scholarly journals Tax professionals’ role and ethics during a period of economic crisis in a small European country

Author(s):  
Michail Pazarskis ◽  
Athanasia Karakitsiou ◽  
Andreas Koutoupis ◽  
Despoina Sidiropoulou

Research Question: This paper analyses the role and ethics of tax professionals in the collection of public revenue from business activity during a period of economic crisis in Greece. Motivation: We attempt to analyse the respective influences of a corporate environment and personal beliefs on tax professionals’ ethics as well as the consequences of economic crisis. Idea: The paper employs a modified experimental questionnaire from Bobek & Radtke (2007) for the US. This questionnaire is adapted for Greece during a period of economic crisis. Data: Addressees of the questionnaire were tax professionals of two categories: certified public accountants and accountant/tax consultants, both of which are responsible for determining the amount of taxes owed to the Greek Independent Public Revenue Authority (IPRA). Tools: Results were reached by submitting the results of a questionnaire to a multiple-correspondence analysis based on the Burt matrix. As the size of the sample is rather small, in order to avoid any bias the study employs a resampling procedure based on the k fold validation method. Findings: The results of the survey showed that the main causes of ethical dilemmas are problems with clients such as pressure from clients, client-retention concerns and misunderstandings with clients. The major factor contributing to the resolution of an ethical dilemma is the experience of the tax professional. A significant percentage of respondents believed that their level of morality had increased during the period of economic crisis, making them more compliant with relevant tax rules. Contribution: This study contributes to business ethics and helps reinforce them, thereby contributing to the increase in the public revenues, which can help a economy to emerge faster from an economic crisis. Also, we recommend the targeting on in-house ethics training and explicitly including rewards and sanctions regarding ethical behavior in performance evaluation systems in tax professionals’ firms.

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-84
Author(s):  
Sanford U. Mba

Recently, the Nigerian Senate passed the Bankruptcy and Insolvency (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill. This is no doubt a welcome development following the continued demand by insolvency practitioners, academics and other stakeholders for such legislation. The call has not only been for the enactment of just about any legislation, but (consistent with the economic challenges faced by businesses in the country), one that is favourably disposed to the successful restructuring of financially distressed businesses, allowing them to weather the storm of (impending) insolvency, emerge from it and continue to operate within the economy. This article seeks to situate this draft legislative instrument within the present wave of preventive restructuring ably espoused in the European Union Recommendation on New Approaches to Business Rescue and to Give Entrepreneurs a Second Chance (2014), which itself draws largely from Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The article draws a parallel between the economic crisis that gave rise to the preventive restructuring approach of the Recommendation and the present economic situation in Nigeria; it then examines the chances of such restructuring under the Nigerian draft bankruptcy and insolvency legislation. It argues in the final analysis that the draft legislation does not provide for a prophylactic recourse regime for financially distressed businesses. Consequently, a case is made for such an approach.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1/2020) ◽  
pp. 33-67
Author(s):  
Olga Stevanovic

The subject of this paper encompasses US policy towards Poland and the Baltic States regarding energy security during Donald Trump’s presidency. It is discernible that vast domestic energy resources have created an opportunity for the US to project more power to these countries, and the surrounding region. We argue that Trump and his administration’s perceptions have served as an intervening variable in that opportunity assessment, in accordance with the neoclassical realist theory. The main research question addressed in this paper is whether US has used that opportunity to contribute to energy security in countries it has traditionally deemed as allies. Two aspects of US approach to energy security of the designated countries are taken into consideration: liquified natural gas exports and support for the Three Seas Initiative. The way Trump presented his policy and its results in his public statements has also been considered in this paper. The article will proceed as follows. The first subsection of the paper represents a summary of energy security challenges in Poland and the Baltic States. The second subsection is dedicated to the opportunity for the US to project energy power and to Trump’s perceptions relevant for the opportunity assessment. The third subsection deals with American LNG exports to these countries as a possible way for contributing to energy security in Poland and the Baltic States. The last part of the paper addresses the Three Seas Initiative and US approach to this platform.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Miguel Sousa ◽  
Maria J. Sousa ◽  
Rui Cruz ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  

This article aims to study international trade specificity and the main activities of Chinese companies in US markets. It addresses the strategic tools of companies and their application in a global and very competitive market, framed by public policies and governments' strategies. It explores the principles of the internal and external environment of the countries. The main research question is: what are the dimensions of a model to potentiate the US–China Companies? The principal methodology used in this research was a literature review, and the analysis was based on the papers that research the theme US and China trade relations. The findings reflect that international trade is conditioned by the government politics, and there are several other obstacles that a US or Chinese company need to overcome: (a) economic forces; (b) technological forces; (c) political–legal forces; (d) sociocultural forces; and (e) physical forces.


2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-250
Author(s):  
William Storrar

AbstractSince Public Theology for the 21st Century was first published, the world has witnessed the terrorist events of 9/11 and is now experiencing a growing economic crisis. While the contributors to the volume could not have addressed these events specifi cally, the discussions within the book contain valuable analyses of democracy, active citizenship and the notion of social capital that are highly pertinent in the current climate. Public theology must grapple with and adapt to these changed and changing social and political circumstances.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Burak Cem Konduk

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain how a multi-market firm develops the motivation to forbear from competition.Design/methodology/approachA two-way fixed effects model with Driscoll and Kraay standard errors investigates the research question with panel data collected from the US scheduled passenger airline industry.FindingsThe results demonstrate that although the interaction of multi-market contact with strategic similarity impairs a firm’s forbearance from competition, the same interaction promotes it as firm performance deteriorates, supporting the hypotheses.Research limitations/implicationsPerformance explains not only how forbearance emerges out of coincidental multi-market contact but also reconciles the mixed evidence for the impact of the two-way interaction between multi-market contact and strategic similarity on forbearance.Practical implicationsAntitrust authorities should pay more attention to low performing firms than to high performing firms in their investigations. Also, managers of multi-market firms should identify multi-market rivals with low performance as targets for the initiation of forbearance.Originality/valueThis study revises the mutual forbearance theory to align it with the accumulating empirical evidence that otherwise refutes its assumption and thereby improves theory’s descriptive and predictive power.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (09) ◽  
pp. 1533-1544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew van Horn ◽  
Charles A Weitz ◽  
Kathryn M Olszowy ◽  
Kelsey N Dancause ◽  
Cheng Sun ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveThe present study evaluates the use of multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), a type of exploratory factor analysis designed to reduce the dimensionality of large categorical data sets, in identifying behaviours associated with measures of overweight/obesity in Vanuatu, a rapidly modernizing Pacific Island country.DesignStarting with seventy-three true/false questions regarding a variety of behaviours, MCA identified twelve most significantly associated with modernization status and transformed the aggregate binary responses of participants to these twelve questions into a linear scale. Using this scale, individuals were separated into three modernization groups (tertiles) among which measures of body fat were compared and OR for overweight/obesity were computed.SettingVanuatu.ParticipantsNi-Vanuatu adults (n 810) aged 20–85 years.ResultsAmong individuals in the tertile characterized by positive responses to most of or all the twelve modernization questions, weight and measures of body fat and the likelihood that measures of body fat were above the US 75th percentile were significantly greater compared with individuals in the tertiles characterized by mostly or partly negative responses.ConclusionsThe study indicates that MCA can be used to identify individuals or groups at risk for overweight/obesity, based on answers to simply-put questions. MCA therefore may be useful in areas where obtaining detailed information about modernization status is constrained by time, money or manpower.


Significance Intensified political disputes between the main parties are holding up the state budget for 2020, including funding for local elections in November. They also threaten to weaken the response to the looming socio-economic crisis from the COVID-19 pandemic. Impacts The US entry ban on former senior SDA member Amir Zukic is seen as an attempt to persuade the party to behave more responsibly. The EU is in a contest with China, Russia and Turkey to retain influence in the region. Pre-election positioning may explain the defection of Fahrudin Radoncic’s Union for a Better Future party from the state-level government.


Significance Since the abandonment of the multi-currency regime in June, the new Zimbabwe dollar has lost almost 60% of its value relative to the US dollar. The parallel market for foreign currency has re-emerged, forcing the authorities to adopt increasingly draconian measures to enforce the use of the new currency. Meanwhile, more than half of Zimbabweans are at risk of being food insecure. Impacts Despite hiring several international public relations firms, Harare will continue to suffer reputationally amid a renewed crackdown. As the authorities attempt to support the Zimbabwe dollar and re-balance the fiscal deficit, further austerity measures are likely. While Harare hopes austerity measures will help regain IMF confidence, a new funding programme in early 2020 is now unlikely.


2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (03) ◽  
pp. 363-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pornchai Chunhachinda ◽  
Maria E. de Boyrie ◽  
Simon J. Pak

This paper investigates capital flight from Thailand to the US through trade misinvoicing during the period from 1990 to 2005. The evidence indicates that capital flight from Thailand to the US, valued over US$16,189 million, had been done through under-invoicing exports to the US rather than over-invoicing imports from the US. The major incentive for the movement of capital is investment, followed by political events in Thailand, and the most significant determinants of capital flight are the US T-bill rate, the deposit rate in Thailand, and the degree of overvaluation of the Thai Baht. Interestingly, the 1997 Asian economic crisis did not play a significant role in the capital movement through trade.


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