The commercialized Australian public university: An accountingized transition

This paper explores the impact of neoliberalism on Australia's public higher education system. It examines flaws in the university system revealed by the COVID‐19 pandemic and identifies how the conditions created by neoliberal policies have limited universities' capacity to respond to a crisis. The paper reviews the previous literature on universities, neoliberalism policies, and new public management practices. It uses data from the literature, newspapers, and contemporary documents to shape an overview of the Australian public sector university system up to 2021 and its transformation by stealth. The impact of this transformation has been a heavy reliance on international onshore student fees to fund operations, infrastructure, and research activities. COVID‐19‐related public health measures have caused a significant downturn in the number of international students studying in Australia, in turn, creating a financial crisis that has seen many tens of thousands of university staff losing their jobs and courses being cut. The transformation has also seen accountingization of both individual academic and university performance to become the norm. The quantified performance metrics associated with accountingization have become universities' new language, and their goal displaced ends. Revenue generation and expenditure has been privileged over making a contribution to the nation and society. We call for a radical rethinking of the public sector university mission for the ultimate benefit of the Australian community.

Identifying the factors impacting upon personal tax compliance: a study involving tax affairs officers of Malaysian businesses

It is assumed from the literature reviews in taxation that a tendency for tax non-compliance exists among the officers who deal with tax matters in their business establishments in Malaysia when they do not comply with their respective tax systems. The hitherto published studies have not yet explored the tax compliance behaviour of tax affairs officers. Given this gap in the literature, this study endeavours to investigate the factors that impact corporate tax affairs officers' personal tax compliance behaviour in Malaysia. Using purposive and snowball sampling techniques, the data was collected from 392 tax affairs officers of businesses in Malaysia. SmartPLS is used to analyse the data and test the hypotheses. The findings of this study reveal that peers' tax compliance, audit probability, service quality of tax authority, and satisfaction with government spending strongly impact upon personal tax compliance behaviour of corporate tax affairs officers. This study opens a gateway to producing extensive and expeditious empirical evidence that could support the relation between tax affairs officers' personal tax compliance and their decision-making on corporate tax compliance.

Revisiting the Nexus between Industrial Policy and Regional Economic Resilience in an Era of Grand Societal Challenges

En este artículo se adopta una aproximación evolucionista para comprender el papel de las políticas industriales en el desarrollo de la resiliencia regional a corto y largo plazo. Para ello, se analizan diferentes tipos de instrumentos de política, se categorizan las diferentes aproximaciones basadas en el lugar y sus combinaciones de políticas industriales y se explora su papel para hacer frente a los grandes retos sociales. Para ello, el artículo analiza la región del País Vasco en España, ya que no solo ha implementado una política industrial a largo plazo en durante los últimos cuarenta años, sino que también ha demostrado ser una región resiliente durante las crisis anteriores.Alternate :In this paper, we adopt an evolutionary approach to understand the role of industrial policies in developing regional short -and long-term resilience. We take an in-depth look at the different type of policy instruments to categorise the different place-based approaches and industrial policy mixes and explore their role in addressing grand societal challenges. To do so, the paper examines the Basque Country region in Spain, which not only has implemented a long-term industrial policy over the last 40 years but has also demonstrated to be a resilient region during previous crises.

Policy Forum: Technology and the Evolving Workforce

Partout dans le monde, un nombre record de personnes quittent leur emploi et, dans de nombreux cas, changent complètement de carrière. En fiscalité, cela se traduit par une diminution du bassin de talents, ce qui rend encore plus difficile de trouver des gens possédant les compétences nécessaires pour combler le manque. Par ailleurs, les exigences et les demandes qui pèsent sur les fiscalistes augmentent et se complexifient. Dans cet article, les auteurs examinent l'aide que peuvent apporter les technologues fiscaux et les solutions technologiques telles que l'apprentissage automatique.Alternate :Globally, we are seeing record numbers of people leaving their jobs and in many cases making significant career changes. In tax, this is resulting in a shrinking talent pool, making it even harder to find people with the necessary skills to fill these gaps. At the same time, the requirements and demands imposed on tax professionals are increasing and expanding. In this article, the authors look at how tax technologists and technological solutions such as machine learning can help.

Public Policy in a Time of Crisis: A Framework for Evaluating Canada's COVID-19 Income Support Programs

Part of their argument is that there should not have been worker incentives in any case, given the policy goal of keeping people at home in order to reduce disease transmission.8 Another part of their argument is that disincentive concerns arise from deeply embedded neoclassical assumptions about work as a disutility,9 assumptions that the authors suggest are given too much weight in labour market policy. The authors main criticism of actual policy, however, is that the majority of . . . individual and household crisis support programs introduced during the pandemic were directly tied to labour market participation (i.e. being employed or having lost a job).10 In terms of policy specifics, one of the authors principal criticisms is that eligibility for the Canada emergency response benefit (CERB) required earnings of $5,000 in 2019 or the past 12 months.11 An interesting aspect of the article is its addition of a third consideration (namely, voice) to the traditional equity-versus-efficiency policy tradeoff. [...]workers would have been freer to engage in "meaningful participation in society" with somewhat less fear of employer retribution.12 These considerations bring the authors to their specific policy proposal.

Los objetivos de déficit en las Comunidades Autónomas: una propuesta basada en la deuda *

La ausencia de un proceso coherente y transparente en la definición de objetivos fiscales es una debilidad endémica de nuestro marco de gobernanza fiscal. Este artículo presenta una propuesta para el establecimiento de los objetivos de déficit y deuda pública de las CCAA españolas. Partiendo de un esquema ya utilizado en la gobernanza fiscal europea, se vincula el saldo presupuestario de las haciendas autonómicas al esfuerzo necesario para reducir el nivel de deuda pública hasta un valor normativo de referencia. Se ofrecen en este sentido varias simulaciones numéricas para distintas parametrizaciones de este valor de referencia de la deuda pública y de la velocidad de aproximación al mismo. También se propone un mecanismo de penalización que considera el momento del ciclo económico y el esfuerzo estructural realizado. La situación de la Comunidad Valenciana, altamente endeudada y con una financiación por habitante ajustado por debajo de la media, también es abordada a modo de ejemplo.Alternate :One of the most significant weaknesses of the Spanish fiscal governance framework is the lack of a coherent and transparent process for setting out the fiscal objectives. This paper proposes a simple methodology for the definition of such as objectives in terms of public debt and deficit in the Spanish regions. Based on the existing framework of the European Stability and Growth Pact, the fiscal efforts needed to decrease the regional public debt up to a benchmark value are computed. Some scenarios are shown regarding different parametrizations of such benchmark and the speed of convergence towards it. A mechanism of penalties is also proposed taking structural adjustments and the business cycle into consideration. The particular case of Valencian Community is used to show how to apply this methodology when the levels of public debt are far above from the average.

An Innovative Approach to Understanding Employers' Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a piece of landmark legislation prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, is supposed to provide protection to members of vulnerable populations. In 2017, the Nevada Legislature passed Assembly Bill 423, a bipartisan bill and first of its kind piece of legislation, establishing a pilot program for the administration of a survey meant to capture data on gender equality in the workplace. Doing so will require pushing for bigger gains in representation of women, recognizing and rewarding women's contributions as people-focused leaders and champions of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and doing the deep cultural work necessary to create a workplace where all employees, feel like they belong. Implementing the tools to assist those with diverse backgrounds to gain entry to the workforce, retain employment and succeed will help reduce the need for social services and unemployment benefits from the state and federal governments, provide housing and food security for families, and provide the diversity needed to rebuild a stronger economy (Fuller et al., 2020).

The Fiscal Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Subnational Governments: The Case of Russia

This paper examines the fiscal consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for subnational governments. In particular, we study how the pandemic affected the Russian regions in terms of budget revenues, expenditures, and federal transfers. We use a novel dataset and compare various monthly fiscal measures in 2020 prior to and during the pandemic to the corresponding measures in 2019, conditioning on regional actions in response to the pandemic, the health impact of the pandemic, and the potentially relevant regional characteristics. We document that small business tax collections declined the most in response to the pandemic-related restrictions, while unconditional discretionary transfers and health care expenditures rose the most. Also, we find that tax collections are positively associated with population mobility, controlling for the restrictions, suggesting that tax revenues were inversely affected by the degree of compliance with the restrictions. Finally, we outline some policy implications for the design of fiscal federalism and directions for future research.

Is the Inheritance and Gift Tax a Reasonable Alternative for the Net Wealth Tax?: A Legal and Economic Analysis Across OECD Countries

Net wealth taxes are one of the most controversial topics in taxation. Strained government finances due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the increasing inequality in the distribution of wealth are fuelling this debate. While some countries (especially France: The net wealth tax – referred to as the ISF (impôt sur la fortune) – was abolished in 2017) have abolished net wealth taxes, their (re)introduction is being considered in others (for example, Austria, Germany, and the United States). Unfortunately, legal and economic arguments are rarely brought together in the public discussion, and the academic tax community has remained relatively quiet. Given the politically delicate nature of net wealth taxes, an interdisciplinary discussion seems necessary. This policy note focuses on the policy discussion on net wealth taxes from both economic and legal perspectives. It begins by identifying the characteristics of a net wealth tax compared to related taxes, such as property taxes and inheritance and gift taxes (Chapter I.). This is followed by an overview of the status quo of net wealth taxes and wealth-related taxes in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries (Chapter II.). Building on this, the article deals with the main arguments proposed in the literature in favour of and against the (re)introduction of net wealth taxes (Chapter III.). Since a net wealth tax has far-reaching effects on economic decision-making and on taxpayer compliance, a purely legal analysis is necessarily incomplete and requires an economic counterpart. Likewise, economically motivated tax reform proposals require an analysis of their legitimacy. A comprehensive discussion therefore requires a simultaneous legal and economic analysis. Since net wealth taxes are predominantly justified with distributional reasons, this note also discusses whether an inheritance and gift tax represents a reasonable alternative to a net wealth tax (Chapter IV.). After all, an inheritance and gift tax could also counteract the inequality of wealth. The objective of this article is to provide an interdisciplinary basis for the tax policy debate on wealth-related taxes.

Were Federal COVID Relief Funds for Schools Enough?

Executive SummaryCongress responded to the COVID pandemic’s disruptions to instruction with unprecedented federal aid for school districts. Although this relief has been widely characterized as a major windfall for K–12 education, per-pupil amounts vary considerably across districts, as will the costs districts face for COVID mitigation and recovery. In this paper, we conduct simulations to understand the potential distribution of net effects of the pandemic and federal aid on the finances of local school districts in the next several years. In our baseline scenario, we assume one-time adjustment costs of $500 per pupil plus additional costs of $1,000 per student in poverty and $500 per student not in poverty per year for 4 years. Federal aid was distributed proportional to the long-standing Title I program, which sends more money per pupil to higher-poverty districts. Low-poverty districts are therefore projected to face some budgetary shortfalls, whereas many higher-poverty districts are projected to have excess funds, which they could direct toward long-standing challenges. Although our findings depend on key assumptions about the COVID-related costs, we find significant district-level variation in simulated net fiscal impacts, in part, but not completely, due to poverty rates across all the scenarios we consider.

Unilateral Digital Services Tax In Africa;Legislative Challenges And Opportunities

As the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project attains a significant milestone with 130 Members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/G20 Inclusive Framework agreeing on international tax rules that address digitalization of the economy (Pillar 2), and the UN globally approving its tax treaty on Article 12(B) on automated digital services, a handful of African countries have joined their international counterparts in deviating from the global approach by developing and imposing unilateral digital services tax (DST) policy and legislation. This article examines the rationale of short-term measures of a unilateral DST, particularly in the African context post the COVID-19 pandemic and critically examines legislative measures imposed by a number of African countries. The article then contrasts general and specific challenges (applicable to African countries) in imposing a unilateral DST with opportunities that digital taxation presents for the continent, particularly in developing policy and legislation, and in implementation by tax administrations.

Frans Vanistendael † (1942: 2021)

An obituary for Frans Vanistendael who died in 2021 is presented.

Policy Forum: Editors' Introduction—Cross-Border Issues in Carbon Pricing

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, Canada is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 to 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.1 As of 2019, a full 4 years after the agreement was signed, Canada had achieved emission reductions of only 1 percent. [...]meeting our Paris commitments will require a 39 to 44 percent reduction in GHG emissions in just 11 years.2 To put into perspective the structural economic change required by a 39 to 44 percent cut in emissions, the changes that took place in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic-working from home, eliminating most business and personal air travel, and so on-reduced Canada's carbon (CO2) emissions by 8 percent from 2019 levels.3 Meeting the Paris commitments would require Canadians to not only preserve 2020-level emissions, but also achieve three or four times that level of reductions by the end of the following decade. [...]the need for equalization is also reduced. Yet, because of the equalization program's "fixed-growth rule," the size of the program would not decline, even with a diminished need for equalization. [...]Snoddon concludes, "Overequalization often results, with Quebec and sometimes Ontario as the main beneficiaries. Christians suggests that to the extent that economists can estimate the amount of externalized environmental costs with increasing detail and precision, the income tax base could be legislatively reformed to deem such externalized costs to constitute additional taxable income to all of the relevant parties throughout the fossil fuel production and consumption cycle.16 Christians acknowledges that there are practical difficulties in estimating the environmental costs created by individual firms, especially given Canada's selfassessment-based income tax system.

FINANCES OF THE NATION

For almost 60 years, the Canadian Tax Foundation published an annual monograph, Finances of the Nation, and its predecessor, The National Finances. In a change of format, the 2014 Canadian Tax Journal introduced a new "Finances of the Nation" feature, which presents annual surveys of provincial and territorial budgets and topical articles on taxation and public expenditures in Canada. This article surveys the 2021-22 provincial and territorial budgets. The underlying data for the Finances of the Nation monographs and for the articles in this journal will be published online in the near future.

Assessing the Corporate Use of Tax Relief Measures in Portugal in the Wake of the Pandemic: A Survey

The covid 19 pandemic has been affecting the social and economic system of every country. In the economic domain, policymakers have used an array of measures to alleviate the financial stress of individuals and firms. A broad strand of literature has discussed the wide range of tax relief measures and their possible effectiveness. In the corporate sector, one year after the outbreak of the pandemic, it is time to assess how firms took advantage of tax relief measures enacted by governments and to analyse which of those are more appropriate. The purpose of this article is therefore to connect the literature about fiscal policymaking with the effective use of covid 19 relief measures in the corporate sector. Based on a survey of 200 chartered accountants with comprehensive knowledge of Portuguese firms´ utilization of fiscal measures, the authors present an analysis related to the utilization of tax relief measures in three important areas: the VAT, corporate income tax, and individual income tax. The VAT payment deferral emerges as the most important area for tax relief considering its more immediate impact on cash flows and liquidity. Additionally, respondents were requested to offer their opinions about the economic sectors in which relief measures had a more intensive use.

Structural reform of the Reserve Bank of Australia

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) recently placed higher priority on stabilising household debt than on its conventional goals of unemployment and inflation. This was bad economics, bad process and resulted in substantial unnecessary hardship. However, it was not unusual. The RBA has a record of poor decisions. That partly reflects poor process and a lack of expertise. More fundamentally, the RBA has a culture that places a low priority on getting the answers right. To address these problems, more monetary policy experts should be appointed to the RBA Board, and board members should be individually accountable for their votes. The RBA should be required to be more transparent-in particular, it needs to provide detailed explanations for its decisions and it needs to show alternative projections for interest rates. Decisions should be explained and defended at regular press conferences.

Which public debt should be paid off?

This paper argues that the best reason for discouraging public debt is that such discouragement acts as a constraint on government spending.

The costs and consequences of 'small business fetishism'

It is widely asserted-and believed-across the Australian political spectrum that small business is the 'engine room' or 'backbone' of the economy. This belief is, however, without any evidentiary foundation whatsoever. In aggregate, Australian small businesses have not created a single job since before the Global Financial Crisis. Small businesses have, on average, been consistently less innovative than medium-sized and large businesses. Small businesses pay lower wages, on average, than medium-sized and large businesses, and they have significantly lower labour productivity. It would be a mistake to perpetuate the preferential treatment of small businesses simply because they are small, and for no other reason, once the pandemic is over. If preferential tax treatment and other forms of assistance are to be afforded to any businesses, it should be to new businesses, rather than small ones.

From debt to eternity

This paper documents the increase in Australian public debt since 2007-In that year, gross public debt had a face value of $55 billion, while net debt was negative- It is not surprising that governments have since resorted to public debt to respond to a series of shocks to the Australian economy. What is surprising is that Australian policymakers have abandoned the 'old-time fiscal religion'.