A Blockchain-Based Secure Radio Frequency Identification Ownership Transfer Protocol

Supply chain management (SCM) governance is the streamline of the IoT product life cycle from its production to delivery. Integrating blockchain with supply chain management is essential to ensure end-to-end tracking, trustiness between manufacturers and customers, fraud and counterfeit elimination, and customizing administrative costs and paperwork. This paper proposes an RFID ownership transfer protocol with the help of zk-SNARKs (Zero Knowledge-Succinct Noninteractive Arguments of Knowledge) using Ethereum blockchain. When the owner performs RFID transfer, the transferred information will be recorded on the blockchain using smart contracts. When using a smart contract to transfer ownership on the Ethereum blockchain, because the content on the blockchain will not be tampered with, all accounts in the Ethereum can view the transfer results and verify them. The privacy of the supply chain is attained by generating the proof of product code via zk-SNARKs algorithm. This algorithm also enhances the scalability of the supply chain system by creating a trusted setup in off-chain mode.

A Critical View on Pension Savings in Slovakia

In almost all countries around the world, pension systems are based on several pillars. This is also the case of Slovakia with its three-pillar pension system. The paper presents a case study underlying the risks that can seriously affect the amount of future pensions. The case study clearly indicates that current pensions in Slovakia paid under all three pillars do not correspond with the expectations from the implementation of the three-pillar pension system. The aim of the paper is to the risks that can seriously affect the amount of future pensions. Our own contribution is the determination of the amount of pension for a specific pensioner specified in the presented case study. Within the saving phase of pension contributions the development of investment fund returns, the amount of future pensioner´s contributions, as well as administrative costs are analyzed on a monthly basis. The payout phase is modelled using actuarial functions applying the mortality tables of Slovakia.

DETERMINATION OF THE UJRAH OF GOLD PAID GOODS AT MANDIRI SHARIA BANK (BSM) BATUSANGKAR

This study analyzes the cost determination for a gold pawn ujrah at the branch of Banque Syariah Mandiri Batusangkar. This type of research is field research with qualitative methods. The analysis technique is based on the Fatwa DSN and the theory advanced by Rozalinda. The research results explain that the implementation of the gold pledge at the branch of Bank Syariah Mandiri Batusangkar in accordance with the Standar Operasional Prosedur (SOP) that have been set by the Bank. The costs of administration, maintenance and storage of the pledged goods are determined according to the amount of the customer's loan, the level of fees also depends on the amount of customer loans. So this is not in line with Fatwa DSN No. 25/DSN-MUI/III/2002 regarding Rahn, in point four, stated that maintenance and storage charges should not be based on loan amount. It is also not in line with the theory advanced by Rozalinda that the administration of administrative costs is based on the weight of the gold, the cost of maintaining and storing or renting the premises according to the content of the gold.

Cost stickiness and the firm’s organizational form: evidence from the property-liability insurance sector

We examine the existence of cost stickiness in the German property-liability insurance sector by analyzing if the percentage increase in administrative costs for a rise in premiums is larger than the percentage decrease in administrative costs for an equivalent drop in premiums. In addition, we analyze if sticky cost behavior depends on insurance firms’ organizational form. Using company-level data from German property-liability insurance firms for the years 2001–2017 and regression analyses, we find that administrative costs are sticky in the insurance sector, as administrative costs increase on average 0.82% per 1% increase in premiums but decrease only 0.6% per 1% decrease in premium income. Moreover, we find that stock insurers exhibit lower levels of cost stickiness, indicating better monitoring mechanisms.

VALUE-ADDED TAX IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY: A FRESH LOOK AT THE SOUTH AFRICAN DISPENSATION

The online purchase of digital goods has the propensity to generate tax liability involving a notable rise in administrative costs for tax authorities. Online transactions involving the supply of digital goods by foreign businesses to South African consumers are subject to Value-Added Tax (“VAT”). Since 2014, the Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 provides for registration and the reverse-charge mechanism as a means to collect VAT on online cross-border trade in digital goods. From 1 April 2019, significant changes to the VAT Act have been implemented regulating VAT on online cross-border trade in digital goods. This article examines these amendments by way of a comparative analysis of similar legislation in Australia and the European Union with the main aim of making recommendations for the adequate and cost-effective collection of VAT on online cross-border trade in digital goods.

The Adoption of e-HRM: A View of a Telecommunications Company in Zimbabwe

The 21st-century has witnessed the catalytic effect of Information Technology (IT) on organisational operations through increased robustness and sustained competitive advantage in the knowledge economy. Technology’s disruptive diffusion has not sparred the human resource practice; thus, this study investigates the adoption of electronic Human Resources Management (e-HRM) by a telecommunications-based organisation in Zimbabwe. The study utilised a quantitative case design using a questionnaire targeting 130 managers and supervisors. In meeting the study’s objective, factor analysis using principal component analysis and varimax rotation was conducted. The results show that the three constructs had a direct impact on the adoption of e-HRM. The respondents agreed that e-HRM had automated employee records management and improved communication between employees and managers, increasing productivity. Identified benefits from the results include lowering administrative costs, delivering state of the art HRM services, enabling HR staff more time to focus on strategic reorientation, increasing HRM effectiveness and efficiency, and facilitating the scouting of the best talent globally. The respondents noted that aligning e-HRM processes to the HRM function had some restraints, such as unwillingness to accommodate change, confidentiality and security of personal records through hacking. The study generates new knowledge for benchmarking as Zimbabwean organisations endeavour to embrace e-HRM. The study contributes literature on e-HRM adoption, which appears scant in developing countries such as Zimbabwe. More research on e-HRM adoption in developing countries provides practical and theoretical implications for the HRM practice and the research community. Future studies could involve several organisations for more generalisability of the results.

The definitive VAT system and its impact on tax collection

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a significant source of fiscal revenues in the EU. However, the VAT treatment of cross-border supplies enables large-scale tax frauds, such as the Missing Trader Intra-Community (MTIC), which takes each year billions of euros from Member States' public budgets. In 2016 a definitive VAT system was proposed by the European Commission to respond to the shortcomings of the current temporary system. This new system should reduce the possibilities of MTIC fraud for intra-community transactions through the collection of VAT by the supplier in the same way as for domestic transactions. The tax collection by the supplier would impact the administrative costs of the financial authorities. This paper contributes to the discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of the newly suggested system. The analysis focuses on the study of the change in administrative costs and VAT revenues for individual Member States and across the EU. The results are that after implementing the definitive VAT system, total administrative costs of the Member States would increase at least by EUR 107 million, whereas total VAT revenues would rise by EUR 40 billion. This indicates the overall positive impact of the definitive VAT system for the EU. However, individual Member States would not benefit equally. The net exporters, whose intra-community supplies exceed the intra-community acquisitions, would spend more than others for the collection of VAT in connection with the international trade of goods.

Economic Feasibility Analysis Development of Intake and Raw Water Pipelines in Kota Bangun Sub-District, Indonesia

Increasing the population in Kota Bangun Sub-District, Kutai Kartanegara Regency, in line with the consequence that growing needs for drinking water and raw water for local communities become a top priority. Public complaints about the increasing difficulty of obtaining clean water seem to be an obstacle that the Regional Government has yet to resolve fully. The production capacity of PDAM Kota Bangun is currently only 30 liters/sec, which is far from sufficient for the needs of all people in the Kota Bangun Sub-District. Economic feasibility calculation analysis utilized the NPV, IRR, and BCR methods and sensitivity analysis to obtain the economic feasibility for the value of developing intake and raw water networks. The results indicate, with a reasonable life condition of 30 years, the construction of water networks in Kota Bangun is still economically feasible. Reasonable with the minimum requirement of BCR = 1, with sensitivity analysis on two scenarios, considerations of 30% and 20% leakage, and 30.55% and 25% administrative costs. The results of the research show that IRR = 17.70%. If the analysis conditions are that investment costs increase by 10% with Fixed Benefits, the payback period is 6.8 years.

Systematization and Classification of the European Union’s policy Instruments for the Implementation of the Green Dealсис

In 2019, the new European Commission (EC) presented its vision for climate and environmental transformation in Europe and beyond in its communication on the Green Deal. The Green Deal covers all sectors of the economy, elaborates a new concept for economic growth with climate goals at its centre, and implies a review of current EU climate and climate-related policies. An analysis of the instruments for the Green Deal’s implementation and internationalization and their classification and systematization shows a wider picture of the whole complex of available and suggested new policy tools. It also clarifies the role of each of the initiatives and assesses more precisely their importance and potential for influencing the global climate agenda and relations with the Russian Federation. The analysis further reveals the balance of costs and benefits for the sectors and actors involved. The purpose of this study is to systematize the complex of the Green Deal’s implementation instruments and assess the balance of various measures in the EU’s menu of policy options. The EU’s influence on the global agenda and the interests of other countries, including Russia, is not limited to the introduction of the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), which was widely covered and analyzed as a never before applied trade and climate policy tool with potential to influence global competition. Upcoming new rules to enter the European market, including through sustainable product requirements, could affect the interests of other countries even more. This influence will also be amplified by the regulatory frameworks and rules on emerging markets, such as for climate-neutral technologies and energy sources. Analysis of the initiatives suggests that the measures may be quite burdensome, especially for citizens, while the system of redistribution and compensation is not yet sufficiently developed in terms of financing and administration. Some initiatives significantly increase the transaction and administrative costs for all market participants (exporters, importers, European companies, and consumers) with fairly limited emissions reductions on a global scale. Despite these drawbacks, the Green Deal remains the most comprehensive, elaborate, detailed and ambitious initiative aimed at reaching the net-zero target. Other actors have their own reasoning for tougher climate policy, but the influence and pressure of the Deal increases the ambition of their goals and encourages them to consider the implementation of various policy options, including strict carbon regulation. Therefore, the new EU policy could become a model to identify the best solutions and practices, as well as a catalyst for global climate transition.