scholarly journals A Review of how Behavioural Insights have been Applied to Tax-Related Policy and Field Experiments in the European Union

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 799-825
Author(s):  
Michal Müller
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Tax Evasion ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Tax Compliance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
The Real ◽  
Behavioural Insights

Tax evasion is a problem in every country. Since taxes are the most important source of income for the state budget, finance ministers and tax authorities strive to increase tax compliance and secure higher tax revenues. In the context of European Union objectives to monitor the effects of behavioural insights and gather information for critical evaluation, this article contributes to these efforts by summarizing policies and measures related to increasing tax compliance. This article is based on a systematic review and is complemented by other relevant sources related to applying behavioural insights to tax policy. The article concludes that although there is empirical evidence to suggest that behaviourally informed initiatives and interventions have had a significant impact on tax compliance in the short term, there is not enough evidence to draw conclusions on the long-term effects. In addition, the real motives and causal mechanisms that have led to increased tax compliance are not entirely clear. The results of the research suggest that deterrence is an important factor. Although deterrence might increase tax compliance, it is uncertain whether it has any positive effect on tax morale in general. The article raises the argument that many behaviourally-informed techniques are actually based on deterrence. In this respect, the article calls for further research to reveal the real effects of behavioural insights. Further work on reviewing and evaluating research results will also be important, as individual initiatives across EU countries are not easily traceable. This fact represents the limits of this study and highlights opportunities for future research.

scholarly journals VAT Efficiency—A Discussion on the VAT System in the European Union

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4768
Author(s):  
Anna Kowal ◽  
Grzegorz Przekota
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Tax Evasion ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Square Function ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Tax System ◽  
Aggregated Data ◽  
Tax Gap ◽  
Standard Rate ◽  
Tax Fraud

The effectiveness of the tax system can be analysed in various ways. According to the authors one of manifestations of such effectiveness is resistance to tax evasion. This phenomenon is influenced by multiple factors, with few being the level of VAT rates and the number of rates in force in the country concerned. The aim of the considerations is therefore to analyse how the standard VAT rate as well as the number of rates affect the effectiveness of this tax. The research was based on a literature query in the field of value added tax in the European Union. In addition, the problem of tax evasion was indicated and the aggregated data on the size of the tax gap in the Member States were presented. Then, there are the results of the research for 27 European Union countries for 2011–2019. The efficiency of VAT collection was modelled using square function, determining the significance of the parameters of this function, as well as the value of abscissa, which made it possible to group the countries based on how they maintained the efficiency of VAT collection over the analysed period of time. The final part of the study concentrates on the relationship between the efficiency of tax collection and the amount of both the basic rate and the number of rates. The conclusions of the research are as follows: a tax system with a small number of reduced rates, and preferably with one relatively low standard rate, is the system least susceptible to tax fraud. The research also shows a positive correlation between the value of the basic VAT rate along with the number of preferential rates and the scale of the tax gap, i.e., in countries with a higher standard VAT rate and a greater number of preferential rates, the tax gap is greater. The study will enable further investigation into the strategy of determining the optimal VAT rate and the process of its unification. Proposed changes may contribute to increasing the efficiency of VAT administration in EU countries, reducing the shadow economy, tax fraud and positively influencing economic growth.

Transpunerea Directivei PIF și evaziunea fiscală la TVA

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (2020) ◽  
pp. 9-24
Author(s):  
Ioana Maria COSTEA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Tax Evasion ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Time Limit ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Financial Interests ◽  
Blind Spots

Our study proposes a two-step analysis of the concept of VAT fraud, a time limit represented by the adoption of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law. Through our analytical approach, which uses the comparative method meticulously under the auspices of the limited interpretation imposed by criminal law, specific hypotheses are revealed regarding the forms of tax evasion in the European Union framework for the operation of value added tax. Equally, the study seeks to identify the blind spots of national law and the directions for refining tax evasion legislation.

scholarly journals Entrepreneurial Innovation: the European Union perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augustin Ignatov
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Business Innovation ◽  
The North ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Entrepreneurial Innovation ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activities ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Entrepreneurship is the driving force of economic development and progress. A successful state, first of all, provides favourable conditions motivating the businesses to grow and flourish. Presently, the European Union is developing unevenly with multiple economic misbalances across the community, the West and the North being more competitive than the South and the East. The aim of the present research is to examine the framework of interdependence between the degree to which the governance quality and economic freedom in the European Union are supporting entrepreneurial activities and the performance of the community in terms of entrepreneurial innovation. The results reached through applying both qualitative and quantitative analyses show that the interdependence between entrepreneurial innovation and regulatory efficiency is strong for many of the European Union states which is determined by multiple factors including the institutional and economic ones. Also, the present paper underlines the importance of the proper regulatory framework for the efficient development of business innovation. The future research on this matter could consider in depth the impact of socio-cultural environment, its influence on the quality of governance and the impact of both upon the European entrepreneurial innovation.

Carbon Price Drivers

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Chevallier
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Carbon Price ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Energy Prices ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Emissions Trading Scheme ◽  
Trading Scheme ◽  
Market Shocks

Since the creation of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) in 2005, a burgeoning academic literature has emerged to identify the factors that shape the price of carbon, where one European Union Allowance is equal to one ton of CO2-equivalent emitted in the atmosphere. Thus, there is a need for an updated and thorough literature review on the state-of-the-art on topic that this paper aims to fulfill. Namely, the author considers the main econometric studies that have been recently published in the academic literature, which feature the influence of the following determinants to explain the variation of the price of carbon: institutional decisions; energy prices and weather events; macroeconomic and financial market shocks. The paper concludes with some directions for future research in this area.

The New Actors of Macroprudential Supervision in Germany and Europe – A Critical Evaluation

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elke Gurlit ◽  
Isabel Schnabel
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Financial System ◽  
Institutional Setting ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Perspective ◽  
Systemic Risks ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Crd Iv

AbstractWith the CRR/CRD IV package being in effect, the banking supervisors of the European Union possess an impressive set of macroprudential instruments to fight systemic risks in the financial system. However, in order to be effective and efficient, the instruments need an appropriate organizational and institutional setting. The text analyzes the complex multi-level network of actors of macroprudential supervision from a legal and economic perspective.

Grexit and Brexit: Incidents, accidents and wake-up calls on the bumpy road of European (dis)integration

2020 ◽  
pp. 096977642097061
Author(s):  
George Petrakos ◽  
Alexandra Sotiriou
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Maastricht Treaty ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Policy Integration ◽  
The Real ◽  
Eu Policy ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
The Eu

Almost 30 years since the Maastricht Treaty and 20 years since the introduction of the euro, it is clear that the European Union (EU) has lost its appeal to wider constituencies and citizen groups that realize that the promises for convergence and prosperity have not been delivered. Rising dissatisfaction and Euroscepticism (expressed both in the ballot box and in Eurobarometer reports) is evident even in traditional pro-EU countries of the European core. As this long decade comes to an end, incidents (or accidents) like these ones, either in the form of open discontent, or in the form of rising populism, will exert pressure on the EU policy agenda that will either increase the frequency of deadlocks and inefficiency in policy making or will eventually lead to an honest effort to address the roots of these phenomena. This paper examines the drivers behind these two incidents (and the ones that may follow) and the limits of the current market and policy integration arrangements in the EU, arguing that a new policy agenda addressing the real weaknesses of the Union is inevitable if disintegration is to be avoided. Luckily enough, some elements of this new policy agenda may already be here.

Rebuilding trust: sustainability and non-financial reporting and the European Union regulation

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 701-725
Author(s):  
Matteo La Torre ◽  
Svetlana Sabelfeld ◽  
Marita Blomkvist ◽  
John Dumay
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Accounting Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
The Eu

Purpose This paper introduces the special issue “Rebuilding trust: Sustainability and non-financial reporting, and the European Union regulation”. Inspired by the studies published in the special issue, this study aims to examine the concept of accountability within the context of the European Union (EU) Directive on non-financial disclosure (hereafter the EU Directive) to offer a critique and a novel perspective for future research into mandatory non-financial reporting (NFR) and to advance future practice and policy. Design/methodology/approach The authors review the papers published in this special issue and other contemporary studies on the topic of NFR and the EU Directive. Findings Accountability is a fundamental concept for building trust in the corporate reporting context and emerges as a common topic linking contemporary studies on the EU Directive. While the EU Directive acknowledges the role of accountability in the reporting practice, this study argues that regulation and practice on NFR needs to move away from an accounting-based conception of accountability to promote accountability-based accounting practices (Dillard and Vinnari, 2019). By analysing the links between trust, accountability and accounting and reporting, the authors claim the need to examine and rethink the inscription of interests into non-financial information (NFI) and its materiality. Hence, this study encourages research and practice to broaden mandatory NFR practice over the traditional boundaries of accountability, reporting and formal accounting systems. Research limitations/implications Considering the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis, this study calls for further research to investigate the dialogical accountability underpinning NFR in practice to avoid the trap of focusing on accounting changes regardless of accountability. The authors advocate that what is needed is more timely NFI that develops a dialogue between companies, investors, national regulators, the EU and civil society, not more untimely standalone reporting that has most likely lost its relevance and materiality by the time it is issued to users. Originality/value By highlighting accountability issues in the context of mandatory NFR and its linkages with trust, this study lays out a case for moving the focus of research and practice from accounting-based regulations towards accountability-driven accounting change.

scholarly journals Environmental Practices in Firms Located in Underpopulated Rural Areas in Spain: The Case of the Province of Teruel

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (23) ◽  
pp. 8993
Author(s):  
Luisa Esteban-Salvador ◽  
Ana Felicitas Gargallo-Castel ◽  
Javier Pérez-Sanz
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
European Union ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Practices ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Environmental Decisions

This study aims to develop a better understanding of what drives small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in environmental practices in isolated rural areas. Despite a growing literature on environmental behavior in different contexts, the green activities of SMEs in rural areas remains underexposed. This neglect is remarkable, and deserves attention given the serious depopulation problems they have to face, and the economic and social challenges that lie ahead. Using unique data from 141 SMEs in one of the most sparsely populated regions in the European Union, we study the influence of territorial relations on firms’ environmental conduct. Our results suggest that different territorial factors have some impact on the adoption of environmental practices. We report evidence indicative of the role of these factors in shaping environmental decisions. Finally, we offer suggestions for future research that could further develop our understanding of environmental management decisions in rural and underpopulated areas.

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