Can Tax Authorities Scrutinise the Ideas of Foreign Charities? The ECJ's Persche Judgment and Lessons from US Tax Law
The European Court of Justice's (ECJ's) recent Persche judgment poses important questions about the relationship between taxation of gifts and charitable purposes in the light of EC law requirements. This article argues that by applying its established case-law to the matter of donors to foreign recipient bodies, the ECJ takes a position on the social role of both charities and tax deduction. Moreover, the position of the ECJ clearly paves the way for tax authorities to check the objectives and the values pursued by recipient bodies seeking tax-preferred status, a situation that recalls a similar power recognised under specific circumstances of the US Internal Revenue Services. Arguably, the ECJ case-law has more profound consequences on charitable action, since it seems that the power accorded to tax authorities of the Member States to check the purposes of charitable organisations leads to a cosmopolitan apprehension of charitable action while it pushes charities to enhance transparency in their activities.
The New Tax Information Exchange Agreement: A Potent Weapon Against U.S. Tax Fraud?
On October 2, 1996, after sixteen (16) years of negotiation, the U.S. signed a new tax treaty with Switzerland ("1996 Agreement"). The seventh and final category of eligible persons is a specific family foundation under Swiss law. In the fifth hypothetical, the taxpayer essentially undertakes the same transaction as in the previous two examples (examples 3 and 4), but the taxpayer does not keep records of receipts or expenses, and all the relevant information is told to authorities by an informant who specifically states that the individual told the informant that the taxpayer has been underreporting his or her income. More recently, however, money laundering and organized crime have subverted this underlying, noble purpose of Swiss banking secrecy. As a result, the new law appeases international pressure on Switzerland to relax its banking secrecy laws, eliminates conflicts currently existing in Swiss law concerning banking secrecy, and provides an increased deterrent to money laundering. However, with the renewed effort at information sharing between Switzerland and the U.S. stemming from the 2003 Agreement, it will be harder for terrorists or persons wishing to commit tax fraud to conduct their business in Switzerland because the Swiss are now not so willing to protect these people from the wrath of the U.S. ...
Movement toward a predominantly electronic journal collection
Purpose – To address the UNLV Libraries movement toward a predominantly electronic journal collection including evaluation of library collection and reevaluation of organizational structure, staff resources and workflow to find the best ways to provide library users with timely and reliable access to electronic resources.Design/methodology/approach – A range of UNLV Libraries initiatives in building and managing electronic resources is described to demonstrate how the library moved from a predominantly print environment to a predominantly electronic environment. The paper consists of sections: development of the electronic resources collection, reengineering acquisitions/periodicals, new responsibilities and new skills, next steps, and conclusion.Findings – Since 1999, the composition of the Libraries journal collection has been dramatically changed. The percentage of print‐only subscriptions decreased from 59 percent in 1990 to 20 percent in 2004, while electronic journals jumped from 35 percent to 75 pe...