Should commodity tax rates be uniform across regions in a heterogeneous country? Evidence from India

With countries increasingly adopting the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as their system of commodity taxes replacing the myriad of sales, excise and other form of indirect taxes, there is a move towards the two features that characterize the GST: uniform tax rates across items and identical tax rates across regions. When India introduced the GST in 2017, it followed several other countries in departing from the first feature but in keeping with universal practice embraced the second feature. The chief motivation of this paper is to subject this latter feature to critical scrutiny. The study examines the four GST rates in India by comparing them with counterfactual evidence based on preference based optimal commodity tax rates estimated by taking into account regional diversity in prices and spending. The benchmarking suggests that the current top GST rates (12%, 16% and 28%) are much higher than can be justified by the optimal rates. The Indian evidence is also in favor of departing from the universal practice in GST of adopting a uniform tax across items. The paper makes a methodological contribution by proposing a procedure for calculating spatial prices that can be applied to a wide basket of items. The study provides evidence on the redistributive potential of indirect taxation by showing the progressive nature of the optimal commodity taxes. The latter result is of particular significance in developing countries where indirect taxes raise the greater share of revenue and provide an important policy tool for tackling increasing inequality. The study concludes with a list of policy lessons as the country seeks to make further changes to its GST. While there is a significant literature on harmonization of indirect taxes across countries that belong to a single economic grouping such as the EU, there is no such literature between regions within a large heterogeneous country. The present study on tax harmonization between the states in India attempts to fill this gap.     

我国物流业税收政策绩效评价研究

物流业作为生产与消费联动的重要行业,对经济增长有着重要功用。该文运用宏观税收负担率、边际税收负担率、税收变动率、资产税收负担率与税收增长系数等物流业税收政策绩效评价指标,对中国物流业的税收政策绩效展开实证分析。分析结果证实,在物流业中,交通运输、邮政与仓储业的税收负担较大,中西部地区物流业整体税收负担重于东部地区。因此建议逐步将物流业全盘纳入增值税范围,采取物流业营业税试点扩容、财政管理体制的改革,运用企业所得税政策扶持物流业发展,加大对中西部地区物流业发展的税收支持力度等举措来推动物流业的发展,降低消费成本,促进产业结构调整与经济增长。     

浅议“营改增＂对商业银行的影响

将商业银行纳入增值税扩增范围可以有效打通增值税抵扣链条,对于促进商业银行的发展具有重要意义。商业银行实现营改增目标的最合理方法是一般征税法。但营改增政策会对商业银行的业务发展结构、盈利能力、业务创新能力等方面不利。为减少不利影响可以通过选择低税率、扩大抵扣范围、完善服务、优化征管等措施来推进商业银行“营改增”改革的顺利进行。     

A self-funding reward mechanism for tax compliance

We compare in a laboratory experiment two audit-based tax compliance mechanisms that collect fines from those found non-compliant. The mechanisms differ in the way fines are redistributed to individuals who were either not audited or audited and found to be compliant. The first, as is the case in most extant tax systems, does not discriminate between the un-audited and those found compliant. The second targets the redistribution in favor of those found compliant. We find that targeting increases compliance when paying taxes generates a social return. We do not find any increase in compliance in a control treatment where individuals audited and found compliant receive symbolic rewards. We conclude that existing tax mechanisms have room for improvement by rewarding those audited and found compliant.     

加压容易减压难:乡镇政府负担生成的多重制度逻辑

乡镇政府负担是推进基层治理体系和治理能力现代化很大的阻滞因素。基于“结构 过程”的分析范式与压力传导的双向视角,并结合田野调查发现,多重制度逻辑综合作用引致的乡镇政府负担生成机制可解释为“加压容易减压难”。一方面,在压力型科层体制下,乡镇政府受到上级政府的强制性支配,议价空间有限,上级政府较易实现对乡镇政府的加压,这表现为任务分配与任务负荷的失衡、资源配套与高效执行的冲突、检查与迎检的张力、问责与容错的矛盾。另一方面,在自治型村庄治理体制下,乡镇政府对村级组织的行政控制受到限定和约束,减压过程存在任务转包困难、任务承接能力有限、任务落实效果衰减、任务执行动力不足的困境,导致村级组织较难实现对乡镇政府的减压,且乡镇政府还需处理村级组织反向上交的“剩余事务”。“加压容易减压难”导致乡镇政府的治理事务超出其可承载限度,由此生成治理负担。     

新疆生产建设兵团农垦团场的社会成本分析

新疆生产建设兵团是党政军企合一的二元组织,是新中国在特定的历史条件下和特定的地区为实现特定职能而进行的组织制度创新。研究以结构功能主义为分析视角,分析了兵团农垦团场的组织属性与组织功能、组织结构以及由功能结构变化引起的社会成本、表现形式以及对兵团农垦团场产生的负面影响。认为财税体制改革、农垦团场组织功能变革与农垦团场组织结构变革的不同步,导致了农垦团场事权与财权的不匹配从而形成了农垦团场的社会成本。社会成本究其本质是政府职能缺位和公共财政缺位的外部化成本内部化给了农垦团场。沉重的社会成本严重地削弱了农垦团场的积累能力和扩大再生产能力,影响了农垦团场的可持续发展,消解这一困厄的根本举措在于兵团农垦团场组织结构的改革,构建政府组织和公共财政以制度化的方式化解社会成本。     

论我国环境公益诉讼制度的若干问题

环境公益诉讼在不少生态环境优良的发达国家得到确立,而且取得了较好效果,这对我国环保事业的发展有着重要的借鉴意义。然而,由于配套法律制度缺失、取证中面临技术瓶颈、专业审判人员匮乏、案件执行难度大等一系列原因,使得这一制度在地方司法实践中的推行遭遇重重困难。中国应该在符合本国国情的基础上,排除制度、技术、人员等障碍,让环境公益诉讼发挥应有的作用,为我国的环保事业做出贡献。     

证明责任的作用与免除

证明责任是独立于具体的诉讼而由法律事先在涉案当事人之间进行预置的。从动态上看,只要诉讼一经发生,已经被预置的证明责任分配就制约着当事人双方的提供证据的行为,影响着诉讼的进程。并在辩论终结而有关要件事实仍处于真伪不明时现实地发生作用,即承担证明责任的一方当事人承受败诉的结果。从静态上看,证明责任作用于要件事实或曰争点事实,这不仅包括实体法上的事实,也包括程序法上的事实。同时,出于诉讼经济或者公平的考虑,在一些特定的情形下,有关当事人需要承担的法定证明责任获得了免除。     

刑事证明责任主体研究

证明责任主体即指证明责任的承担者。只有确定了证明责任主体，证明责任制度才能在诉讼实践中产生实效，否则在诉讼争议的事实真伪不明时就无法确定由谁来承担不利的法律后果。文章从理论上对证明责任主体进行了界定，认为证明责任主体的范围只限于诉讼当事人。具体到刑事诉讼中，证明责任主体可包括自诉人、公诉人、被告人、附带民事诉讼当事人、侦查机关等，而人民法院、公诉案件中的被害人、律师则不属于证明责任主体。     

试论跨国公司内部贸易中的转移定价问题

转移价格是跨国公司在跨国经营中最常用的一种财务手段,跨国公司通过这一价格工具的应用,不仅能实现调整利润和资金、控制市场、避免税收等多重目标,而且对所在国的国际收支平衡、对外贸易甚至于经济发展模式都将产生很大的影响。监管与防范跨国公司转移定价需要培养一批高素质审计人才。应该深刻认识跨国公司实施转移定价的内部动机及国外反避税主要措施等问题。