title: Tom Benson

text: In January 2015, after Tom Benson announced that he had cut his estranged adopted daughter Renee Benson and her adult children out of his will, he was sued by Renee and Renee's two children, Rita LeBlanc (also known as Rita Benson LeBlanc) and Ryan LeBlanc of Texas. One of Renee, Rita and Ryan's complaints in the lawsuit is ""Upon information and belief, under the apparent supervision of Gayle, the diet of Tom Benson has drastically deteriorated, with him rarely consuming full, nutritious meals, but instead, for some reason, subsisting on candy, ice cream, sodas, and red wine."" Renee Benson, Rita LeBlanc and Ryan LeBlanc are suing for control of Tom Benson's companies including the NFL's New Orleans Saints and the NBA's Pelicans, claiming he was "incompetent".


title: Tom Benson

text: Benson released a statement saying that the lawsuit and claims against him by his adoptive daughter and her children were false and meritless. In February 2015, Probate Court Judge Tom Rickhoff named former San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger and attorney Art Bayern as co-executors of the testamentary trust of Shirley L. Benson, replacing Benson as trustees of the estate. On June 18, 2015, a judge found him competent.


title: Tom Benson

text: On February 19, 2016, Judge Rickhoff approved the appointment of Renee Benson, Benson's estranged adopted daughter, as administrator of the $1 billion Shirley Benson Testamentary Trust, which includes the Lone Star Capital Bank in San Antonio, half of five automobile dealerships, part of a large ranch near Johnson City, Texas, a home at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, an airplane, and cash and other real estate holdings.


title: Tom Benson

text: Benson's attorney said his client, after much wrangling and two weeks of mediation, chose to settle the dispute so as to live his remaining time at peace and to relieve himself of a hefty tax burden required on those assets.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Taxation in Ireland in 2017 came from Personal Income taxes (40% of Exchequer Tax Revenues, or ETR), and Consumption taxes, being VAT (27% of ETR) and Excise and Customs duties (12% of ETR). Corporation taxes (16% of ETR) represents most of the balance (to 95% of ETR), but Ireland's Corporate Tax System (CT) is a central part of Ireland's economic model. Ireland summarises its taxation policy using the OECD's "Hierarchy of Taxes" pyramid (see graphic), which emphasises high corporate tax rates as the most harmful types of taxes where economic growth is the objective. The balance of Ireland's taxes are Property taxes (<3% of ETR, being Stamp duty and LPT) and Capital taxes (<3% of ETR, being CGT and CAT).


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: An issue in comparing the Irish tax system to other economies is adjusting for the artificial inflation of Irish GDP by the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) tools of U.S. multinationals in Ireland. In 2017, the Central Bank of Ireland replaced Irish GDP with Irish GNI* to remove the distortion; 2017 GDP was 162% of 2017 GNI* (EU–28 2017 GDP was 100% of GNI). Properly adjusted, Ireland's Total "Gross Tax-to-GNI*" ratio of 36% is in-line with the EU–28 average (36%), and above the OECD average (33%); Ireland's "Exchequer Tax-to-GNI*" ratio of 28%, is in line with the EU–28 average (28%), and the OECD average (27%). Within these aggregate taxation metrics, the most distinctive differences between Ireland's taxation system and those of the average EU–28 and OECD taxation systems, are lower net Irish "Social Security Contributions" (i.e. PRSI less child benefits), offset by higher Irish Corporation tax receipts.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Within Ireland's taxation system, the most distinctive element is the ratio of net Personal Income taxes on higher earners versus lower earners, which is called "progressivity". In 2016, the OECD ranked Irish personal taxation as the 2nd most "progressive tax" system in the OECD, with the top 10% of earners paying 60% of taxes. The 2018 OCED "Taxing Wages" study showed Irish average single and average married wage-earners paid some of the lowest "effective" employment tax rates in the OECD, with Irish average married wage-earners paying an employee tax rate of 1.2%.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: In 2018, the Irish Revenue Commissioners disclosed that 80% of 2017 Irish corporate tax was paid by foreign multinationals, and the top 10 multinationals paid 40% of Irish Corporation tax in 2017. Ireland's Corporate tax system is controversial and has drawn labels of "Ireland as a tax haven". In June 2017, Ireland's CT system was ranked as one of the world's largest Conduit OFCs (i.e. places that act as links to tax havens), in March 2018 the Financial Stability Forum ranked Ireland as the 3rd largest Shadow Banking OFC, and in June 2018 tax academics calculated that Ireland was the world's largest corporate tax haven.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Ireland's Property taxes (Stamp duty and LPT) are in line with the EU and OECD averages, but unlike Irish Income taxes, are not overtly progressive.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Each year, the Department of Finance is required to produce a report on "Estimates for Receipts and Expenditure" for the coming year. The table below, is extracted from the "Tax Revenues" section of the report for the prior-year (e.g. the 2017 column is from the 2018 report), by which time the "Tax Revenues" for that year are largely known (although still subject to further revision in later years).


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The "Tax Revenues" quoted are "Exchequer Tax Revenues", and do not include "Appropriations-in-Aid" ("A–in–A") items, the largest being Social Security (or PRSI) which for 2015 was €10.2 billion, and other smaller items. Irish Personal Income tax, and the two main Irish consumption taxes of VAT and Excise, have consistently been circa 80% of the total Irish Exchequer Tax Revenue, with the balance being Corporate tax.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Key sources for comparison are the OECD "Tax Database" and the OECD "Ireland Tax Bulletins". The Department of Finance has a "Tax Policy Group" which up until 2014, published documents that compared Ireland's taxation system internationally, including the main tax policy differences with other OECD countries.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: From 2000 to 2014, Ireland's Total "Gross Tax-to-GDP" ratio was 27–30%, versus the OECD average of 33%, and EU–27 average of 36%. In October 2013, the Department of Finance "Tax Policy Group", highlighted the distortion of Irish GDP impacted this metric, and Ireland's "Tax-to-GNP" ratio at 36% was above the OECD average, and in line with the EU–27 average.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: However, since Apple's 2015 restructuring, Ireland's headline "Tax-to-GDP" ratio had fallen to the bottom of the OECD range at under 23%. Using 2017 GNI* (Irish 2017 GDP is 162% of Irish 2017 GNI*), Ireland "Tax-to-GNI*" ratio is back to 33%, in line with the OECD average. In 2017, Eurostat noted that Irish GNI* still contained BEPS tool distortions, and thus the Irish "Tax-to-GNI*" ratio is "understated".


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The OECD's 2018 "Taxing Wages" shows Ireland's tax wedge for labour income, which is the total tax (PAYE and EE and ER–PRSI less SS Benefits) paid on Irish wages by both the employee and employer, as a % of the total cost of labour to the employer (PAYE and ER–PRSI), is one of the lowest in the OECD. Of the 35 OECD members in 2017, the average Irish single-worker cost 27.2% in taxes versus the OECD average of 35.9% (ranked 29th–lowest), and the average Irish married worker cost 10.8% in taxes versus the OECD average of 26.1% (ranked 31st–lowest).


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The OECD's 2018 "Taxing Wages" shows Ireland's employee tax on wages, which is the total tax (PAYE and EE–PRSI less SS Benefits) paid by Irish employees, as a % of their gross wages, is also one of the lowest in the OECD. Of the 35 OECD members in 2017, the average Irish single-worker paid 19.4% versus the OECD average of 25.5% (ranked 28th–lowest), and the average Irish married worker paid 1.2% versus the OECD average of 14.0% (ranked 33rd–lowest).


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: In relation to the single-worker, the OECD noted that a driver of the lower Irish rate is that EE–PRSI (or employee social security contributions) are lower in Ireland versus the OECD average. PAYE and ER–PRSI accounted for 87% of the Irish tax wedge for labour income, whereas for the OECD average it was 77%. In relation to the married-worker, the OECD noted the additional effect of Irish child benefit and provisions which reduced the married-worker employee tax by 16.4%, whereas for the OECD average it was 9.8%. Ireland's lower EE–PRSI, and higher child benefits, have been noted in other studies.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Aside from lower employee social security levies (e.g. EE–PRSI), the most distinctive aspect of Ireland's personal tax system is the level of "Progressivity", as defined by the ratio of the employee tax (or tax wedge for income) at 167% of the average wage, to employee tax at 67% of the average wage. In October 2013, the Department of Finance "Tax Policy Group", highlighted that Ireland has the most progressive personal tax system in the OECD. By September 2016, the "Irish Tax Institute" showed that Ireland was the 2nd most progressive personal tax system in the OECD.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The progressive nature of Ireland's personal tax system is also apparent in the distribution of Irish personal tax. In October 2013, the Department of Finance "Tax Policy Group", highlighted the following personal tax (PAYE and EE–PRSI), statistics from the Irish Revenue Commissioners for the 2012 tax year:


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The above format of the "Tax Policy Group" has never been reproduced, in April 2018, the OECD and the Irish Revenue Commissioners disclosed that in 2015:


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Irish "headline" VAT is in line with EU VAT rates (see graphic). The OCED "Revenue Statistics 2017 – Ireland", ranks Ireland as being below the OECD average for "effective" VAT (22nd–lowest out of 35 OECD countries), but in line with the OECD average for overall Consumption taxes (e.g. VAT and Excise combined), ranking 16th of out 35 OECD countries. In October 2013, the Department of Finance "Tax Policy Group", highlighted that the distortion of Irish GDP impacted this metric and that Ireland's "Consumption Tax as % of GNP" ratio at 12%, and "VAT as % of GNP" ration at 8%, was at the EU–27 average for both metrics.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Ireland's taxation system is distinctive for its low "headline" rate of corporation tax at 12.5% (for trading income), which is half the OECD average of 24.9%. While Ireland's corporate tax is only 16% of Total Net Revenues (see above), Ireland's corporate tax system is a central part of Ireland's economic model. Not only do foreign multinationals pay 80% of Ireland's corporation tax, but they also directly employ 10% of the Irish labour force, rising to 23% when Public Sector, agri and finance jobs are excluded and pay 50% of all Irish salary taxes using the same metric; in 2016, they were 57% of all Irish non-farm OECD value-add (see "multinational economy"). A source of controversy is the "effective" tax rate of Ireland corporation tax system, of which the independent evidence is that it is less than 4%, and as low as 0.005% for major U.S. multinationals (see "Irish effective corporate tax rate").


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Ireland's Corporate Tax System has seen Ireland "labelled a tax haven", and in June 2018, academics estimated that Ireland was the largest "global tax haven". Ireland's reputation as a tax haven for foreign multinationals to avoid global taxes contrasts with that fact that Ireland's overall tax receipts are in line with the EU and OECD averages (when properly adjusted using Irish GNI*, and not the distorted Irish GDP).


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Income tax is charged in respect of all property, profits, or gains. Since 2002, Ireland has operated a tax year coinciding with the calendar year (1 January to 31 December). The change coincided with the introduction of the euro in Ireland. For administrative purposes, taxable income is expressed under four schedules:


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: There are 2 tax brackets, 20% (the "standard rate") and the balance of income at 40% (the "higher rate"). The brackets depend upon the individual's category.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The €43,550 amount may, for married couples, be increased by the lesser of: €25,550 or the income of the second spouse. This brings the total maximum standard rate band for a married couple to €69,100, twice the single person's band. The increase is not transferable between spouses.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The €44,300 amount may, for married couples, be increased by the lesser of: €26,300 or the income of the second spouse. This brings the total maximum standard rate band for a married couple to €70,600, little less than twice the single person's band. The increase is not transferable between spouses.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A taxpayer's tax liability is reduced by the amount of their tax credits, which replaced tax-free allowances in 2001. Tax credits are not refundable in the event that they exceed the amount of tax due, but may be carried forward within a year.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A wide range of tax credits are available. A few are awarded automatically, while others must be claimed by taxpayers.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The principal tax credit is the personal tax credit, which is currently €1,650 per year for a single person and €3,300 per year for a married couple. A widowed person in the year of bereavement, or for as long as they have dependent children, may claim the €3,300 credit as well; a higher credit is available to widowed parents during the five tax years following the bereavement.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The PAYE tax credit, which is also €1,650, is awarded to employees and others who pay tax under the Pay as you earn system (further details below), to compensate them for the time value of money effect; their tax is deducted from their incomes during the year, whereas the self-employed pay near the end of the year. The credit may not exceed 20% of the recipient's income during the year and it is not transferable between spouses.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A person resident and domiciled in Ireland is liable to Irish income tax on their total income from all sources worldwide. In this sense, a person who spends:


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: is considered to be resident. Presence in Ireland of not more than 30 days in a tax year is ignored for the purposes of the two year test. Since 1 January 2009, a person is treated as present in Ireland for a day if present at any time during the day; before this, a person was only treated as present if he or she was present at midnight, a rule which was nicknamed the "Cinderella clause". A person may also elect to be resident in Ireland in a year in which he arrives in Ireland, once he can satisfy Revenue that he intends to remain there for the next tax year.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A person who is resident in Ireland for three consecutive years becomes ordinarily resident, and ceases to be ordinarily resident after he has been non-resident in Ireland for three consecutive years.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A person is domiciled in Ireland if born in Ireland; a person who has "demonstrated a positive intention of permanent residence in [a] new country" ceases to be domiciled in Ireland.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A person who is not an Irish resident but is ordinarily resident in Ireland is liable to tax on all Irish and foreign-sourced income in full, except for income from a trade, profession, office, or employment, the duties of which are entirely exercised outside Ireland, and on foreign income under €3,810 per year.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A person who is resident in Ireland, and is either ordinarily resident or domiciled in Ireland, but not both, is liable to tax on all Irish income in full, and on such foreign income as is remitted to Ireland.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A person who is neither resident, ordinarily resident, nor domiciled in Ireland is taxable on all Irish sourced income in full, and on foreign sourced income in respect of a trade, profession, or employment exercised in Ireland.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A person aged 65 or over during the tax year is exempt from income tax if his or her income is under €18,000 per year. A married couple with income under €36,000 per year is also exempt if either spouse is aged 65 or over or reaches 65 during the year; the exemption amount is increased by €575 for each of the couple's first two dependent children and by €830 for each subsequent child.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A person or couple earning slightly over the limit may claim what is known as marginal relief. In this case, income over the exemption limit is charged to tax at a flat rate of 40%. A person or couple may choose to be taxed under marginal relief or the regular tax system, and will be granted whichever system is more beneficial, including retroactively.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Some items of expenditure can be deducted from a person's income for tax purposes, generally referred to as getting tax relief. In some cases the tax must be claimed retrospectively; in others it is processed as an increase to tax credits. The vast majority are only allowed at the standard tax rate of 20%.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A person purchasing private medical insurance is entitled to tax relief at 20%, which is usually given at source – the person pays 80% of the cost, and the government pays the rest directly to the insurance company. Persons aged over 50 are entitled to a further tax credit, which is normally paid in full to the insurance company to offset the considerably higher cost incurred by insurers in respect of members over 50.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Tax relief is available on medical expenses. With the exception of fees paid to approved nursing homes, the relief is only available retrospectively (i.e. by completing a tax return at the end of the year), and the relief is awarded at 20% since 2009. It can be claimed for a person's own expenses, or expenses which they pay on behalf of a relative, dependant, or, since 2007, anyone at all.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The relief can be claimed in the year when the cost was incurred or in the year when the payment was made.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A person may deduct from his income for the purposes of tax calculation up to 10% of that income which is spent on permanent health insurance. Relief is therefore given at 40% if the person is paying the higher rate of tax. If the


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: payment is made by salary deduction the payment is treated as a benefit in kind (BIK) and as such is subject to the Universal Social Charge (USC) and PRSI.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Tax relief is allowed on service charges paid to a local council for domestic sewage disposal, as well as all payments for domestic water supply or domestic refuse collection or disposal. The relief is allowed in arrears – credit for payments made in 2007 is given in 2008 – and is given at 20%, to a maximum of €80 (where €400 or more was paid for service charges). It will cease from 2011.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Tax relief at 20% is allowed in respect of tuition fees paid for third-level courses, excluding the first €2,500 for a full-time course and €1,250 for a part-time course, of the course fees). The maximum relief available is €1,400 per year (20% of €7,000). Courses must be of at least two years duration, except for postgraduate courses which must be of at least one-year duration. The course must also be approved by Revenue and delivered in a college approved by Revenue.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: As with medical expenses, since 2007 the relief could be claimed in respect of payments made by any person, irrespective of the relationship between payer and payee. It cannot be claimed in respect of administration, registration, or examination fees.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Relief is also allowed in respect of fees of over €315 for foreign-language or information technology courses approved by FÁS, of less than two years duration, which results in the award of a certificate of competence. The relief is for 20% of the amount paid, to a maximum of €254 (20% of €1,270) per course. It is not available for courses in the Irish or English languages.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Contributions to a pension scheme can be deducted from gross income before calculation of tax; tax relief is therefore allowed on them at 40% if the contributor is paying tax at that rate. Contributions (including AVCs) are subject to the Universal Service Charge currently at 7%.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Employees, pensioners, and directors generally have tax deducted from their income by their employers as it is paid. Under this system, tax is calculated by the employer on each pay day, withheld, and paid over to Revenue. Employers receive notification of the tax credit and standard rate band applicable to the employee from Revenue. A PAYE employee need only file a tax return on form 12 if requested to do so by an inspector of taxes, if she has other undeclared income, or if she wishes to claim reliefs which are not available on another form.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The self-assessment system applies to persons who are self-employed or who receive non-PAYE income. Under the self-assessment system, a taxpayer must:


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: by the deadline each year. The deadline is 31 October for paper filings. It has historically been extended to mid-November for returns filed online, but it is not clear whether this will continue.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Revenue will calculate the tax payable for a person who files a return of income more than two months prior to the filing deadline.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Underpaid tax attracts an interest penalty charge of 0.0219% per day, and underpayments may result in a surcharge, prosecution, or publication of their name in a defaulters' list.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The Universal Social Charge (USC) is a tax on income that replaced both the income levy and the health levy (also known as the health contribution) since 1 January 2011. It is charged on a person's "gross income" before any pension contributions or PRSI.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: If a person's income is less than €13,000 they pay no Universal Social Charge (USC). (This limit was €4,004 in 2011, €10,036 from 2012 to 2014 and €12,012 in 2015.) Once income is over this limit, a person pays the relevant rate of USC on all income. For example, a person with income of €13,000 will pay no USC. A person with income of €13,001 will pay 0.5% on income up to €12,012 and 2.5% on income between €12,012 and €13,001.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Aggregate income for USC purposes does not include payments from the Department of Social Protection.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: PRSI is paid by employees, employers, and the self-employed as a percentage of wages after pension contributions. It includes social insurance and a health contribution. Social insurance payments are used to help pay for social welfare payments and pensions. Each week's payment earns the employee a "credit" or "contribution", which credits are used to establish entitlements to non-means-tested welfare payments such as Jobseeker's Benefit and the State Pension (contributory). The health contribution is used to help fund the health services, although paying it does not confer any entitlement to treatment or anything else. For the most part, the two amounts are combined and stated as one deduction on payslips. There was a ceiling of €75,036 per year on the employee social insurance element of the payment but this ceiling was abolished from 2011 onwards.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Class A workers are employees aged under 66 in industrial, commercial, and service-type employment who are paid more than €38 a week from all employments, as well as to public servants recruited from 6 April 1995. Class A employees earning under €352 per week are placed in subclass AO, and pay no PRSI/ Class A employees earning between €352 and €356 are in subclass AX; those earning over €356 but less than or equal to €500 are in subclass AL. Both subclasses pay 4% PRSI, and the first €127 of earnings are no longer disregarded for this calculation, so therefore PRSI is 4% on all earnings/ Class A employees earning over €500 per week are in subclass A1 and pay 4% on all their weekly earnings.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Employers of employees in the above classes pay 8.5% PRSI for employees earning under €356 per week and 10.75% PRSI for employees earning over that amount. The applicable rate applies on the entire wage, with no ceiling. Classes A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, and A9 relate to community employment schemes and employer's PRSI exemption schemes. Class A8 is for income under €352 per week and has no employee PRSI liability; class A9 is for income over that amount and is liable at a flat rate of 4%. Both classes have an employer's PRSI rate of 0.5%.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Class B workers are permanent and pensionable civil servants recruited before 6 April 1995, doctors and dentists employed in the civil service, and gardaí recruited before 6 April 1995. Class B workers earning under €352 per week are placed in subclass BO, and pay no PRSI. Class B workers earning between €352 and €500 per week are placed in subclass BX, and class B workers earning over €500 per week but exempt from the health contribution are placed in subclass B2. Both these subclasses pay 0.9% PRSI on all earnings except the first €26 per week. Class B workers earning over €500 per week and not exempt from the health contribution are placed in subclass B1. They pay 4% PRSI on the first €26 of their weekly earnings, 4.9% on the next €1,417, and 5.9% on the balance.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Class C workers are commissioned officers of the defence forces, and members of the army nursing service, recruited before 6 April 1995. Class D workers are all permanent and pensionable employees in the public service not caught in classes B or C, recruited before 6 April 1995. Workers in classes C and D pay PRSI at the same rates as class B.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Employers of class B employees pay a flat rate of 2.01% PRSI on all their employees' earnings; for class C, the rate is 1.85%, and for class D it is 2.35%, although this is effectively a transfer of money from one government account to another.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Class H workers are non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel of the Defence Forces. Class H workers earning under €352 per week are placed in subclass HO, and pay no PRSI. Class H workers earning from €352 to €500 per week are placed in subclass HX. Class H workers earning over €500 and exempt from the health contribution are placed in subclass H2. Workers in each of these classes pay 3.9% PRSI on their earnings except for the first €127 per week. Other class H workers are placed in subclass H1. They pay 4% PRSI on the first €127 of their weekly earnings, 7.9% on the next €1,316, and 8.9% on the balance. Employers of class H workers pay 10.05% PRSI on all their employees' earnings.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Class J workers are employees aged 66 or over, those earning under €38 per week, or those in subsidiary employment. They pay only the health contribution of 4% if their earnings exceed €500 per week, or 5% on the amount that exceeds €1,443 per week. The employer's contribution is 0.5%. Subsidiary employment includes the employment of a person subject to class B, C, D, or H in his main employment.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Classes K and M apply to income which is subject to the health contribution but not to social insurance, including occupational pensions. It also applies to judges, state solicitors, and income of self-employed persons aged 66 or over.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Class K income is subject to the health contribution of 4% if earnings exceed €500 per week, or 5% on the amount that exceeds €1,443 per week. There is no employer contribution.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Class M relates to persons under 16, who are exempt from PRSI entirely, and to income which would fall under class K paid to persons exempt from the health contribution. It has a zero rate.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Self-employed people, including certain company directors, pay class S PRSI; the class also applies to certain investment and rental income.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Where income is less than €500 per week, subclass S0 applies. Where income is above €500 per week, subclass S1 applies, except to persons exempt from the health contribution, to whom subclass S2 applies. The rate for subclasses S0 and S2 is 3%, and the rate for subclass S1 is 7% up to €1,443 per week and 8% on that portion of income above that amount.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Taxpayers paying class S PRSI pay it, and the health contribution, along with their tax. For other taxpayers, it is withheld from their net income.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Value-Added Tax (VAT) is a transaction tax on Irish consumer spending, and almost all goods and services supplied in Ireland are subject to VAT. Goods imported into Ireland from outside the EU are also subject to VAT, which is charged by Customs at the border. Irish VAT is part of the European Union Value Added Tax system and each Member State is required to impose the EU VAT legislation by way of its own domestic legislation, however, there are key differences between the rules for each state. All non-exempt traders are required to register for VAT and collect VAT on the goods and services they supply. Each trader in the "chain of supply", from manufacturer to retailer, charges VAT on their sales and incurs VAT on their raw materials; they pay the Irish Revenue their net VAT.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A trader whose turnover exceeds the registration thresholds, or is likely to exceed them in the next 12 months, must register for VAT.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A person below these limits may register voluntarily. It is often beneficial for persons who mainly trade with other businesses to register for VAT even when their turnover is below the relevant limits.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: VAT rates range from 0% on books, children's clothing and educational services and items, to 23% on the majority of goods. The 13.5% rate applies to many labour-intensive services as well as to restaurant meals, hot takeaway food, and bakery products. A 4.8% rate applies to supply of livestock and greyhounds. A 5.4% "flat rate addition" applies to the agricultural sector, although this is not strictly VAT – it is charged by farmers not registered for VAT to compensate them for VAT which they must pay to their suppliers. The flat rate addition is not paid away to the Revenue.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Traders collecting VAT can deduct the VAT incurred on their purchases from their VAT liability, and where the VAT paid exceeds VAT received, can claim a refund. The VAT period is normally two calendar months (other filing periodicity, such as four-monthly, and semi-annual also apply in certain circumstances).


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A VAT return is made on the 19th day of the following the end of the period. However, if a persons submits the return on the website, i.e. ROS ("Revenue Online Service"), and also performs payment via ROS, then the due date is extended to the 23rd day following the end of the period.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Once a year a detailed breakdown of VAT returns must be prepared by traders and submitted to the government – traders may choose their own date for this. Traders with low VAT liabilities may opt for six-monthly or four-monthly payments instead of the standard bi-monthly one, and traders who are generally in the position of claiming repayments of VAT rather than making payments may make monthly returns.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Irish corporation tax returns have historically been between 10% to 16% of total Irish net Tax Revenues, however, since 2015, corporation tax has risen sharply, doubling in scale from 4.6 billion in 2014 to 8.2 billion in 2017; the Revenue Commissioners state that foreign multinationals pay circa 80% of Irish corporation tax.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The special 10% tax rate for manufacturing in Ireland (introduced from 1980/81), and for financial services in the special economic zone of the International Financial Services Centre in Dubin (introduced from 1987), have now been phased out since 2010 and 2003 respectively, and are no longer in operation.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: , Ireland's corporate tax system is a "worldwide tax" system, with no thin capitalisation rules, and a holding company regime for tax inversions to Ireland. Ireland has the most U.S. corporate tax inversions, and "Medtronic" (2015) was the largest U.S. tax inversion in history.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Ireland's corporate tax system has base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) tools, such as the "Double Irish" (used by Google and Facebook), the "Single Malt" (used by Microsoft and Allergan), and the "Capital Allowances for Intangible Assets" (CAIA) (used by Accenture, and by Apple post Q1 2015); in June 2018, academics showed they are the largest global BEPS tools. In a phenomenon sometimes referred to as "leprechaun economics", Apple's 2015 restructure of its BEPS tools inflated Irish GDP by 34.4%.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Ireland's tax system also offers SPVs that can be used by foreign investors to avoid the 25% corporate tax on passive income from Irish assets, which are covered in more detail in "Irish Section 110 Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)", and in "Qualifying investor alternative investment fund (QIAIF)". The Irish QIAIF is a Central Bank of Ireland regulatory classification that includes the "Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicle" or ICAV, and the "L-QIAIF".


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Capital gains tax is payable where a person makes a gain on the sale of assets, called "chargeable assets". The standard CGT rate is 33% in respect of disposals made from midnight on 7 December 2013. The rate of tax for disposals made in previous years is less: details can be obtained from the Revenue Commissioners.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Any person (including a company) resident or ordinarily resident in Ireland is liable to CGT on all chargeable gains accruing on all disposals of chargeable assets. A person resident or ordinarily resident, but not domiciled, in Ireland is only liable to CGT on disposals of assets outside of Ireland where the gains are remitted to Ireland.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The gain or loss is calculated as the sale price less the purchase price. From the sale price can be deducted the cost of acquisition of the asset, including incidental costs such as conveyancing costs, the cost of the disposal, and costs of improving the asset.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Where the asset was acquired prior to 6 April 1974, its value on that date is used instead of the purchase price.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The purchase price, cost of acquisition, and costs of improvement can be adjusted for inflation from 6 April 1974 up to 31 December 2002, and a table is published by Revenue for the purpose of calculating this adjustment. The inflation adjustment can only operate to reduce a gain; it cannot increase a loss or turn a gain into a loss.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Capital losses can be offset against capital gains arising in the same or later tax year. Non-chargeable losses (see below) cannot be offset against chargeable gains. In each tax year losses carried forward must be used before exemptions are applied.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Transfers between spouses do not give rise to a charge for capital gains tax; the acquiring spouse is considered to have acquired the property on the same date and at the same price as the disposing spouse.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: CGT is a self-assessment tax for all taxpayers. Tax on gains realised in the first eleven months of the year is payable by 15 December that year, and tax on gains realised in December payable by 31 January the next year. A return must be made by 31 October in the following year with full details of the gain.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A person purchasing a chargeable asset for over €500,000 must withhold 15% of the price and pay it to Revenue unless the Revenue has issued a CG50A certificate to the vendor prior to the purchase. The certificate CG50A is issued by the Revenue on application, provided that either the vendor is resident in Ireland, no CGT is payable on the disposal, or the CGT has already been paid.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Deposit Interest Retention Tax (abbreviated as DIRT), is a retention tax charged on interest earned on bank accounts, as well as some other investments. It was first introduced in Ireland in the 1980s to reduce tax evasion on unearned income.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: DIRT is deducted at source by financial institutions From 1 January 2014, DIRT is charged at 41% (was 33% in 2013) for payments made annually or more frequently. The tax is deducted by the bank or other deposit-taker before the interest is paid. DIRT will be charged at 36% (in 2013, lower rates in previous years) for payments made less frequently. This higher D.I.R.T. rate has been abolished, as and from the 1st January 2014, and the D.I.R.T. rate of 41% applies to any interest paid or credited on these deposits on or after the 1st January 2014.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Persons aged over 65 or incapacitated, whose income is less than the exemption limit (currently €20,000), may claim a refund of DIRT, or may submit an appropriate form to their banks or financial institutions to have interest paid free of DIRT.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Stamp duty is charged on the conveyance of residential property, non-residential property, and long leases, and also on company share transfers, bank cheques and cards (i.e. ATM cards and credit cards), and insurance policies.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Stamp duty is charged as a percentage of the consideration paid for immovable property, including goodwill attached to a business. A stamp duty return must be completed online for all such conveyances; physical stamps are no longer attached to documents.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: First time buyers (i.e. those who have not purchased a house before in Ireland or in any other jurisdiction) are exempt. One may also qualify as a first-time buyer if newly divorced or separated. New owner-occupied houses or apartments with a floor area of less than 125 m may also be exempt, and new owner-occupied houses with a floor area larger than this are assessed based on the greater of the cost of the site or quarter of the total cost of the house and site. In all cases, the rates exclude VAT.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Since 14 October 2008, conveyances of non-residential property are charged at an increasing rate starting at 0% for a property under the value of €10,000 rising to 6% for transactions over €80,000.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Transfers between spouses are exempt from stamp duty, as are property transfers as a result of a court order in relation to a divorce. The stamp duty rate is halved for transfers between other blood relatives. Intragroup transactions, company reconstructions and amalgamations, and demutualisations, as well as certain transactions involving charities, approved sports bodies, young farmers, woodlands, or intellectual property also attract relief.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: There is a 1% stamp duty on transfers of stock or marketable securities of any company incorporated in Ireland, except paper-based transfers where the consideration is €1,000 or less.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Credit card and charge card accounts are subject to a €30 annual duty. Automated teller machine and debit cards are subject to €2.50 each annually. Cards which perform both functions are subject to the tax twice, i.e. €5 total. Cards that are unused in the entire year are not chargeable. The credit card tax is applied per account, but the ATM and debit card charge is per card. In each case, where an account is closed during the year, there is an exemption from double taxation.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Cheques (technically, all bills of exchange) incur a €0.50 tax, generally collected by the bank on issue of each chequebook. Non-life Insurance policies are subject to a 3% levy and Life assurance policies are subject to a 1% levy on premiums from 1 June 2009.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Capital acquisitions tax is charged to the recipient of gifts or inheritances, at the rate of 33% above a tax-free threshold. Gifts and inheritances are gratuitous benefits; the difference is that an inheritance is taken on death and a gift is taken other than on death.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The person providing the property is called the "donor" or "disponer", or "testator" or "deceased" in the case of inheritance; the person receiving the property is called the "beneficiary", "donee" or "disponee", or the "successor" in the case of inheritance.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A gift is taken when a donee becomes beneficially entitled in possession to some property without paying full consideration for it. Tax is payable within four months of the date of the gift; an interest charge applies to late payments.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A disposition is taxable in Ireland if it is of property in Ireland, or if either the disponer or the beneficiary was resident or ordinarily resident in Ireland at the date of the disposition. Special rules apply for discretionary trusts.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Historically group thresholds were indexed by reference to the Consumer Price Index. The indexation of the tax-free group thresholds is abolished for gifts and inheritances taken on or after 7 December 2011. The thresholds on or after 14 October 2015 are:


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: For gifts and inheritances taken on or after 5 December 2001, only prior benefits received since 5 December 1991 from the same beneficiary within the same group threshold are aggregated with the current benefit in computing tax payable on the current benefit.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: An inheritance, but not a gift, taken by a parent from his or her child is treated as group A, where it is an immediate interest (but not a life interest) in property. In certain circumstances, the beneficiary may take the place of his/her deceased spouse for the purpose of determining the applicable group where that spouse died before the disponer and was a nearer relative to the disponer.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: When a person receives a gift or inheritance that, either by itself, or aggregated with prior benefits taken by the donee, would place him in a position of having used up more than 80% of any group threshold, he must complete form IT38 and return it to Revenue within four months, along with any tax due.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The charges must be paid within three months of the "valuation date", which may be the date the trust was set up, the date of death of the settlor, the earliest date on which the trustees could retain the trust property, the date on which the trustees retained the trust property, or the date of delivery of the trust property to the trustees.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Several charges described as taxes are not, in the literal sense, actual taxes, but withholdings from certain payments made. In each case, the payer withholds the relevant percentage and pays it to Revenue. The recipient is still liable for tax on the full amount, but can set the withholding against his overall tax liability. If the amount withheld is less than the tax payable, the recipient is still liable for the difference, and if the amount withheld exceeds the tax payable, the recipient can set it off against other tax due, or obtain a refund. This contrasts with DIRT, which, while a withholding tax, discharges the entire tax liability of the recipient.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Relevant Contracts Tax (RCT) is a withholding regime applied to contractors in the forestry, construction, and meat processing sectors where tax non-compliance levels have historically been high.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: On 13 December 2011, the Minister for Finance signed the Commencement Order for the new electronic RCT system which was introduced on 1 January 2012. All principal contractors in the construction, forestry and meat processing sectors are obliged to engage electronically with Revenue. Under the new RCT system, a principal contractor must provide Revenue with details of the contract and the subcontractor. It must also notify Revenue of all relevant payments online before payment is made. Revenue will respond to the payment notification with a deduction authorisation setting out how much tax, if any, must be withheld. The rates are currently set at 0%, 20% or 35%. This deduction authorisation is sent electronically to the principal contractor. The principal must provide a copy or details of the deduction authorisation to the subcontractor if tax has been deducted. The subcontractor can set off the amount deducted against any tax he is liable to pay, or reclaim the difference where the deduction exceeds the amount of tax.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Since September 2008, the subcontractor no longer charges or accounts for VAT on supplies of construction services to which RCT applies. Instead, the principal contractor must account for the VAT to Revenue (although he will generally be entitled to an input credit for the same amount). This system is referred to as the VAT reverse charge.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Dividend Withholding Tax is deducted at the rate of 20% from dividends paid by Irish companies. It can be set off against income tax due, or reclaimed where the recipient of the dividend is not liable to tax.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Professional Services Withholding Tax (PSWT) is deducted at the rate of 20% from payments made by government bodies, health boards, state bodies, local authorities, and the like, from payments made for professional services. Professional services include medical, dental, pharmaceutical, optical, aural, veterinary, architectural, engineering, quantity surveying, accounting, auditing, finance, marketing, advertising, legal, and geological services, as well as training services supplied to FÁS It can be deducted from the tax ultimately payable by the service provider, or where the provider is non-resident or exempt from tax, reclaimed.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: This was introduced in the Finance Act of 2013, this Tax is levied for most properties at 0.18% of the self-assessed market value. The value assessed is the value in May 2013 initially. This initial valuation will be used until the next assessment date in November 2016. A higher rate of 0.25% of market value – the so-called "Mansion Tax" applies to properties valued at greater than €1,000,000.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Since March 2002, a levy, called the Environmental Levy, has applied to the supply of plastic shopping bags by retailers. The levy is currently 22 cents per plastic bag.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: A small bag is one smaller than 225mm wide, 345mm deep, and 450mm long (including handles). The law requires that the levy be passed on to customers.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Vehicle Registration Tax or VRT is chargeable on registration of a motor vehicle in Ireland, and every motor vehicle brought into the country, other than temporarily by a visitor, must be registered with Revenue and must have VRT paid for it by the end of the working day after it arrives in the country.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Motorcycles and motor scooters are chargeable for VRT by reference to the engine displacement, at a rate of €2 per cc for the first 350cc and €1 per cc thereafter. There is a reduction depending on the age of the vehicle, from 10% after three months to 100% (completely remitted) for vehicles over 30 years old.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles can have a remission or repayment of VRT of up to €2,500 until the end of 2010.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: VAT is chargeable (on the VRT-inclusive price) on new vehicles (but not tractors) imported unregistered or within six months of registration outside Ireland, or on vehicles with an odometer reading under 6,000 kilometres at import.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The owner of a house other than a principal private residence must pay a charge, €200, per year. The charge for 2009 was payable in September, but in subsequent years, it is payable in March.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The charge applies to "residential properties", which includes a house, maisonette, flat, or apartment, but excludes:


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Additionally, the following persons are exempt from paying the charge in respect of the building or buildings in question:


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: If the charge is unpaid, it has the effect of a charge in favour of the local council against the property.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Motor tax, payable to the local council where the owner lives, arises when a car or other motor vehicle is used on a public road. A circular receipt, known colloquially as a "tax disc", is issued on payment and must be displayed in the front of the vehicle. Certain vehicles, including state-owned vehicles, fire engines, and vehicles for disabled drivers are exempt from motor tax.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Motor tax may be paid for three, six, or 12 months, although paying annually is cheaper. It can be paid online; verification of insurance details is required to get a tax disc.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The tax for private cars first registered from July 2008 is calculated on the basis of carbon dioxide emissions; for cars registered before that, the rate depends on engine displacement. Goods vehicle tax rates are determined based on gross vehicle weight, the tax for buses is based on the number of seats, and flat rates apply to other types of vehicles.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Tax evasion in Ireland, while a common problem historically, is now not as widespread. The reasons are twofold – most people pay at source (PAYE) and the penalties for evasion are high. The Irish Revenue target specific industries every year. Industries have included fast food take away restaurants, banks and farmers.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Tax avoidance is a legal process where one's financial affairs are arranged so as to legitimately pay less tax. In some cases the Revenue will pursue individuals or companies who avail of tax avoidance; however their success here is limited because tax avoidance is entirely legal.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: The areas where tax evasion can still be found are businesses that deal in a lot of cash. The trades, small businesses, etc., will sell goods and perform services while accepting cash for the good/service. The buyer will avoid paying VAT at 21% and the seller does not declare the monies for Income Tax. Revenue perform random audits on businesses to discourage and punish this. Businesses are regularly taken to court for tax evasion. Revenue claim a business will be audited roughly every seven years.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Other methods have also been employed by government to combat tax evasion. For example, the introduction of a Taxi Regulator and subsequent regulations for the taxi industry has meant that the opportunities for taxi drivers to avoid declaring cash income have dwindled. By law, taxi drivers must now issue an electronic receipt for each fare, effectively recording their income.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: Prior to 1977, all property owners in Ireland had to pay "rates" – based on the "rateable valuation" of the property – to the local council. Rates were used by local authorities to provide services such as mains water and refuse collection. Rates for private residences were abolished in 1977, with local authorities instead receiving funding from central government. They continue in operation for commercial property.


title: Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

text: In recent years, the government has introduced new local taxes. A charge for water will be introduced by 2014. A bin tax, for domestic refuse collection, was introduced in the last 15 years. Opponents claim that this is double-taxation – that in the aftermath of the abolition of domestic rates in 1977, their taxes were increased to fund local authorities. However, with the ever-rising cost of providing these services, council funding is no longer sufficient to cover costs and user charges would free up council budgets for more worthwhile projects.


title: Balfour v Balfour

text: Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 KB 571 is a leading English contract law case. It held that there is a rebuttable presumption against an intention to create a legally enforceable agreement when the agreement is domestic in nature.


title: Balfour v Balfour

text: Mr. Balfour was a civil engineer, and worked for the Government as the Director of Irrigation in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Mrs Balfour was living with him. In 1915, they both came back to England during Mr Balfour's leave. But Mrs Balfour had developed rheumatoid arthritis. Her doctor advised her to stay in England, because the climate in Ceylon would be detrimental to her health. Mr Balfour's boat was about to set sail, and he orally promised her £30 a month until she came back to Ceylon. They drifted apart, and Mr Balfour wrote saying it was better that they remain apart. In March 1918, Mrs Balfour sued him to keep up with the monthly £30 payments. In July she got a decree nisi and in December she obtained an order for alimony.


title: Balfour v Balfour

text: At first instance, judge Charles Sargant held that Mr Balfour was under an obligation to support his wife.


title: Balfour v Balfour

text: The Court of Appeal unanimously held that there was no enforceable agreement, although the depth of their reasoning differed. Warrington LJ delivered his opinion first, the core part being this passage.


title: Balfour v Balfour

text: Then Duke LJ gave his. He placed weight on the fact that the parties had not yet been divorced, and that the promise had been made still whilst as husband and wife.


title: Balfour v Balfour

text: Lord Justice Atkin took a different approach, emphasising that there was no "intention to affect legal relations". That was so because it was a domestic agreement between husband and wife, and it meant the onus of proof was on the plaintiff, Mrs Balfour. She did not rebut the presumption.


title: Balfour v Balfour

text: The case is often cited in conjunction with "Merritt v Merritt" [1970] 2 All ER 760; [1970] 1 WLR 1211. Here the court distinguished the case from "Balfour v Balfour" on the fact that Mr and Mrs Merritt, although still married, were estranged at the time the agreement was made and therefore any agreement between them was made with the intention to create legal relations. Both cases are often quoted examples of the principle of precedent.


title: Stories We Tell

text: Stories We Tell is a 2012 Canadian documentary film written and directed by Sarah Polley and produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). The film explores her family's secrets—including one intimately related to Polley's own identity. "Stories We Tell" premiered August 29, 2012 at the 69th Venice International Film Festival, then played at the 39th Telluride Film Festival and the 37th Toronto International Film Festival. In 2015, it was added to the Toronto International Film Festival's list of the top 10 Canadian films of all time, at number 10. It was also named the 70th greatest film since 2000 in a 2016 critics' poll by BBC.


title: Stories We Tell

text: The film looks at the relationship between Polley's parents, Michael and Diane Polley, including the revelation that the filmmaker was the product of an extramarital affair between her mother and Montreal producer Harry Gulkin. It incorporates interviews with Polley's siblings from her mother's two marriages, interviews with other relatives and family friends, Michael Polley's narration of his memoir, and Super-8 footage shot to look like home movies of historical events in her family's life. The faux home video footage appears exceptionally authentic due to the "canny casting" of the characters. The cast in the Super-8 re-creations includes Rebecca Jenkins as Diane, who had died of cancer on January 10, 1990, the week of Polley's 11th birthday. Polley began work five years before completing the documentary, taking many breaks in between.


title: Stories We Tell

text: In her blog post on the NFB.ca website, Polley reveals that several journalists including Brian D. Johnson and Matthew Hays had known about the story of her biological father for years, but respected Polley's wish to keep the matter private until she was ready to tell her story in her own words.


title: Stories We Tell

text: In his August 29 "Maclean's" blog post, Johnson, one of the film critics who had kept Polley's secret, wrote:


title: Stories We Tell

text: Writing for RogerEbert.com, film critic Sheila O'Malley gave the film four out of four stars, calling it "[a] powerful and thoughtful film...[that] is also not what it at first seems, which is part of the point Polley appears to be interested in making."


title: Stories We Tell

text: Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 94% based on 147 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The website's critical consensus states "In "Stories We Tell", Sarah Polley plays with the documentary format to explore the nature of memory and storytelling, crafting a thoughtful, compelling narrative that unfolds like a mystery."


title: Stories We Tell

text: On October 20, "Stories We Tell" received the Grand Prix Focus for best feature film in the Festival du nouveau cinéma's Focus category. In December, the film was included in the Toronto International Film Festival's list of "Canada's Top Ten" feature films of 2012. In 2015, it was added to the festival's list of the top 10 Canadian films of all time at number 10.


title: Stories We Tell

text: On January 8, 2013, "Stories We Tell" received the $100,000 prize for best Canadian film at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards,<ref name="CBC/TFCA"></ref> after having been named best documentary by the association the previous month. On March 3, 2013, it was named best feature-length documentary at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards. In October 2013, "Stories We Tell" received the Allan King Award for Excellence in Documentary at the Directors Guild of Canada Awards in Toronto. In December 2013, the film received the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Non-Fiction Film, the National Board of Review Award for Best Documentary Film, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary Film. On February 1, 2014, the film received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay.


title: Stories We Tell

text: "Stories We Tell" was nominated for a 2013 Cinema Eye Honors award and a 2013 International Documentary Association award. It was among the 15 films shortlisted for the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.


title: Stories We Tell

text: "Stories We Tell" was released theatrically in Canada starting October 12, 2012. The film had a limited release in the U.S. beginning May 17, 2013.


title: Computational geometry

text: Computational geometry is a branch of computer science devoted to the study of algorithms which can be stated in terms of geometry. Some purely geometrical problems arise out of the study of computational geometric algorithms, and such problems are also considered to be part of computational geometry. While modern computational geometry is a recent development, it is one of the oldest fields of computing with a history stretching back to antiquity.


title: Computational geometry

text: Computational complexity is central to computational geometry, with great practical significance if algorithms are used on very large datasets containing tens or hundreds of millions of points. For such sets, the difference between O("n") and O("n" log "n") may be the difference between days and seconds of computation.


title: Computational geometry

text: The main impetus for the development of computational geometry as a discipline was progress in computer graphics and computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM), but many problems in computational geometry are classical in nature, and may come from mathematical visualization.


title: Computational geometry

text: Other important applications of computational geometry include robotics (motion planning and visibility problems), geographic information systems (GIS) (geometrical location and search, route planning), integrated circuit design (IC geometry design and verification), computer-aided engineering (CAE) (mesh generation), and computer vision (3D reconstruction).


title: Computational geometry

text: Although most algorithms of computational geometry have been developed (and are being developed) for electronic computers, some algorithms were developed for unconventional computers (e.g. optical computers )


title: Computational geometry

text: The primary goal of research in combinatorial computational geometry is to develop efficient algorithms and data structures for solving problems stated in terms of basic geometrical objects: points, line segments, polygons, polyhedra, etc.


title: Computational geometry

text: Some of these problems seem so simple that they were not regarded as problems at all until the advent of computers. Consider, for example, the "Closest pair problem":


title: Computational geometry

text: One could compute the distances between all the pairs of points, of which there are "n(n-1)/2", then pick the pair with the smallest distance. This brute-force algorithm takes O("n") time; i.e. its execution time is proportional to the square of the number of points. A classic result in computational geometry was the formulation of an algorithm that takes O("n" log "n"). Randomized algorithms that take O("n") expected time, as well as a deterministic algorithm that takes O("n" log log "n") time, have also been discovered.


title: Computational geometry

text: The core problems in computational geometry may be classified in different ways, according to various criteria. The following general classes may be distinguished.


title: Computational geometry

text: In the problems of this category, some input is given and the corresponding output needs to be constructed or found. Some fundamental problems of this type are:


title: Computational geometry

text: The computational complexity for this class of problems is estimated by the time and space (computer memory) required to solve a given problem instance.


title: Computational geometry

text: In geometric query problems, commonly known as geometric search problems, the input consists of two parts: the search space part and the query part, which varies over the problem instances. The search space typically needs to be preprocessed, in a way that multiple queries can be answered efficiently.


title: Computational geometry

text: If the search space is fixed, the computational complexity for this class of problems is usually estimated by:


title: Computational geometry

text: Yet another major class is the dynamic problems, in which the goal is to find an efficient algorithm for finding a solution repeatedly after each incremental modification of the input data (addition or deletion input geometric elements). Algorithms for problems of this type typically involve dynamic data structures. Any of the computational geometric problems may be converted into a dynamic one, at the cost of increased processing time. For example, the range searching problem may be converted into the dynamic range searching problem by providing for addition and/or deletion of the points. The dynamic convex hull problem is to keep track of the convex hull, e.g., for the dynamically changing set of points, i.e., while the input points are inserted or deleted.


title: Computational geometry

text: Some problems may be treated as belonging to either of the categories, depending on the context. For example, consider the following problem.


title: Computational geometry

text: In many applications this problem is treated as a single-shot one, i.e., belonging to the first class. For example, in many applications of computer graphics a common problem is to find which area on the screen is clicked by a pointer. However, in some applications, the polygon in question is invariant, while the point represents a query. For example, the input polygon may represent a border of a country and a point is a position of an aircraft, and the problem is to determine whether the aircraft violated the border. Finally, in the previously mentioned example of computer graphics, in CAD applications the changing input data are often stored in dynamic data structures, which may be exploited to speed-up the point-in-polygon queries.


title: Computational geometry

text: In some contexts of query problems there are reasonable expectations on the sequence of the queries, which may be exploited either for efficient data structures or for tighter computational complexity estimates. For example, in some cases it is important to know the worst case for the total time for the whole sequence of N queries, rather than for a single query. See also "amortized analysis".


title: Computational geometry

text: The most important instruments here are parametric curves and parametric surfaces, such as Bézier curves, spline curves and surfaces. An important non-parametric approach is the level-set method.


title: Computational geometry

text: Application areas of computational geometry include shipbuilding, aircraft, and automotive industries.


title: Computational geometry

text: Below is the list of the major journals that have been publishing research in geometric algorithms. Please notice with the appearance of journals specifically dedicated to computational geometry, the share of geometric publications in general-purpose computer science and computer graphics journals decreased.


title: Car tuning

text: Car tuning is the modification of a car to optimise it for a different set of performance requirements from those it was originally designed to meet. Most commonly this is higher engine performance and dynamic handling characteristics but cars may also be altered to provide better fuel economy, or smoother response. The goal when tuning is the improvement of a vehicle's overall performance in response to the user's needs. Often, tuning is done at the expense of emissions performance, component reliability and occupant comfort.


title: Car tuning

text: As a culture has grown around modified cars the term tuning has grown to encompass the cosmetic and stylistic changes owners make to personalize their vehicles. These changes can range from functional modifications designed to improve the performance or functionality of the car, to visual modifications which alter the aesthetics of the car and, in the case of certain mods, sometimes be detrimental to the performance or functionality of the car.


title: Car tuning

text: Since their invention, cars have always been subject to aftermarket modification. Both moderate and radical modification have been commemorated in the popular songs Hot Rod Race and Hot Rod Lincoln. The names of Abarth and Cooper appear on models styled after the cars they modified. With support from Ford, renowned engine manufacturer Cosworth went from modifying English Flathead engines for Lotus Sevens to dominating Formula One racing.


title: Car tuning

text: In the 1970s and 1980s, many Japanese performance cars were never exported outside the Japanese domestic market. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, grey import vehicles of Japanese performance cars, such as the Nissan Skyline, began to be privately imported into Western Europe and North America. In the United States, this was in direct contrast to domestic car production around the same time, where there was a very small performance aftermarket for domestic compact and economy cars; the focus was instead on sports cars or muscle cars such as the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Corvette.


title: Car tuning

text: Because of their light weight and the increasing availability of inexpensive tuning equipment, tuned economy and compact cars exhibit high performance at a low cost in comparison to dedicated sports cars. As professional sporting and racing with such vehicles increased, so did recreational use of these vehicles. Many drivers would modify their vehicles in an attempt to emulate versions of racing vehicles.


title: Car tuning

text: The essence of modification of a tuner car is an attempt at a significant performance increase—or the appearance of high performance—from a stock motor vehicle through the addition, alteration or outright replacement of parts. Although this largely involves modifying the engine and management systems of the vehicle to increase power output, additional changes are often required to allow the vehicle to handle such power, including stiffened suspension, widened tires, better brakes, and improved steering and transmission modifications (such as the installation of a short shifter). Although largely insignificant in terms of appearance, certain modifications such as low-profile tires, altered suspension, and the addition of spoilers can change the overall appearance of the car, as well as adding downforce to increase traction.


title: Car tuning

text: A stock audio system is one specified by the manufacturer when the vehicle was built in the factory. A custom audio installation can involve anything from the upgrade of the radio to a full customization based around specific audio equipment. Events are held where entrants compete for the loudest, highest-quality audio reception or most innovative sound systems. Some common modifications include higher quality speakers and subwoofers, amplifiers, and better wiring.


title: Car tuning

text: Race cars competing in various classes must adhere to a strict set of regulations. As in some well-known racing events, like NASCAR and NHRA, sanctioned events often require a minimum vehicle weight. In such cases, the interior is stripped, and the required weight is achieved by adding ballast, allowing precise control over weight distribution. Along with weight requirements, safety requirements are present. Requirements differ for different classes. Roll cages, fire extinguishers, reinforced bucket seats, seat harnesses, and the like are some of the required safety modifications. Roll cages may be difficult to install when the stock interior is present.


title: Car tuning

text: Some tuners will have "gutted" interiors, or omit features that many ordinary drivers would find desirable or necessary, such as audio systems, air conditioning and soundproofing, in order to reduce vehicle weight.


title: Car tuning

text: Engine tuning is the process of modifying the operating characteristics of an engine. In a typical engine set-up, there are various mechanical and electronic elements such as the intake manifold, spark plugs, and mass air flow sensor. Modern engines employ the use of an engine control unit to provide the best balance between performance and emissions. Via the OBD communications protocol, electronically controlled aspects of the engine can be modified in a process known as mapping. Mapping can either be performed by changing the software within the ECU (chip tuning via firmware modification), or by providing false data via plug-in hardware. Other standalone engine management systems are available; these systems replace the factory computer with one that is user-programmable.


title: Car tuning

text: Mechanical components of the engine can also be added or replaced, such as forced induction systems like turbochargers or superchargers.


title: Car tuning

text: Improper, incorrect and poorly executed engine modifications can have a detrimental effect on performance and reliability. Mechanical and electrical components can suffer or simply fail as a result. An example would be the use of an air compressor such as a turbocharger to increase the volume of air used in the power stroke of the Otto cycle. In a typical chemical reaction, the air–fuel ratio must be a minimum of 14:1. If higher ratios are used, higher pressures and temperatures are observed in the cylinders, which can quickly push an engine beyond its intended design limits.


title: Car tuning

text: Neglecting such operating parameters can lead to premature failures, such as warped cylinder heads and walls, disintegrated piston rings, cracked or bent connecting rods and crankshafts, total cooling system failure, engine fire, engine detonation, engine seizing, and even blowouts. This can all lead to very expensive repairs, as well as being very dangerous.


title: Car tuning

text: Suspension tuning involves modifying the springs, shock absorbers, anti-roll bars, and other related components. Shorter springs offer greater stiffness and a lower center of gravity at the possible cost of unwanted changes of suspension geometry. Stiffer shock absorbers improve dynamic weight shifting during cornering and normally have shorter internals to stop them from bottoming out when shorter springs are used. Stiffer sway bars reduce body roll during cornering, thus improving the grip that the tires have on the surface by reducing suspension geometry changes caused by roll; this also improves handling response due to faster weight shifting—similar to stiffer springs.


title: Car tuning

text: The danger with overly stiff anti-roll bars is the lifting of the inner wheel, causing a loss of traction. By increasing the roll resistance of one end of the car, weight transfer is concentrated at that end, causing it to slip more than the other. This effect is used to control the over/understeer characteristic as well as to reduce roll. Other components that are sometimes added are strut bars, which improve body stiffness and help better maintain proper suspension geometry during cornering. On some cars, certain braces or anti-roll bars can be retrofitted to base model cars from sports models.


title: Car tuning

text: For offroad vehicles, the emphasis is on lengthening the suspension travel and installing larger tires. Larger tires—with or without larger wheels—increase ground clearance, travel over rough terrain more smoothly, provide additional cushioning, and decrease ground pressure (which is important on soft surfaces).


title: Car tuning

text: These suspension modifications are in contrast to lowriders, which use hydraulic or pneumatic suspensions. Lowriders use another type of suspension tuning in which the height of each individual wheel can be rapidly adjusted by a system of rams which, in some cases, makes it possible to "bounce" the wheels completely off of the ground.


title: Car tuning

text: Body tuning involves making modifications to the body of the car in order to alter the aesthetics of the car, improve performance, or both. Body tuning can also involve changing or replacing parts for better aerodynamic performance. Through downforce, cornering speeds and tire adhesion can be improved, often at the expense of increased drag. To lighten the vehicle, bodywork components such as hoods and rearview mirrors may be replaced with lighter-weight components.


title: Car tuning

text: Often, body modifications are done mainly to improve a vehicle's appearance, as in the case of non-functioning scoops, wide arches or other aesthetic modification. Aftermarket spoilers or body kits rarely improve a car's performance. The majority, in fact, add weight and increase the drag coefficient of the vehicle, thus reducing its overall performance.


title: Car tuning

text: Dating back to the 1940s, chopping and channeling was a popular method of modifying a car's aerodynamics.


title: Car tuning

text: Increasing the wheel track width through spacers and wide body kits, or lowering the center of gravity via suspension modifications, can enhance the car's cornering ability. Often, suspension tuners unfamiliar with spring dynamics will cut stock springs, producing a harder, bouncy ride. It is also common to stance a car, lowering it beyond its optimal ride height purely for appearance.


title: Car tuning

text: Competition cars may have lightweight windows, or the windows may be completely removed, as auto glass adds significant weight and detrimentally alters weight distribution. Plastic windows are much more vulnerable to scratches, which reduce service life.


title: Car tuning

text: Tires have large effects on a car's behavior and are replaced periodically; therefore, tire selection is a very cost-effective way to personalize an automobile. Choices include tires for various weather and road conditions, different sizes and various compromises between cost, grip, service life, rolling resistance, handling and ride comfort. Drivers also sometimes personalize tires for aesthetic reasons, for example, by adding tire lettering.


title: Car tuning

text: Detuning is the process returning a modified car to its original factory status, or reducing its performance in a particular area of tuning. For example, a car may be "detuned" to allow increased traction when the track grip is not sufficient to handle the increased power of the tuned engine.


title: Car tuning

text: Modified cars can be significantly different from their stock counterparts. A common factor among owners/modifiers is to emulate the visual and/or performance characteristics of established styles and design principles. These similarities may be unintentional. Some of the many different styles and visual influences to car modification are:


title: Car tuning

text: Many countries or municipalities have legal requirements which govern vehicle modifications. For example, all vehicles in Victoria, Australia, must conform to construction standards to ensure vehicle safety. There are also restrictions for P Plate drivers which can prevent young drivers from driving modified vehicles.


title: Car tuning

text: Many developed countries have smog regulations, which generally forbid any modifications to engines or related components unless the modifications themselves are certified, like production car models. Such modifications, even if they do not actually result in increased emissions, prevent legal use on public roads.


title: Car tuning

text: Various organizations involved in competitive motorsports such as the FIA, SFI, NHRA, and IHRA, amongst others, act as sanctioning bodies to establish safety guidelines for racing events, series, tracks, vehicles, and parts. The FIA is the largest international motorsports governing body, with FIA certification being required for a number of parts, particularly safety equipment, in FIA sanctioned events, as well as in many non FIA events.


title: Treaty of 1818

text: The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, is an international treaty signed in 1818 between the United States and the United Kingdom. This treaty resolved standing boundary issues between the two nations. The treaty allowed for joint occupation and settlement of the Oregon Country, known to the British and in Canadian history as the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company, and including the southern portion of its sister district New Caledonia.


title: Treaty of 1818

text: The two nations agreed to a boundary line involving the 49th parallel north, in part because a straight-line boundary would be easier to survey than the pre-existing boundaries based on watersheds. The treaty marked both the United Kingdom's last permanent major loss of territory in what is now the Continental United States and the United States' first permanent significant cession of North American territory to a foreign power, the second being the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842. The British ceded all of Rupert's Land south of the 49th parallel and east of the Continental Divide, including all of the Red River Colony south of that latitude, while the United States ceded the northernmost edge of the Missouri Territory north of the 49th parallel.


title: Treaty of 1818

text: The treaty was negotiated for the US by Albert Gallatin, ambassador to France, and Richard Rush, minister to the UK; and for the UK by Frederick John Robinson, Treasurer of the Royal Navy and member of the privy council, and Henry Goulburn, an undersecretary of state. The treaty was signed on October 20, 1818. Ratifications were exchanged on January 30, 1819. The Convention of 1818, along with the Rush–Bagot Treaty of 1817, marked the beginning of improved relations between the British Empire and its former colonies, and paved the way for more positive relations between the US and Canada although repelling a US invasion was a defense priority in Canada until 1928.


title: Treaty of 1818

text: Despite the relatively friendly nature of the agreement, it resulted in a fierce struggle for control of the Oregon Country for the following two decades. The British-chartered Hudson's Bay Company, having previously established a trading network centered on Fort Vancouver on the lower Columbia River, with other forts in what is now eastern Washington and Idaho as well as on the Oregon Coast and in Puget Sound, undertook a harsh campaign to restrict encroachment by US fur traders to the area. By the 1830s, with pressure in the US mounting to annex the region outright, the company undertook a deliberate policy to exterminate all fur-bearing animals from the Oregon Country to maximize its remaining profit and to delay the arrival of US mountain men and settlers. The policy of discouraging settlement was undercut to some degree by the actions of John McLoughlin, Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver, who regularly provided relief and welcome to US immigrants who had arrived at the post over the Oregon Trail.


title: Treaty of 1818

text: By the mid-1840s, the tide of US immigration, as well as a US political movement to claim the entire territory, led to a renegotiation of the agreement. The Oregon Treaty in 1846 permanently established the 49th parallel as the boundary between the United States and British North America to the Pacific Ocean.


title: Letterhead

text: A letterhead is the heading at the top of a sheet of letter paper (stationery). It consists of a name, address, logo or trademark, and sometimes a background pattern.


title: Letterhead

text: Many companies and individuals prefer to create a letterhead template in a word processor or other software application. That generally includes the same information as pre-printed stationery but at lower cost. Letterhead can then be printed on stationery or plain paper, as needed, on a local output device or sent electronically.


title: Letterhead

text: Letterheads are generally printed by either the offset or letterpress methods. In most countries outside North America, company letterheads are printed A4 in size (210 mm x 297 mm). In North America, the letter size is typically 8.5 x 11 inches (215 x 280 mm).


title: Letterhead

text: Although modern technology makes letterheads very easy to imitate, they continue to be used as evidence of authenticity.


title: Caridea

text: The Caridea, commonly known as caridean shrimp or true shrimp, are an infraorder of shrimp within the order Decapoda. This infraorder contains all species of true shrimp. They are found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Many other animals with similar names – such as the mud shrimp of Axiidea and the boxer shrimp of Stenopodidea – are not true shrimp, but many have evolved features similar to true shrimp.


title: Caridea

text: Carideans are found in every kind of aquatic habitat, with the majority of species being marine. Around a quarter of the described species are found in fresh water, however, including almost all the members of the species-rich family Atyidae and the Palaemonidae subfamily Palaemoninae. They include several commercially important species, such as "Macrobrachium rosenbergii", and are found on every continent except Antarctica. The marine species are found at depths to , and from the tropics to the polar regions.


title: Caridea

text: In addition to the great variety in habitat, carideans vary greatly in form, from species a few millimetres long when fully grown, to those that grow to over a foot long. Except where secondarily lost, shrimp have one pair of stalked eyes, although they are sometimes covered by the carapace, which protects the cephalothorax. The carapace also surrounds the gills, through which water is pumped by the action of the mouthparts.


title: Caridea

text: Most carideans are omnivorous, but some are specialised for particular modes of feeding. Some are filter feeders, using their setose (bristly) legs as a sieve; some scrape algae from rocks. The snapping shrimp of the genus "Alpheus" snap their claws to create a shock wave that stuns prey. Many cleaner shrimp, which groom reef fish and feed on their parasites and necrotic tissue, are carideans. In turn, carideans are eaten by various animals, particularly fish and seabirds, and frequently host bopyrid parasites.


title: Caridea

text: Unlike Dendrobranchiates, Carideans brood their eggs rather than releasing them into the water. Caridean larvae undergo all naupliar development within the egg, and eclose as a zoea. The zoea stage feeds on phytoplankton. There can be as few as two zoea stages, (e.g. some freshwater Palaemonidae), or as many as 13, (e.g. some Pandalidae). The post-zoeal larva, often called a decapodid, resembles a miniature adult, but retains some larval characteristics. The decapodid larva will metamorphose a final time into a post-larval juvenile: a young shrimp having all the characteristics of adults. Most adult carideans are benthic animals living primarily on the sea floor.


title: Caridea

text: Common species include "Pandalus borealis" (the "pink shrimp"), "Crangon crangon" (the "brown shrimp") and the snapping shrimp of the genus "Alpheus". Depending on the species and location, they grow from about long, and live between 1.0 and 6.5 years.


title: Caridea

text: The most significant commercial species among the carideans is "Pandalus borealis", followed by "Crangon crangon". The wild-capture production of "P. borealis" is about ten times that of "C. crangon". In 1950, the position was reversed, with the capture of "C. crangon" about ten times that of "P. borealis".


title: Caridea

text: In 2010, the global aquaculture of all shrimp and prawn species (3.5 million tonnes) slightly exceeded the global wild capture (3.2 million tonnes). No carideans were significantly involved in aquaculture, but about 430,000 tonnes were captured in the wild. That is, about 13% of the global wild capture, or about 6% of the total production of all shrimp and prawns, were carideans.


title: Caridea

text: Shrimp of the infraorder Caridea are more closely related to lobsters and crabs than they are to the members of the sub-order Dendrobranchiata (prawns). Biologists distinguish these two groups based on differences in their gill structures. The gill structure is lamellar in carideans but branching in dendrobranchiates. The easiest practical way to separate true shrimp from dendrobranchiates is to examine the second abdominal segment. The second segment of a carideans overlaps both the first and the third segment, while the second segment of a dendrobranchiate overlaps only the third segment. They also differ in that carideans typically have two pairs of chelae (claws), while dendrobranchiates have three. A third group, the Stenopodidea, contains around 70 species and differs from the other groups in that the third pairs of legs is greatly enlarged.


title: Caridea

text: The cladogram below shows Caridea's relationships to other relatives within Decapoda, from analysis by Wolfe "et al.", 2019.


title: Caridea

text: The below cladogram shows the internal relationships of eight selected families within Caridea, with the Atyidae (freshwater shrimp) being the most basal:


title: Caridea

text: The fossil record of the Caridean is sparse, with only 57 exclusively fossil species known. The earliest of these cannot be assigned to any family, but date from the Lower Jurassic and Cretaceous. A number of extinct genera cannot be placed in any superfamily:


title: Run Run Shaw

text: Sir Run Run Shaw (19 November 1907 – 7 January 2014), also known as Shao Yifu and Siu Yat-fu, was a Hong Kong entertainment mogul and philanthropist. He was one of the most influential figures in the Asian entertainment industry. He founded the Shaw Brothers Studio, one of the largest film production companies in Hong Kong, and TVB, the dominant television company in Hong Kong.


title: Run Run Shaw

text: A well-known philanthropist, Shaw donated billions of Hong Kong dollars to educational institutions in Hong Kong and mainland China. More than 5,000 buildings on Chinese college campuses bear his name, as does Shaw College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He also established the Shaw Prize for Astronomy, Life Science & Medicine and Mathematical Sciences.


title: Run Run Shaw

text: Shaw was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang, Qing China as the youngest of the six sons of Shanghai textile merchant Shaw Yuh Hsuen () (1866–1921) and his wife Wang Shun Xiang () (1871–1939). His name at birth was Shao Renleng (), which was later changed to Shao Yifu (邵逸夫) because he thought that the average Chinese person would not know how to pronounce the character ("léng"). There are a number of explanations given for the use of his English name Run Run Shaw, but Shaw reportedly said that it was simply a transcription of his birth name Shao Renleng in the Ningbo dialect.


title: Run Run Shaw

text: He celebrated his birthdays on the 14th day of the 10th month of the Chinese calendar, which fell in November 2007, his 100th Lunar Calendar birthday. However, the 14th day of the 10th month of the Chinese calendar corresponds to 19 November 1907 on the Gregorian calendar, which according to "China Daily" was his birthdate.


title: Run Run Shaw

text: As a child, his family moved to Shanghai. He graduated from the Shanghai YMCA School, where he learned English.


title: Run Run Shaw

text: In 1925, Shaw's brothers, led by the eldest brother Runje Shaw, established Tianyi Film Company (also called Unique Film Productions) in Shanghai, and Run Run Shaw began his film career doing odd jobs for the company. In 1927, Run Run Shaw, then 19 years old, went to Singapore to assist his third elder brother Runme Shaw in their business venture there, initially to market films to Southeast Asia's Chinese community. They established the company that would later become the Shaw Organisation, and were involved in distributing and producing films in Southeast Asia. Tianyi produced what is considered the first sound-on-film Chinese talkie in 1931, and made the first Cantonese sound film in 1932. It was highly successful, and Tianyi established a branch in Hong Kong in 1934.


title: Run Run Shaw

text: Just before the Japanese invasion of Shanghai in 1937, Tianyi moved its operation to Hong Kong, shipping its equipment from Shanghai. Its studio in Shanghai was destroyed when the Japanese occupied the city. In Hong Kong, Tianyi was reorganised as Nanyang Studio, which later became Shaw Brothers Studio. Run Run Shaw was credited with scripting and directing the 1937 comedy film "Country Bumpkin Visits His In-laws".


title: Run Run Shaw

text: In his early days in Singapore, Run Run Shaw supervised the company's business while Runme travelled north to Malaya to establish ties with local theatre owners. In 1927, having noticed that there were few cinemas in Malaya, Runme decided to open four cinemas there to show their films. By 1939, the brothers owned a chain of 139 cinemas across the region; the chain would later include Singapore's first air-conditioned cinema, at Beach Road. They also established a number of amusement parks throughout the region, including Borneo, Thailand and Java, such as the Great World Amusement Park at Kim Seng Road. The brothers began to make Malay films in Singapore in 1937. Inspired by the success of films intended for Malay audiences, for example "Leila Majnun" in 1934, and other films from the Dutch East Indies, the brothers established Malay Film Productions (MFP). This company would eventually produce over 160 Malay films, many of them starring and directed by P. Ramlee, until their studio at Jalan Ampas ceased production in 1967. The period between the end of the 1940s and the beginning of the 1960s is known as the Golden Age of Malay Cinema, with over 300 films made between MFP and Cathay Keris. In 1941, the Japanese invaded Singapore and Malaya and confiscated their film equipment. According to Run Run Shaw, he and his brother went into hiding during the war and buried more than $4 million in gold, jewellery and cash in their backyard, digging it up after the war and using it to rebuild their business.


title: Run Run Shaw

text: In 1957, Run Run Shaw moved to Hong Kong, which was emerging as the new centre of Chinese-language cinema, and reorganised Tianyi's operations there as Shaw Brothers Studio. Shaw copied Hollywood by setting up a permanent production site where his actors worked and lived on 46 acres purchased from the government in Clearwater Bay. At the opening of the Shaw Movietown in December 1961, Shaw Studios had the world's largest privately owned film-production outfit with about 1,200 workers shooting and editing films daily. Shaw productions ran up to two hours and cost as much as $50,000, a lavish sum by Asian standards in the 1960s.


title: Run Run Shaw

text: By the 1960s, Shaw Brothers had become the biggest producer of movies in Asia. Notable films produced by Shaw include director Li Han-hsiang's "The Magnificent Concubine", which took the Grand Prix at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival; the 1963 blockbuster musical film "The Love Eterne", also directed by Li Han-hsiang; King Hu's 1966 pioneering wuxia film "Come Drink with Me"; and Chang Cheh's 1967 "The One-Armed Swordsman", which broke box office records. His companies in Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong made more than 1,000 movies, with annual production peaking at 50 pictures in 1974 when Shaw was described as the "Czar of Asian Movies". The popular nostalgic costume dramas of Shaw Brothers celebrated traditional Chinese values and culture, which was in contrast to the then anti-traditional ideology of Communist mainland China (particularly during the Cultural Revolution), but fit with the policy of the Nationalist government of Taiwan and US anti-Communist strategy, while not conflicting with the less provocative approach of the colonial government of Hong Kong. Shaw Studios also popularised an early (Wuxia) variant of kung fu film genre that had influence on directors such as John Woo and Quentin Tarantino.