative court, demands not only an inspection of the acts of tax administration, but also - which should be emphasized - demands the execution of its rights, including its subjective rights. Therefore, we should not forget the crucial role of the administrative courts in the protection of the substantive rights of taxpayers. The instrument that allows the administrative courts to guard the subjective rights of taxpayers, consists in the procedural regulations included in the provisions on proceedings before administrative courts, and in particular art. 153 of the Act on Proceedings before Administrative Courts in Poland.

The article examines the legal problems of realization of legal interests of taxpayers in the framework of relations on bringing him to responsibility for committing a tax offense. It is noted the consistency and the derivation of the legitimate interests at the stage of bringing the taxpayer to tax liability with the interests of the taxpayer that occur at earlier stages of the tax interaction (interests in tax payment, the interest arising from the tax control, the interests associated with administrative appeal). The limits of implementation of measures of state coercion, the Statute of limitations for bringing to tax liability as a guarantee instrument for the protection of the legitimate interests of the taxpayer are analyzed. It is proposed to change the order of calculation of limitation periods. The author substantiates the inadmissibility of imposing additional encumbrance on the taxpayer due to the mistakes made by the tax authority. It is concluded that there is a need for a balanced approach in determining the measure of responsibility, taking into account the General legal and sectoral principles of proportionality, reasonableness and fairness.

The level of fishing effort expands or contracts in a dynamic reaction model of a fishery accordingly as the net economic revenue (i.e. perceived rent) to the fishermen is positive or negative. A dynamic reaction model reflects this dynamic interaction between the perceived rent and the effort in a fishery. The combined harvesting of a prey–predator fishery is assumed to be regulated by an external authority by imposing a tax per unit biomass of both the species. The fishing effort is taken to be a dynamic variable of time, which is proportional to the instantaneous capital invested in the fishery. The steady states of the system along with their local as well as global stability are considered. The optimal harvesting policy with the tax as a control instrument is discussed. The results are numerically discussed and graphically illustrated. Sensitivity analysis of the parameters is carried out. The paper ends with concluding remarks.

Universally, Tax Culture is not a very common topic but it is critical to administrative governance and economic development. This article argues that the Tax Culture of any milieu is an assemblage of various indices and criteria. These include the history of taxation; tax laws; tax information; tax education; tax revenue mobilization; tax system transparency; tax delinquency; tax dispute resolution; and taxpayer satisfaction. The article sheds light on these instrumental wheels of the Tax Culture of Ghana by providing the research results of field surveys conducted a decade and a half ago. Though dated, any observer of the Tax Culture of Ghana, and indeed of much of Africa and the Global South, will realize that little has since changed. In some instances, the article provides more up-to-date evidence beyond the 2005 data. The article goes beyond an assessment of the Tax Culture of Ghana and articulates recommendations for improving the same. Additionally, it attempts to interconnect issues of Taxation, Good Governance, and Legal Pluralism. Although popular themes in public discourse in Africa today, these concepts are often spoken of in different thematic spheres other than taxation. The article links these themes in practical and concrete ways to taxation, cast in the light of historical institutionalism – an examination of the institutions of taxation, governance, and traditional authority as they interacted through time.

Purpose Previous studies on tax compliance have not internally failed to consider why individuals avoid tax payments. The purpose of this paper is to explore the compliance behaviour of Indonesian taxpayers from holistic human nature perspectives including their rational, social and spiritual values. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts the tabayyun approach, an interpretive conceptualised methodology using Islamic knowledge to explore taxpayers' rational, social and spiritual realities. Findings Tax compliance is influenced by holistic factors: personal economic rational, social consensus and spiritual beliefs. Rational taxpayers distrust tax authority and see tax payments as an economic decision (i.e. costs and benefits) that reduces/increases wealth. So, they tend to avoid or reconfigure payments. Opposite to economic rationally is the societal pressure upon taxpayers to converge to being an acceptable citizen with legitimate businesses. Under this view, no mistrust against tax authority exists. As for the spiritual factor, tax payments are seen as religious duties like zakat that ought to be paid for achieving spiritual alleviation. Research limitations/implications Due to the research approach, this study results may lack generalisation. Future research can expand broader understanding of religious belief in corporation with compliance behaviour. Practical implications In the tax policy context, this study recommends to take into consideration religious levy being included in the tax system. This study also argues substituting tax with zakat. In Indonesia, religious levy takes more essential roles in the spiritual domain rather than economical domain. Social implications It is difficult to expect tax compliance to be an internal compliance because the source of the command is of an external origin. It is considered as a new concept of wealth distribution that comes from an internal attribute. For states that have religious population as Indonesia, religious values become communal bonds that more dominantly form self-identity at both physical and mental levels. Hence, it is very essential for the state to consider the inclusion of religious values or teachings to the regulation, if the state wants such regulation to be adhered significantly by people. The collection instrument whose bonds originated in religious moral/spiritual values can raise the awareness and compliance voluntarily because the command source is internal and autonomous. Originality/value This study fills the gaps in the taxation literature by incorporating a spiritual perspective, instead of rational and social domains.

<em>This research is based on the problem of the development of transactions e-commerce that do not necessarily boost state revenues from the taxation sector. The Directorate General of Taxation has made an affirmation regarding e-commerce by issuing SE-62 / PJ / 2013 dated December 27, 2013 concerning Affirmation of Provisions on Taxation of Transactions E-commerce, where transactions e-commerce are subject to the same tax as conventional business actors. This study aims to analyze the application of SE-62 / PJ / 2013 at PT Bukalapak.com and provide recommendations to PT Bukalapak.com related to the taxation aspect of transactions e-commerce. The object of the research is PT Bukalapak.com with the Tax Division as a unit of analysis. The research instrument uses interviews with PT Bukalapak.com and questionnaires to sellers who transact using the marketplace platform. The conclusion of the study is that PT Bukalapak.com does not implement or apply specific provisions for users of the Bukalapak application, this refers to the taxation system carried out in Indonesia, namely self assessment. Lack of tax knowledge on taxation obligations causes less success in maximizing tax payments on transactions e-commerce. PT Bukalapak.com has the initiative to become a partner of the taxation authority.</em>

<em>This research is based on the problem of the development of transactions e-commerce that do not necessarily boost state revenues from the taxation sector. The Directorate General of Taxation has made an affirmation regarding e-commerce by issuing SE-62 / PJ / 2013 dated December 27, 2013 concerning Affirmation of Provisions on Taxation of Transactions E-commerce, where transactions e-commerce are subject to the same tax as conventional business actors. This study aims to analyze the application of SE-62 / PJ / 2013 at PT Bukalapak.com and provide recommendations to PT Bukalapak.com related to the taxation aspect of transactions e-commerce. The object of the research is PT Bukalapak.com with the Tax Division as a unit of analysis. The research instrument uses interviews with PT Bukalapak.com and questionnaires to sellers who transact using the marketplace platform. The conclusion of the study is that PT Bukalapak.com does not implement or apply specific provisions for users of the Bukalapak application, this refers to the taxation system carried out in Indonesia, namely self assessment. Lack of tax knowledge on taxation obligations causes less success in maximizing tax payments on transactions e-commerce. PT Bukalapak.com has the initiative to become a partner of the taxation authority.</em>

Purpose Since 2008-2009, the governments in France and Great Britain have encouraged more rigorous penalization of tax evaders. This paper aims to investigate the implementation of these policies on the basis of an important and original empirical material. Design/methodology/approach The study done in France relies on interviews conducted with representatives of law enforcement agencies on public statistics and on an innovative database compiled from nearly 600 cases submitted to the judiciary. The comparison with Great Britain is developed through interviews conducted with different participants in the fight against tax fraud and statistical information. Findings This paper describes the recent evolution of the machinery for screening tax-related wrongdoings in France and in the UK. It demonstrates that whilst publicly calling for harsh punishment against tax dodgers, in practice, both governments tend to seek a balance between the growing demand for tax equality and the belief that the State should not intervene in the economic realm. This strategy leads to the over-representation of certain categories of taxpayers. Despite the commonalities resulting from the numerous filters before prosecution, the penal strategy takes on two different shapes on either side of the Channel: whereas the British institutions support an “exemplary punitive” system, French regulatory system favours a “quasi-administrative” treatment. The French tax authority continues to use the criminal procedures mainly as a financial instrument for the improved restitution of stolen taxes. The policy of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, supported by the “Sentencing Guidelines”, aims much more at obtaining exemplary convictions. Originality/value Based on a large empirical material, this paper highlights the different outcomes of the criminal trials against tax evaders in the two countries.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of length of service and ethical ideologies on cognitive moral development (CMD) and ethical behavioral intentions among public sector tax auditors in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach The research data were collected via survey questionnaires from a sample of 625 auditors who work for the Brazilian tax authority. Participants voluntarily complete an online instrument which included three scenarios with context-specific moral dilemmas, questions about the specific scenarios and an ethics position questionnaire. Multinomial logistic and ordinary least squares regressions were used to analyze the data. Findings The findings reveal that public sector tax auditors with shorter length of service are more likely to be at higher stages of moral development; relativistic ideology among public sector auditors is positively associated with more lenient ethical behavioral intention; idealistic ideology among public sector auditors is positively associated with stricter ethical behavioral intention; public sector auditors classified as absolutists are stricter in their ethical behavioral intentions; and public sector auditors classified as absolutists with length of service between 5 and 15 years are more likely to be at higher stages of moral development when compared to public sector tax auditors with longer length of service. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is one of the first studies that attempt to understand the effects of length of service and ethical ideology on CMD and ethical behavioral intention among public sector auditors. Additionally, it examines these issues in the context of Latin America.

Purpose Many nations now engage in economic promotion of their countries in foreign countries. One major aspect of this activity is export promotions. This paper aims to understand the relationship between export promotional activity participation and export performance by Ghanaian manufacturing firms. Design/methodology/approach The list of manufacturing exporters was obtained from the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, and the convenience and snowballing approach was used to reach and administer research instrument. The relationship between export promotion and performance was estimated using a multiple regression. Findings The results of this study indicate that exporters should implement specific export promotion programmes if they want to enhance export performance and become successful. The findings of this study show that the programmes that have a strong positive relationship with export performance are trade fairs, foreign offices and tax and financial incentives. Originality/value The results of this study contribute to the international entrepreneurship literature in several ways. First, findings from this study contribute to the limited literature on exports in developing countries such as Ghana. Again, the study framework provides assistance to assess and monitor emerging trends in export promotion strategies. Also, export promotion, as a whole, provides a framework in which firms formulate strategies, allocates resources and seeks opportunities in a coordinated way. Finally, in the international marketplace, firms need to maintain their competitive edge, and it is important to operate efficiently and effectively using an appropriate export promotional strategy.

This study aims to explain the design of local tax regulations as an inclusive and accommodating legal formulation for public opinion by representing tax obligations as a form of community participation and contribution in realizing prosperous and equitable development. In order to describe the problem analysis, this study uses the sociolegal method. The conclusions of this study are: a) The district / city government which has been given autonomy based on the principle of deconcentration has a strategic position as the main responsibility in planning and at the same time in realizing the main objectives of public welfare; b) The authority of the regional government as an institution that carries out regulations in the field of taxation in the context of the state as a social system is an instrument that can distribute and allocate wealth and economic capacity of individuals (citizens) to all levels of society; c) Tax as a state obligation in a democratic system is a form of participation, contribution, and solidarity of citizens in realizing the ideals and goals of the state to realize social welfare and justice. The recommendations of this study, namely: a) Regulation on regional taxes ideally should represent public participation and contribution for the administration of regional government; b) The regional government in establishing regional tax regulations must give priority to a positive impact on the economic development of the community; c) Local government policy in the field of taxation must be carried out based on considerations that provide welfare guarantees for the entire community in a fair manner. Keywords: Regional Regulations, Regional Taxes, Development, Welfare, Justice Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan tentang rancangan regulasi pajak-pajak daerah sebagai rumusan hukum yang inklusif dan akomodatif bagi pendapat publik dengan merepresentasikan kewajiban pajak sebagai bentuk partisipasi dan kontribusi masyarakat dalam mewujudkan pembangunan yang menyejahterakan dan berkeadilan. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode sosiolegal, untuk mendeskripsikan analisis hasil penelitian secara mendalam. Hasil Penelitian Menujukan Bahwa: a) Pemerintah kabupaten/kota yang telah diberi kewenangan otonomi berdasarkan asas dekonsentrasi mempunyai posisi strategis sebagai penanggungjawab utama dalam merencanakan dan sekaligus dalam merealisasikan tujuan utama penyelenggaran kesejahteran umum; b) Kewenangan pemerintah daerah sebagai lembaga yang melaksanakan regulasi di bidang perpajakan dalam konteks negara sebagai sistem sosial adalah instrumen yang dapat mendistribusikan dan mengalokasikan kekayaan maupun kemampuan ekonomi individu (warga masyarakat) ke segenap lapisan masyarakat; c) Pajak sebagai kewajiban kenegaraan dalam sistem demokrasi merupakan bentuk partisipasi, kontribusi, dan solidaritas warga masyarakat dalam mewujudkan cita-cita dan tujuan negara untuk mewujudkan kesejahteraan dan keadilan sosial. Rekomendasi penelitian ini, yaitu: a) Regulasi tentang pajak-pajak daerah secara ideal harus merepresentasi partisipasi dan kontribusi publik bagi penyelenggaraan pemerintahan daerah; b) Pemerintah daerah dalam menetapkan regulasi pajak daerah harus memberikan prioritas yang memberikan dampak positif bagi pengembangan ekonomi masyarakat; c) Kebijakan pemerintah daerah dibidang perpajakan harus dilakukan berdasarkan pertimbangan yang memberi jaminan kesejahteraan bagi seluruh masyarakat secara adil. Kata kunci: Pajak Daerah, Pembangunan, Kesejahteraan, Berkeadilan

As increasing numbers of family businesses are emerging, the marketplace is in danger of becoming saturated with products that end users do not understand while competition between businesses becomes stiffer. For businesses that operate in a saturated space to access new opportunities, they need to continually invest in the development of new products and services via a process of creativity and innovation. However, in the contemporary business landscape, innovation has extended beyond being a means of gaining a competitive advantage to being a necessity. To achieve this objective, family firms need to develop an understanding of the factors that influence innovation in order to promote, preserve, and boost innovative practices. This research investigated the impact of succession planning on product and service innovation in Yemeni family businesses. Quantitative approach was employed for the purpose of answering the research questions and testing the underlying hypotheses. A survey questionnaire was utilized as the main instrument to gather the required data from the owners of family firms and organizations that the Yemen Tax Authority has classified as top taxpayers. The sample size consisted of 120 family businesses whose headquarters were located in Sana'a City, Republic of Yemen. Only 116 questionnaires were completed with no invalid data, representing a high response rate of 97%. The results show significant relationships between succession planning and its four dimensions; successor selection and training, post-succession business strategy, post-succession role of incumbent, dissemination of the succession decision with product and service innovation. In addition, the results of Regression analysis reveal that succession planning as the whole independent variable has a significant impact on innovation. Furthermore, results show that the four dimensions of succession planning; successor selection and training, post-succession business strategy, post-succession role of incumbent, and dissemination of the succession decision have a significant impact on product and service innovation. These results provide recommendations to the family business owners, at that they should establish strong and vested plans for succession. They should pay attention to the quality of training that is offered to potential successors. Family businesses should build and rely on "family constitution", which is considered as an important document that includes a definition of the basic values, vision, and general objectives of the company.

Local tax policies according to local tax laws and new levies which gives breadth to the local taxation authority is done by expanding the tax base. Giving to the local taxation authority have been duly carried out to confirm the alignments to the process of democratization. The problem is "how is the legal implications of the Land and Building Tax management of rural and urban sector after the enactment of Law no. 28 of 2009 on regional taxes and Retribution" To know the legal implications, the study begins first by performing comparative Land and Building Tax arrangement according to the Law. 12 of 1985 by Act no. 28 of 2009 on regional taxes and Retribution. The results of the study concluded that the policy of the Land and Building Tax management of rural and urban sectors is authorized for the district/city, which has implications on the necessity for coordination, transfer of assets, preparation of executive human resources, technology, device setup, institutional arrangements, legal instruments (regulations and declaring) as well as other supporting facilities and infrastructure. Key words: Legal Implication, Policy, Land and Building Tax Management

Since 2015, certain taxpayers may apply for the special status in order to promote voluntary compliance at the Tax Authority of Republic of Slovenia (FURS), after the horizontal monitoring pilot project was successfully finished in 2010. The theoretical background of the status is based on the idea of co-operative compliance, which can be described as the monitoring, predicting and preventing problems in the tax authority and taxpayers relationship. The purpose of the section is to analyse the instrument, which should establish cooperation based on transparency, understanding and mutual trust between taxpayers and tax authority. The research methodology was focused on survey among tax experts participated in drafting the legislation implementing cooperative relationship as well as experts empowered for monitoring the institute. The main objectives of the study have focused on the current activities identification, the assessment of expectations, the gaps, constraints and potential changes of the instrument identification and the evaluation of the long-term effects of the institute.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess the suitability of religion and religiosity in small and medium-scale enterprises’ (SMEs) tax compliance in Ghanaian markets. The current research attempts to obtain insights into the advantages of Ghanaian religious notoriety in tax compliance based on the perceptions of entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey is the main tool used in this research. A total of 472 questionnaires were distributed to SMEs without Ghana revenue authority. Because of self-administered instrument, all the questionnaires were returned for analysis. Findings The results suggest that Ghanaian religious notoriety does not explain SMEs’ tax compliance and that tax evasion is seen as ethical. Institutional, firm and entrepreneurs’ characteristics are important determinants of SMEs’ tax compliance. Practical implications The results of this research paper will help regulators and Ghana Revenue Authority in developing tax compliance education without compromising on religion. Originality/value This paper provides empirical evidence of the suitability of religion and religiosity in emerging markets in general and Ghana in particular and enhances the level of understanding of SMEs’ tax compliance.

Financially independent for a region is a must in decentralization era. This article try to examine how central and local government push their effort to make a region financially independent. One of the policy agenda is to delegate the authority to manage property tax from central government to local government. Based on Law Number 28/ 2009, property tax becomes the authority of local government, this is a very good news to increasing local revenue. The increasing of local revenue is expected to increasing local government capacity to funding their activity. Nevertheless, local government readiness becomes a big issue, known that until 2013 only 123 kabupaten/kota that already implemented this policy, where the rest of the kabupaten/kota are still not ready to implement it. But, the current issue is the capacity of readiness, not all of the kabupaten/kota has the capicity and capability to implement the policy. Therefore, this policy needs to be reck by central government, so in the future this policy can be a good instrument to made region financially independent.Keywords: Financially Independent, Decentralization, and Property Tax

Worldwide public sector and private sector put more effort in promotion of good environment for conducting monitoring and evaluation to the project conducted within their organization for the purpose of increase transparency, strengthen accountability, and improve organization performance. The study aims to determine the role of Monitoring and Evaluation systems on the Organizational performance and to examine resource monitoring and evaluation affect organization performance. A case of Tanzania Airport Authority. The study deployed descriptive quantitative research design, the study used Slovenes formula to obtain sample size of 187 from targeted population was 350 employees of TAA located in Ilala Municipality and purposively sampling was used. Questionnaire, and documents reviewed were used as the research instruments for collecting data needed in this study. The study uses multiple regression analysis models to test the relationship between monitoring and evaluation systems on organizational performances. The study concluded that monitoring and Evaluation systems improves organization performance in Tanzania and recommended that any organization(both private and public) should employ constant improvement in monitoring and Evaluation system in order to reach organization For the very rationale monthly time set of data has been approved from Jan 2014 to Dec 2019. The investigative outline contains.

Rip, mix, share, and sue. Has ‘copy’ become a dirty word? The invitation to artists, activists, consumers and critics to engage in the debate surrounding the creative processes of ‘copy’ has been insightful, if not inciting sampling/reproduction/reflection itself: It clearly questions whether ‘copy’ deserves the negative connotations that it currently summonses. It has confronted the divide between the original and its replica, and questioned notions of authenticity and the essence of identity. It has found that ‘open source’ is an opportunity to capitalise on creativity, and that reuse is resplendently productive. Cultural expression and social exchange are seen to rest upon the acts of copying which are brought to our attention in this edition. As this issue illustrates, the word ‘copy’ has numerous interpretations, applications, and angles, yet an overriding wealth of debate currently outweighs all others; and that surrounds the tumultuous issue of ‘protecting’ copyright in the digital age. Since its conception in the 17th century, copyright law has faced an increasing challenge in achieving its original aims; namely, to strike a balance between creators’ and consumers’ rights in allowing concurrent attribution and access to works. Recent dramatic technological advancements affecting reproduction and distribution of copies, particularly pertaining to the Internet, have fundamentally changed and challenged the content environment. When copyright laws were first conceived, copying and distributing creative works was difficult. Now these activities are virtually free, and practically pervasive; in the digital age, the difficulty lies in their control. Yet because the primarily Western copyright regime relies on providing rights holders with the ability to control their works, copyright industries are working on strategies to garner greater control. Heading this list of strategies are technological content protection mechanisms, consumer education, and lawsuits against individual copyright infringers. Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks are being exploited and sabotaged simultaneously by entities within the Creative Industries, in an attempt to learn from and eliminate the free ‘competition’. Perceiving the mismatch of legal sanction and access to enabling technologies, critics revile the increasing restriction on consumers and creativity. The music industry, in particular, is experimenting with new business models to confine consumers’ rights to enjoy a growing bank of online music. Technical protection mechanisms, within the ambit of Digital Rights Management (DRM), are increasingly applied to enforce these licensing restrictions, providing ‘speed bumps’ for access to content (Digital Connections Council of the Committee for Economic Development 50). Given that these mechanisms can only temporarily allow a limited level of control over access to and usage of content, however, both IP and contract law are essential to the prevention and deterrence of infringement. While production and distribution corporations agitate about online ‘piracy’, an increasing population of consumers are unsympathetic, knowing that very little of the music industry revenue ends up in the pockets of artists, and knowing very little of the complex law surrounding copyright. Over the past few hundred years the content distribution business has become particularly wealthy, and it is primarily this link of the content chain from creator to consumer that is tending towards redundancy in the digital networked world: those who once resided in the middle of the content chain will no longer be required. When individuals and collectives create something they are proud of, they want the world to experience and talk about it, if not ‘rip, mix, mash, and share’ it. The need to create and communicate has always been part of human makeup. Infants learn rapidly during their first few years primarily by observing and emulating the behaviour of adults. But as children progress, and begin creating what they perceive to be their unique contribution, they naturally want to claim and display it as their own; hence the importance of attribution and moral rights to this debate. Clearly, society benefits in many ways from this drive to create, innovate, communicate, learn and share contributions. One need only cite Sir Isaac Newton, who is attributed as having said, ‘If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.’ Academics and scientists worldwide have long collaborated by sharing and building on one another’s work, a fact acknowledged by the Science Commons initiative (http://www.sciencecommons.org/) to provide open access to academic research and development. Such has been inspired by the vision of Lawrence Lessig, as espoused in The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World. Appropriation of bits and pieces (‘samples’) of another’s work, along with appropriate attribution, has always been acceptable until recently. This legal tension is explored by authors Frederick Wasser, in his article ‘When Did They Copyright the World Without Us Noticing?’, and Francis Raven, in ‘Copyright and Public Goods: An Argument for Thin Copyright Protection’. Wasser explores the recent agitation against the legislated copyright extension in the United States to 95 years from publication (or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter) from an original 14, accompanied by the changing logic of copyright, which has further upset the balance between protection and fair use, between consumer and creator, and ultimately invests power in the intermediary. Raven argues for ‘thin’ copyright protection, having the intention to protect the incentive for producers to create while also defending the public’s right to a rich intellectual realm in the public domain. Current conflict surrounding music sampling illustrates that our evolution towards a regime of restrictive licensing of digital works, largely driven by copyright owners and content distributors, has made the use of bits and pieces of existing music difficult, if not impossible. In this issue’s feature article ‘Good Copy/Bad Copy’, Steve Collins examines the value of ‘copy’ where musical creativity and copyright law intersect. The recontextualisation and reshaping of music with regard to cover versions and sampling brings into relief the disparity in current legal and licensing provisions. When creativity is stifled by copyright, the original intention of the law is lost. Collins argues that creators are now subject to the control of an oppressive monopoly, which clearly should be addressed if innovative cultural expression is to thrive. The issue’s second article, ‘The Affect of Selection in Digital Sound Art’ by author and sound artist Owen Chapman, aka ‘Opositive’, explores the interplay and influence between the ‘raw and the remixed’, where subjective control over sound production is questioned. Transformation of sound hovers between an organic and intentional process, and creates affective influence: we are ultimately entreated to listen and learn, as sampling selection goes gestalt. Moving from the aural domain to the written, the significance of textual reuse and self-referentiality is introduced by Kirsten Seale in her academic exploration of reuse in the works of Iain Sinclair. Sinclair, in Dining on Stones (or, the Middle Ground), is seen to have subverted the postmodernist obscuration/denial of authorial control through the reintroduction of an assured self-sampling technique. Also in contemplating the written creative process, after significant exposure to the ever-more-evident proclivities of students to cut and paste from Websites, Dr. Gauti Sigthorsson asserts that plagiarism is merely symptomatic of the dominant sampling culture. Rather than looming as a crisis, Sigthorsson sees this increasing appropriation as a ‘teachable moment’, illustrating the delights of the open source process. Issues of identity and authenticity are explored in ‘Digital Doppelgängers’ by Lisa Bode, and ‘Slipping and Sliding: blind optimism, greed and the effect of fakes on our cultural understanding’ by art fraud and forensic expert Robyn Sloggett. In introducing the doppelgänger of Indo-European folklore and literature as the protagonist’s sinister double, Bode goes on to explore the digital manifestation: the image which challenges the integrity of the actor and his/her reflection, where original identity may be beyond the actor’s control. In copy’s final article ‘Slipping and Sliding’ by Sloggett, the determination of artistic authenticity is explored. Identity is seen to be predicated on authenticity: but does this necessarily hold? In reflecting on the notions of ‘copy’ explored in this issue, it is clear that civilisation has progressed by building on past successes and failures. A better, richer future can be possible if we continue to do exactly this. Instead, rights holders are striving to maintain control, using clumsy methods that effectively alter traditional user rights (or perceived rights) and practices. Imagine instead if all creative content were virtually free and easily accessible to all; where it would not longer be an infringement to make and share copies for non-commercial reasons. Is it possible to engineer an alternative incentive (to copyright) for creativity to flourish? This is, after all, the underlying goal behind copyright law. Copyright law provides a creator with a temporary monopoly over the sale and distribution of their work. Infringing copyright law is consequently depriving creators of this mechanism to make money, obtain notoriety and thus their very motivation to create. This goal to provide creative incentive is fundamentally important for society, intellectually and culturally, but alternative means to achieve it are worthy of exploration. A familiar alternative option to help generate creativity is to apply a special tax (levy) on all goods and services that enable viewing, listening, reading, publishing, copying, and downloading of digital content. The revenue pool this generates is then available for distribution amongst content creators, thereby creating a financial incentive. In over 40 countries, primarily European, partial variations of such a levy system are currently used to compensate copyright owners whilst allowing consumers a certain degree of free private copying. Professor William Fisher, Hale and Dorr Professor of Intellectual Property Law at Harvard University, and Director of the Berkman Centre for Internet and Society, proposes as much in his book outlining a government-administered compensation scheme, encompassing free online access to music and movies: Promises to Keep: Technology, Law and the Future of Entertainment. As we are left to contemplate copyrights and ‘copywrongs’ (Vaidhyanathan), we may reflect that the ‘promotion of the progress of science and the useful arts’, as per Harper v. Row (471 U.S.), rests with the (some say draconian) directions determined by legislation. Measures contained in instruments such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), continue to diminish, if not desecrate, the public domain. Moreover, as the full impact of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States looms for the Australian audience, in the adoption of the extension of the copyright term to the criminalisation of IP infringement, we realise that the establishment of economically viable and legal alternatives to the adopted regime is paramount. (Moore) We are also left to lament the recent decision in MGM vs. Grokster, where the US Supreme Court has ruled unanimously against the file-sharing service providers Grokster and Streamcast Networks (developers of Morpheus), serving as an illustration of ongoing uncertainty surrounding P2P networks and technologies, and lack of certainty of any court decisions regarding such matters. In the future, as we log into Longhorn (http://msdn.microsoft.com/longhorn/), we will wonder where our right to enjoy began to disappear. Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (http://www.eff.org/) cry to ‘Defend Freedom in the Digital World’ gains increasing resonance. In presenting ‘copy’ to you, we invite you cut, paste, innovate, create, and be entertained, to share, and share alike, while you still can. References Digital Connections Council of the Committee for Economic Development (CED). Promoting Innovation and Economic Growth: The Special Problem of Digital Intellectual Property, 2004. http://www.ced.org/docs/report/report_dcc.pdf>. Fisher, William. Promises to Keep: Technology, Law, and the Future of Entertainment. Palo Alto CA: Stanford UP, 2004. Lessig, Lawrence. The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World. New York: Random House, 2001. Moore, Christopher. “Creative Choices: Changes to Australian Copyright Law and the Future of the Public Domain.” Media International Australia 114 (2005): 71-82. Vaidhyanathan, Siva. Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How It Threatens Creativity. New York: New York UP, 2003. Citation reference for this article MLA Style Leisten, Susanna, and Rachel Cobcroft. "Copy." M/C Journal 8.3 (2005). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0507/01-editorial.php>. APA Style Leisten, S., and R. Cobcroft. (Jul. 2005) "Copy," M/C Journal, 8(3). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0507/01-editorial.php>.

IntroductionFirmly located within the discourse of visible culture as the lofty preserve of art exhibitions and museum artefacts, the noun “curate” has gradually transformed into the verb “to curate”. Williams writes that “curate” has become a fashionable code word among the aesthetically minded to describe a creative activity. Designers no longer simply sell clothes; they “curate” merchandise. Chefs no longer only make food; they also “curate” meals. Chosen for their keen eye for a particular style or a precise shade, it is their knowledge of their craft, their reputation, and their sheer ability to choose among countless objects which make the creative process a creative activity in itself. Writing from within the framework of “curate” as a creative process, this article discusses how the state banquet for Queen Elizabeth II, hosted by Irish President Mary McAleese at Dublin Castle in May 2011, was carefully curated to represent Ireland’s diplomatic, cultural, and culinary identity. The paper will focus in particular on how the menu for the banquet was created and how the banquet’s brief, “Ireland on a Plate”, was fulfilled.History and BackgroundFood has been used by nations for centuries to display wealth, cement alliances, and impress foreign visitors. Since the feasts of the Numidian kings (circa 340 BC), culinary staging and presentation has belonged to “a long, multifaceted and multicultural history of diplomatic practices” (IEHCA 5). According to the works of Baughman, Young, and Albala, food has defined the social, cultural, and political position of a nation’s leaders throughout history.In early 2011, Ross Lewis, Chef Patron of Chapter One Restaurant in Dublin, was asked by the Irish Food Board, Bord Bía, if he would be available to create a menu for a high-profile banquet (Mahon 112). The name of the guest of honour was divulged several weeks later after vetting by the protocol and security divisions of the Department of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Lewis was informed that the menu was for the state banquet to be hosted by President Mary McAleese at Dublin Castle in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Ireland the following May.Hosting a formal banquet for a visiting head of state is a key feature in the statecraft of international and diplomatic relations. Food is the societal common denominator that links all human beings, regardless of culture (Pliner and Rozin 19). When world leaders publicly share a meal, that meal is laden with symbolism, illuminating each diner’s position “in social networks and social systems” (Sobal, Bove, and Rauschenbach 378). The public nature of the meal signifies status and symbolic kinship and that “guest and host are on par in terms of their personal or official attributes” (Morgan 149). While the field of academic scholarship on diplomatic dining might be young, there is little doubt of the value ascribed to the semiotics of diplomatic gastronomy in modern power structures (Morgan 150; De Vooght and Scholliers 12; Chapple-Sokol 162), for, as Firth explains, symbols are malleable and perfectly suited to exploitation by all parties (427).Political DiplomacyWhen Ireland gained independence in December 1921, it marked the end of eight centuries of British rule. The outbreak of “The Troubles” in 1969 in Northern Ireland upset the gradually improving environment of British–Irish relations, and it would be some time before a state visit became a possibility. Beginning with the peace process in the 1990s, the IRA ceasefire of 1994, and the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, a state visit was firmly set in motion by the visit of Irish President Mary Robinson to Buckingham Palace in 1993, followed by the unofficial visit of the Prince of Wales to Ireland in 1995, and the visit of Irish President Mary McAleese to Buckingham Palace in 1999. An official invitation to Queen Elizabeth from President Mary McAleese in March 2011 was accepted, and the visit was scheduled for mid-May of the same year.The visit was a highly performative occasion, orchestrated and ordained in great detail, displaying all the necessary protocol associated with the state visit of one head of state to another: inspection of the military, a courtesy visit to the nation’s head of state on arrival, the laying of a wreath at the nation’s war memorial, and a state banquet.These aspects of protocol between Britain and Ireland were particularly symbolic. By inspecting the military on arrival, the existence of which is a key indicator of independence, Queen Elizabeth effectively demonstrated her recognition of Ireland’s national sovereignty. On making the customary courtesy call to the head of state, the Queen was received by President McAleese at her official residence Áras an Uachtaráin (The President’s House), which had formerly been the residence of the British monarch’s representative in Ireland (Robbins 66). The state banquet was held in Dublin Castle, once the headquarters of British rule where the Viceroy, the representative of Britain’s Court of St James, had maintained court (McDowell 1).Cultural DiplomacyThe state banquet provided an exceptional showcase of Irish culture and design and generated a level of preparation previously unseen among Dublin Castle staff, who described it as “the most stage managed state event” they had ever witnessed (Mahon 129).The castle was cleaned from top to bottom, and inventories were taken of the furniture and fittings. The Waterford Crystal chandeliers were painstakingly taken down, cleaned, and reassembled; the Killybegs carpets and rugs of Irish lamb’s wool were cleaned and repaired. A special edition Newbridge Silverware pen was commissioned for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip to sign the newly ordered Irish leather-bound visitors’ book. A new set of state tableware was ordered for the President’s table. Irish manufacturers of household goods necessary for the guest rooms, such as towels and soaps, hand creams and body lotions, candle holders and scent diffusers, were sought. Members of Her Majesty’s staff conducted a “walk-through” several weeks in advance of the visit to ensure that the Queen’s wardrobe would not clash with the surroundings (Mahon 129–32).The promotion of Irish manufacture is a constant thread throughout history. Irish linen, writes Kane, enjoyed a reputation as far afield as the Netherlands and Italy in the 15th century, and archival documents from the Vaucluse attest to the purchase of Irish cloth in Avignon in 1432 (249–50). Support for Irish-made goods was raised in 1720 by Jonathan Swift, and by the 18th century, writes Foster, Dublin had become an important centre for luxury goods (44–51).It has been Irish government policy since the late 1940s to use Irish-manufactured goods for state entertaining, so the material culture of the banquet was distinctly Irish: Arklow Pottery plates, Newbridge Silverware cutlery, Waterford Crystal glassware, and Irish linen tablecloths. In order to decide upon the table setting for the banquet, four tables were laid in the King’s Bedroom in Dublin Castle. The Executive Chef responsible for the banquet menu, and certain key personnel, helped determine which setting would facilitate serving the food within the time schedule allowed (Mahon 128–29). The style of service would be service à la russe, so widespread in restaurants today as to seem unremarkable. Each plate is prepared in the kitchen by the chef and then served to each individual guest at table. In the mid-19th century, this style of service replaced service à la française, in which guests typically entered the dining room after the first course had been laid on the table and selected food from the choice of dishes displayed around them (Kaufman 126).The guest list was compiled by government and embassy officials on both sides and was a roll call of Irish and British life. At the President’s table, 10 guests would be served by a team of 10 staff in Dorchester livery. The remaining tables would each seat 12 guests, served by 12 liveried staff. The staff practiced for several days prior to the banquet to make sure that service would proceed smoothly within the time frame allowed. The team of waiters, each carrying a plate, would emerge from the kitchen in single file. They would then take up positions around the table, each waiter standing to the left of the guest they would serve. On receipt of a discreet signal, each plate would be laid in front of each guest at precisely the same moment, after which the waiters would then about foot and return to the kitchen in single file (Mahon 130).Post-prandial entertainment featured distinctive styles of performance and instruments associated with Irish traditional music. These included reels, hornpipes, and slipjigs, voice and harp, sean-nόs (old style) singing, and performances by established Irish artists on the fiddle, bouzouki, flute, and uilleann pipes (Office of Public Works).Culinary Diplomacy: Ireland on a PlateLewis was given the following brief: the menu had to be Irish, the main course must be beef, and the meal should represent the very best of Irish ingredients. There were no restrictions on menu design. There were no dietary requirements or specific requests from the Queen’s representatives, although Lewis was informed that shellfish is excluded de facto from Irish state banquets as a precautionary measure. The meal was to be four courses long and had to be served to 170 diners within exactly 1 hour and 10 minutes (Mahon 112). A small army of 16 chefs and 4 kitchen porters would prepare the food in the kitchen of Dublin Castle under tight security. The dishes would be served on state tableware by 40 waiters, 6 restaurant managers, a banqueting manager and a sommélier. Lewis would be at the helm of the operation as Executive Chef (Mahon 112–13).Lewis started by drawing up “a patchwork quilt” of the products he most wanted to use and built the menu around it. The choice of suppliers was based on experience but also on a supplier’s ability to deliver perfectly ripe goods in mid-May, a typically black spot in the Irish fruit and vegetable growing calendar as it sits between the end of one season and the beginning of another. Lewis consulted the Queen’s itinerary and the menus to be served so as to avoid repetitions. He had to discard his initial plan to feature lobster in the starter and rhubarb in the dessert—the former for the precautionary reasons mentioned above, and the latter because it featured on the Queen’s lunch menu on the day of the banquet (Mahon 112–13).Once the ingredients had been selected, the menu design focused on creating tastes, flavours and textures. Several draft menus were drawn up and myriad dishes were tasted and discussed in the kitchen of Lewis’s own restaurant. Various wines were paired and tasted with the different courses, the final choice being a Château Lynch-Bages 1998 red and a Château de Fieuzal 2005 white, both from French Bordeaux estates with an Irish connection (Kellaghan 3). Two months and two menu sittings later, the final menu was confirmed and signed off by state and embassy officials (Mahon 112–16).The StarterThe banquet’s starter featured organic Clare Island salmon cured in a sweet brine, laid on top of a salmon cream combining wild smoked salmon from the Burren and Cork’s Glenilen Farm crème fraîche, set over a lemon balm jelly from the Tannery Cookery School Gardens, Waterford. Garnished with horseradish cream, wild watercress, and chive flowers from Wicklow, the dish was finished with rapeseed oil from Kilkenny and a little sea salt from West Cork (Mahon 114). Main CourseA main course of Irish beef featured as the pièce de résistance of the menu. A rib of beef from Wexford’s Slaney Valley was provided by Kettyle Irish Foods in Fermanagh and served with ox cheek and tongue from Rathcoole, County Dublin. From along the eastern coastline came the ingredients for the traditional Irish dish of smoked champ: cabbage from Wicklow combined with potatoes and spring onions grown in Dublin. The new season’s broad beans and carrots were served with wild garlic leaf, which adorned the dish (Mahon 113). Cheese CourseThe cheese course was made up of Knockdrinna, a Tomme style goat’s milk cheese from Kilkenny; Milleens, a Munster style cow’s milk cheese produced in Cork; Cashel Blue, a cow’s milk blue cheese from Tipperary; and Glebe Brethan, a Comté style cheese from raw cow’s milk from Louth. Ditty’s Oatmeal Biscuits from Belfast accompanied the course.DessertLewis chose to feature Irish strawberries in the dessert. Pat Clarke guaranteed delivery of ripe strawberries on the day of the banquet. They married perfectly with cream and yoghurt from Glenilen Farm in Cork. The cream was set with Irish Carrageen moss, overlaid with strawberry jelly and sauce, and garnished with meringues made with Irish apple balsamic vinegar from Lusk in North Dublin, yoghurt mousse, and Irish soda bread tuiles made with wholemeal flour from the Mosse family mill in Kilkenny (Mahon 113).The following day, President McAleese telephoned Lewis, saying of the banquet “Ní hé go raibh sé go maith, ach go raibh sé míle uair níos fearr ná sin” (“It’s not that it was good but that it was a thousand times better”). The President observed that the menu was not only delicious but that it was “amazingly articulate in terms of the story that it told about Ireland and Irish food.” The Queen had particularly enjoyed the stuffed cabbage leaf of tongue, cheek and smoked colcannon (a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes with curly kale or green cabbage) and had noted the diverse selection of Irish ingredients from Irish artisans (Mahon 116). Irish CuisineWhen the topic of food is explored in Irish historiography, the focus tends to be on the consequences of the Great Famine (1845–49) which left the country “socially and emotionally scarred for well over a century” (Mac Con Iomaire and Gallagher 161). Some commentators consider the term “Irish cuisine” oxymoronic, according to Mac Con Iomaire and Maher (3). As Goldstein observes, Ireland has suffered twice—once from its food deprivation and second because these deprivations present an obstacle for the exploration of Irish foodways (xii). Writing about Italian, Irish, and Jewish migration to America, Diner states that the Irish did not have a food culture to speak of and that Irish writers “rarely included the details of food in describing daily life” (85). Mac Con Iomaire and Maher note that Diner’s methodology overlooks a centuries-long tradition of hospitality in Ireland such as that described by Simms (68) and shows an unfamiliarity with the wealth of food related sources in the Irish language, as highlighted by Mac Con Iomaire (“Exploring” 1–23).Recent scholarship on Ireland’s culinary past is unearthing a fascinating story of a much more nuanced culinary heritage than has been previously understood. This is clearly demonstrated in the research of Cullen, Cashman, Deleuze, Kellaghan, Kelly, Kennedy, Legg, Mac Con Iomaire, Mahon, O’Sullivan, Richman Kenneally, Sexton, and Stanley, Danaher, and Eogan.In 1996 Ireland was described by McKenna as having the most dynamic cuisine in any European country, a place where in the last decade “a vibrant almost unlikely style of cooking has emerged” (qtd. in Mac Con Iomaire “Jammet’s” 136). By 2014, there were nine restaurants in Dublin which had been awarded Michelin stars or Red Ms (Mac Con Iomaire “Jammet’s” 137). Ross Lewis, Chef Patron of Chapter One Restaurant, who would be chosen to create the menu for the state banquet for Queen Elizabeth II, has maintained a Michelin star since 2008 (Mac Con Iomaire, “Jammet’s” 138). Most recently the current strength of Irish gastronomy is globally apparent in Mark Moriarty’s award as San Pellegrino Young Chef 2015 (McQuillan). As Deleuze succinctly states: “Ireland has gone mad about food” (143).This article is part of a research project into Irish diplomatic dining, and the author is part of a research cluster into Ireland’s culinary heritage within the Dublin Institute of Technology. The aim of the research is to add to the growing body of scholarship on Irish gastronomic history and, ultimately, to contribute to the discourse on the existence of a national cuisine. If, as Zubaida says, “a nation’s cuisine is its court’s cuisine,” then it is time for Ireland to “research the feasts as well as the famines” (Mac Con Iomaire and Cashman 97).ConclusionThe Irish state banquet for Queen Elizabeth II in May 2011 was a highly orchestrated and formalised process. From the menu, material culture, entertainment, and level of consultation in the creative content, it is evident that the banquet was carefully curated to represent Ireland’s diplomatic, cultural, and culinary identity.The effects of the visit appear to have been felt in the years which have followed. Hennessy wrote in the Irish Times newspaper that Queen Elizabeth is privately said to regard her visit to Ireland as the most significant of the trips she has made during her 60-year reign. British Prime Minister David Cameron is noted to mention the visit before every Irish audience he encounters, and British Foreign Secretary William Hague has spoken in particular of the impact the state banquet in Dublin Castle made upon him. Hennessy points out that one of the most significant indicators of the peaceful relationship which exists between the two countries nowadays was the subsequent state visit by Irish President Michael D. Higgins to Britain in 2013. This was the first state visit to the United Kingdom by a President of Ireland and would have been unimaginable 25 years ago. The fact that the President and his wife stayed at Windsor Castle and that the attendant state banquet was held there instead of Buckingham Palace were both deemed to be marks of special favour and directly attributed to the success of Her Majesty’s 2011 visit to Ireland.As the research demonstrates, eating together unites rather than separates, gathers rather than divides, diffuses political tensions, and confirms alliances. It might be said then that the 2011 state banquet hosted by President Mary McAleese in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, curated by Ross Lewis, gives particular meaning to the axiom “to eat together is to eat in peace” (Taliano des Garets 160).AcknowledgementsSupervisors: Dr Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire (Dublin Institute of Technology) and Dr Michael Kennedy (Royal Irish Academy)Fáilte IrelandPhotos of the banquet dishes supplied and permission to reproduce them for this article kindly granted by Ross Lewis, Chef Patron, Chapter One Restaurant ‹http://www.chapteronerestaurant.com/›.Illustration ‘Ireland on a Plate’ © Jesse Campbell BrownRemerciementsThe author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their feedback and suggestions on an earlier draft of this article.ReferencesAlbala, Ken. The Banquet: Dining in the Great Courts of Late Renaissance Europe. 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