Life after debt: The governmentalities of debt relief

To avoid a ‘tsunami’ of repossessions in the years following the global financial crisis, Ireland reformed its system of debt relief in 2013. For the first time Ireland was to have a state-of-the-art system to help debtors discharge their unpayable liabilities, at odds with the punitive Victorian system of bankruptcy which preceded it. While these changes were touted as ground-breaking and innovative, I demonstrate through original qualitative research with debtors, and the Insolvency Service of Ireland's (ISI's) operators that little has changed. When disaster strikes and debtors fall behind on payments, they are encouraged to undergo a process of soul searching and self-criticism involving reflection on their behaviour and finances. This article explores how this governmentalisation of debt and its relief creates responsible financial subjects fit for the market, simultaneously ensuring the stability of the fragile Irish credit system. The insolvency practitioners who run the service advise that only by confessing their wrongdoing (i.e. irresponsible spending), and making lasting change can they become worthy of debt relief.

ENFORCEMENT OF A CREDIT AGREEMENT WHERE THE CONSUMER HAS APPLIED FOR DEBT REVIEW IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL CREDIT ACT 34 OF 2005 First Rand Bank v Smith (unreported case number 24208/08 (WLD))

Section 86 of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (NCA) provides for the debt relief mechanism envisaged in section 3(g) of the Act by affording the overindebted consumer the opportunity to apply to a debt counsellor for a review of the credit agreements to which he or she is a party and eventually to be declared over-indebted by the court. The effectiveness of the debt review process obviously depends on a positive working relationship between all role players, namely the over-indebted consumer, credit providers and debt counsellor, but also on the extent in which the legislator has succeeded to regulate all aspects of the said process properly. According to a recent newspaper report more than 58 000 consumers have applied for debt review in terms of section 86. However, hardly any of these cases have managed to proceed through our courts. Apart from the lack of co-operation between the said role players, it iscommonly accepted that legislative gaps contribute to the ineffectiveness of the debt counselling process. In First Rand Bank v Smith (unreported case no 24208/08 (WLD)) the court, however, indicated a lacuna in the Act which, it is submitted, was not in actual factpresent in the Act.

IMF activities as a provider of financial assistance to the countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

В целях поддержки стран по преодолению экономических последствий пандемии COVID-19 МВФ выделил им финансовые ресурсы и предоставил инструменты облегчения обслуживания долга в рамках различных механизмов кредитования и финансирования. Программа действует с конца марта 2020 года. В статье отмечено, что МВФ быстро отреагировал на чрезвычайную ситуацию, вызванную пандемией, и развернул широкую программу помощи странам с низким уровнем дохода в целях преодоления ее последствий. The IMF provides financial assistance and debt relief under various lending and financing mechanisms to member countries facing the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemics. The article provides an overview of the assistance approved by the IMF since the end of March 2020. It was noted that the IMF quickly responded to the emergency caused by the pandemic and launched an extensive program of assistance to low-income countries in order to overcome its consequences.

DEBT COUNSELLING V DEBT ENFORCEMENT: SOME PROCEDURAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED BMW Financial Services (SA) (Pty) Ltd v Donkin 2009 6 SA 63 (KZD)

The National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (hereinafter the “NCA” or “Act”) is an innovative but challenging piece of legislation. It provides for various novel approaches to debt enforcement in respect of credit agreements and has introduced debt-relief measures in respect of over-indebtedness and reckless credit that are new to South African consumer credit legislation. It is thus inevitable that in applying the provisions of the Act various issues will arise that will require interpretation and, therefore, intense scrutiny. In the recent judgment of BMW Financial Services (SA) (Pty) Ltd v Donkin, Wallis J was required to scrutinize various aspects relating to debt review and debt enforcement in order to decide the consumer’s fate as influenced by the NCA (66; and see also s 130(1)(a)).

Effect of Profitability, Leverage, and Liquidity on Dividend Policy: Evidence from Manufacturing Companies in Indonesia

Profitability (ROA) and leverage (DER) have a favorable and material impact on the dividend policies of food and beverage manufacturing companies listed on the IDX. That is, if profitability and leverage continue to improve, so will the dividend policy. In comparison to liquidity (current ratio), which has a positive but negligible effect on the dividend policy of food and beverage manufacturing companies that are listed on the IDX. It may be concluded that while liquidity owned by the company can help enhance dividends, it cannot have a major impact on dividend policy reform. Increased dividend policy will entice investors. Thus, dividend policy can be improved by this research by optimizing asset utilization (ROA) and lowering the danger of debt relief (DER).

ON SOME PROBLEM ISSUES RELATED TO LIBERALIZATION OF THE TAX SYSTEM IN GEORGIA

The article looks into the phases of reforming the tax system of Georgia in term of its liberalization. Since the early 2000s, the tax system of Georgia has undergone a significant transformation. There were reduced both the number of taxes and tax rates. Anti-corruption measures were taken, the legal framework was improved, and tax services were changed over to e-services. Tax administration was considerably simplified, but also at the same time was strengthened. The level of fiscal discipline was increased. As a result, despite the seeming release of tax pressure, tax revenues for the treasury were increased manifold. It is clear that success of tax liberalization at this stage of the reform was largely due to the reform of the tax administration system. Higher fines were imposed for violators of tax discipline, which was reflected in severe tightening of tax administration due to the disruption of the corruption environment. A positive link was confirmed between tax liberalization measures and streamlining of the tax administration system in terms of successful tax reform. A number of innovations have been introduced, including: simplified and mostly electronic-automated service procedures, special tax statuses for small and micro entrepreneurs, the so-called "Estonian" model of the taxation of enterprises, the possibility of concluding a tax agreement, a warning mechanism as an alternative to monetary penalties, and so on. It should be noted that over the years, measures to relief, forgive or partially reduce tax debts accumulated in previous periods have become an accompanying and distinctive attribute of the significant ongoing reforms in the tax system. This process has become particularly large-scale since 2015. Just in 2015-2019, more than 68 billion taxpayers owed more than 3.5 billion GEL in terms of both basic taxes and fines. We believe that the unambiguously positive assessment of these large-scale measures for debt relief would not be correct. Of course, such measures relieve the tax administration system of the burden of recovering uncollectible debts. The International Monetary Fund and other donor organizations also require and welcome this. The advantages of this process, as well as related risks and possible threats are being discussed. It is noted that consistent use of such mechanisms leads to long-term negative fiscal consequences, as it undermines tax morality of taxpayers and prevents the introduction of a culture of tax compliance. The tax amnesties, especially if they are recurrent, encourage an anti-competitive environment and generate a sense of unfairness among conscious taxpayers. Destructive expectations are created, which leads to the transformation of the taxpayer behavior model in the wrong direction. These trends are evident in the case of Georgia according to statistical data. We believe that the final result of the tax reforms will depend to a great degree on the ability of the tax administration system and the state in general to prevent the possibility of the new tax amnesties in the future. It is necessary to create the preventive mechanisms that largely exclude possible recurrences of both debt relief of taxable objects and the accumulation of unpaid amounts of taxes.

Debt Relief as a Last Resort for the Lender of Last Resort?

The coronavirus crisis has led to a sharp increase in the debt-to-GDP ratios of the euro area member states. Without external support, access to the capital market could be seriously threatened in the medium term for Italy, but also for other member states. While the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme, which is designed as a monetary policy instrument, is regarded by some as a violation of the prohibition of monetary financing, the Next Generation EU recovery fund is likely to direct the fundamental structures of the European Union towards a fiscal union with considerable redistribution elements. This article analyses an alternative strategy, namely debt relief by the European System of Central Banks through an EU debt agency. Such a scheme would be possible without amending the EU treaties and would avoid negative equity at the central banks. The question is under what circumstances would this approach be suitable and proportionate?