This article is a summary of the findings of the book "Proportionality and Fair Taxation" published in 2014, in which the author investigated the role of the proportionality principle coupled with the standard of reasonableness in assessing specific tax issues and the overall fairness of particular taxes and tax systems. Among those issues, the author points out equality and non-discrimination, retrospective taxation, tax penalties and sanctions, specific and general anti-avoidance rules, as well as the application of proportionality in tandem with reasonableness in double taxation conventions, human rights and tax related rules of international trade.
This in-depth coverage recognizes that tax law does not exist in isolation and reveals how tax law frequently overlaps with competition law, administrative law, environmental law, and constitutional law, and how principles from these areas of practice can affect the adjudication of tax cases. Proportionality and Fair Taxation is an important guide for all involved in tax law. Tax lawyers will find valuable insights that will help with both litigation and counselling whilst practitioners, academics, and policymakers will appreciate how the book reveals the extent to which an informed awareness of proportionality coupled with reasonableness is essential for the fair, consistent, and effective application of tax rules or measures. Order Proportionality and Fair Taxation by Joao Dacio Rolim for an in-depth discussion and practical guidance on the fundamental role of proportionality in tax matters
Resumen del editor: "The increasing globalization and the restructuring of the European legal framework by the Treaty of Lisbon are important factors to suggest that the traditional separation of spheres between taxation and human rights should be revisited. This book examines the issues surrounding the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the guarantee and enforcement of human rights in the area of EU (tax) law and explores the possible development and potential impact of human rights in the field of taxation in this age of global law."
The land value tax is the focus of this Policy Focus Report, Assessing the Theory and Practice of Land Value Taxation. A concept dating back to Henry George, the land value tax is a variant of the property tax that imposes a higher tax rate on land than on improvements, or taxes only the land value. Many other types of changes in property tax policy, such as assessment freezes or limitations, have undesirable side effects, including unequal treatment of similarly situated taxpayers and distortion of economic incentives. The land value tax can enhance both the fairness and the efficiency of property tax collection, with few undesirable effects; land is effectively in fixed supply, so an increase in the tax rate on land value will raise revenue without distorting the incentives for owners to invest in and use their land. A land value tax has also been seen as a way to combat urban sprawl by encouraging density and infill development. Authors Richard F. Dye and Richard W. England examine the experience of those who have implemented the land value tax -- more than 30 countries around the world, and in the United States, several municipalities dating back to 1913, when the Pennsylvania legislature permitted Pittsburgh and Scranton to tax land values at a higher rate than building values. A 1951 statute gave smaller Pennsylvania cities the same option to enact a two-rate property tax, a variation of the land value tax. About 15 communities currently use this type of tax program, while others tried and rescinded it. Hawaii also has experience with two-rate taxation, and Virginia and Connecticut have authorized municipalities to choose a two-rate property tax. The land value tax has been subjected to studies comparing jurisdictions with and without it, and to legal challenges. A land value tax also raises administrative issues, particularly in the area of property tax assessments. Land value taxation is an attractive alternative to the traditional property tax, especially to much more problematic types of property tax measures such as assessment limitations, the authors conclude. A land value tax is best implemented if local officials use best assessing practices to keep land and improvement values up to date; phase in dual tax rates over several years; and include a tax credit feature in those communities where land-rich but income-poor citizens might suffer from land value taxation.
Examining the structure, politics and historic development of taxation in several countries, this book compares three quite different political democracies. It provides an account of the ways these democracies have financed their welfare programs despite w
Proportional Optimization and Fairness is a long-needed attempt to reconcile optimization with apportionment in just-in-time (JIT) sequences and find the common ground in solving problems ranging from sequencing mixed-model just-in-time assembly lines through just-in-time batch production, balancing workloads in event graphs to bandwidth allocation internet gateways and resource allocation in computer operating systems. The book argues that apportionment theory and optimization based on deviation functions provide natural benchmarks for a process, and then looks at the recent research and developments in the field. Individual chapters look at the theory of apportionment and just-in-time sequences; minimization of just-in-time sequence deviation; optimality of cyclic sequences and the oneness; bottleneck minimization; competition-free instances, Fraenkel’s Conjecture, and optimal admission sequences; response time variability; applications to the Liu-Layland Problem and pinwheel scheduling; temporal capacity constraints and supply chain balancing; fair queuing and stride scheduling; and smoothing and batching.
