Sales Tax Essay Example for Free

Sales Tax Essay OBJECTIVE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The objective of this work is to discuss sales tax issues from the viewpoint of both the citizen and the Budget Director. Reviewed will be issues of ‘volatility’, ‘reliability’, and ‘equity’ as well as how the sales tax impacts activities of government such as economic development, community initiatives and service provision. Finally this work will answer the question of whether there are any other taxes or revenue sources to substitute for the sales tax as well as stating why or alternatively why there is not an existing substitute. INTRODUCTION: SALES TAX ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sales taxes are collected at the local and state levels and utilized by the government in service provision to the citizens of the United States. The United States imposes sales taxes in both state and local administrations in which the customer is charged a combined rate which bundles together (USA Sales Use Tax, 2006) the state tax with the local tax. A merchant is required to charged a sales tax if the business has nexus. A nexus is defined as a substantial physical presence. (USA Sales Use Tax, 2006) Not all products are subject to the sales tax and different states exempt difference products. Sales taxes are applied on the end purchase of goods in retail sales. Economic development has been defined as a multi-faceted approach to the development of policies and programs designed to preserve, enhance and promote a vibrant and successful business community. (Economic Development Action Program, 2005) The health and success of the businesses in communities are stated to be directly linked to the quality of life experienced by residents in that community (Economic Development Action Program, 2005) which is of primary importance to the entire city or municipality. Creation of jobs and generation of sales tax revenues provide a major contribution to fund the initiatives of service provision with the city. The economic development within a city of municipality is greatly dependent on sales tax revenues in most U.S. states. VOLATILITY, RELIABILITY, AND EQUITY ‘Volatility’ and ‘Reliability’ are the two primary considerations of a budget director when revenues raised by taxes are spent on new initiatives. Hirsch et al state that Reliability and Volatility are that which marks the outcome of the question which asks: â€Å"Are new revenues raised by the taxes relatively stable over time or are they excessively volatile and difficult to predict? It is a fact that generation of revenues from sales taxes may be unpredictable since these revenues are greatly dependent on seasonal factors and economic conditions therefore, merchants may experience a really great Christmas hence the sales tax revenues for the government will be great as well however, a lean year for merchants will also result in the coffers of the government for spending in economic development being quite thin as well. In a journal article relating to the impact of sales tax on the economy of the state of California it is stated that: â€Å"If times are good and consumption is high, there will be more revenue from sales taxes than otherwise. If times are bad and layoffs and unemployment are up, personal income taxes will be reduced. Some taxpayers will lose their jobs or not have opportunities to work overtime. Sluggish economic activity will hurt profits and thus collections from corporate income taxes. Similarly, if times are bad, certain kinds of welfare-related expenditures may increase. While the linkage between economic developments and the status of the budget is clear, the actual budget process involves making a forecast of what those economic developments will be. Then budget forecasters must estimate precisely how the assumed developments will affect revenue† (Hirsch, et al, 2004) The third element is that of Equity which is one of the five principles stated by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) that were compiled in 1988 with input from lawmakers and academics. The principle involving Equity along with the other principles for sound tax policy. The five principles are:   (1) Provision of appropriate revenues (sufficiency, stability, and certainty of revenues produced) (2) Neutrality; (3) Equity; (4) Easy and economical to administer; (5) accountability – (i) taxpayers are accountable for payment of their taxes (ii) tax agencies are accountable for administration and enforcement of the tax laws efficiently and fairly; and (iii) lawmakers accountable for the integrity of the tax laws. (Hirsch et al, 2004) III. VIOLATION OF PRINCIPLES IN NEW YORK ECONOMIC DEVELOPEMNT In a recent testimony before the U.S. Senate in a hearing before the Subcommittee on International Trade of the Committee on Finance earlier this year given by Walter Hellerstein who is said to be: â€Å"the nations leading legal academic authority on state and local taxation† stated is that a New York economic development incentive to attract sales to the New York exchanges was a discriminatory tax to the Boston Stock Exchange that viewed the incentive as diverting economic activity from the Boston exchange, a view with which the U.S. Supreme Court concurred. (Testimony of Walter Hellerstein, 2006) Stated as well is that the economic development incentive for its fledging wine industry was a discriminatory tax to sellers of alcoholic beverages produced in other states, a view with which the U.S. Supreme Court concurred. (Ibid) SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Clearly the sales tax scheme or plan of a city or municipality involves the necessary view which is all-inclusive of the factors that will impact the revenues realized from sales taxes and as well are able to realize the volatility or alternatively the reliability of the sales tax revenues in the budget plan. Then the comprehension of the sales taxes as they affect the individuals within the community both from the advantages of the economic development in the community as well as the impact the increase of sales tax will have on the spending habits in times that are characterized by layoffs and unemployment in the area. Finally it must be comprehended that all of this is inherently linked in the planning of sales taxes, city budgets and economic development in that economic development works to ensure a healthy and quality lifestyle for the taxpayers that reside in the community, and as well that economic development furthers the growth of businesses and employment within the community. These successful individuals and households within the community in turn replenish the community or city coffers with the sales taxes on the purchases that they make in the community thereby funding even more economic development in the community. Last, the principles that have been reviewed in this research as set out by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) must be followed in order to avoid the situation that the economic development initiatives in New York and Hawaii experienced in being found in violation of those principles by the U.S. Supreme Court. WORKS CITED Testimony of Walter Hellerstein before the U.S. Senate; Hearing before the Subcommittee on International Trade of the Committee on Finance (2006) Online available at: http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:EnVhxxKAqIYJ:www.law.uga.edu/news/advocate/spring2006/hellerstein.pdf+seconomic+development:+sales+tax+issueshl=engl=usct=clnkcd=17 Economic Development Action Program (2005) City of Bothell nd Online available at: http://www.ci.bothell.wa.us/dept/CM/EconDev/ActionProgram.html One Taxpayers Economic Development Incentive Is Often Anothers Discriminatory Tax.(Advocate: Spring/Summer 2006 Online available at: http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:EnVhxxKAqIYJ:www.law.uga.edu/news/advocate/spring2006/hellerstein.pdf+seconomic+development:+sales+tax+issueshl=engl=usct=clnkcd=17 Hirsch, Werner A. et al (2004) Making California’s State Budget More User-Friendly And Transparent Online available at: http://www.spa.ucla.edu/calpolicy02/HirschEtc.pdf USA Sales Use Tax, (2006) http://www.ustaxnetwork.com/

Prejudice :: essays research papers

Prejudice In Society   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The world that we live in today, although improving, is tainted with cruelty and hatred toward different races. Personally, I have never considered myself to be racist. Growing up attending predominately white catholic schools, though, really sheltered me from any type of diversity. Between first and twelfth grade, I could count on one hand how many African-Americans I knew. Living in a society like this, I had a tremendous culture shock upon enrolling at the University of Cincinnati. I have now realized that when making judgments on people, you need to do so with closed eyes, blocking out any types of stereotypes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upon coming to the University of Cincinnati, I knew that it would be a dramatic change to be around such a diverse group of people, but I never expected what was coming up next. While checking in at the front desk of my dorm, I noticed there were two names on my room assignment that I didn’t recognize. While unpacking my clothes, the door opens and my other two roommates, which happened to be black, walked in. at first I felt a little uncomfortable, but I was alright because I still had three of my friend moving in soon. As I talked to my two new roommates, I found out that they both went to inner-city schools within ten minutes of mine. As the day went on and I kept getting to know them, we began to get along better. I now consider them to be two my best friends here. This experience has taught me to never judge a book by its cover.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Whether it is from watching B.

Impact of Technology on the Work-Life Balance Essay

Technology has done a lot for human beings. Without the development in technology it is possible that the pyramids would never have been built and neither would we be able to communicate with each other from remote places all over the world. Some say that these technological advances such as the internet and cellular phones are a boon on society and humankind yet there are also those detractors who say that it is has not simplified life in so much as it has complicated matters. While we enjoy everything that technology has to offer, it cannot be argued that there are times that we are more inconvenienced by it. There are times when one would rather turn his or her cellular phone off so that they can relax more and take it easy. There are also times when they wish they had battery power on their technological devices so that they can work more or accomplish more. The problem it seems is that as technology becomes more advanced and incorporates itself more in the daily lives of people it becomes more difficult to escape from it. The biggest difficulty nowadays is actually turning that piece of technology off without fearing that doing so will leave a person uninformed or make him feel so isolated and left out of this world which is moving at a very rapid pace. It is commonplace to see a person check his computer (either desktop or laptop) every few minutes or so just to make sure that they read the email as soon as it comes in. People bring their work with them almost everywhere they go these days. Work is no longer limited to the confines of a cubicle or an office but can now be performed virtually anywhere thanks to the technological advances that have enabled the invention of portable workstations such as blackberries, laptops and cellular phones. The introduction of teleconferencing has made travel to meetings all but obsolete and the push for more digital convergence has made it possible for people to work from their homes. The proper characterization of this phenomenon is not increasing worker productivity, as it is claimed, but rather invasion of privacy. There is no longer any place that is safe from the summons from work or the orders of a superior. Virtually every place on this planet allows people to perform work at any time and from any location. This means that since the day has still remained at 24 hours, unless scientists have found a way to alter that, and the more that time is devoted to work, the less time on that 24 hour clock is left for privacy and relaxation. Even certain studies have shown that the work hours have dramatically increased from the levels that it was at previously. More and more people put in longer hours with each technological breakthrough that is introduced. It has been argued that this is a good thing because people make more money and more money means happier people. While there is no arguing the fact that more money does make people happy, in general, the devices that have been invented to allow the generation of higher incomes has also reduced the time left to spend that hard earned money. The extra income that is generated by these devices now seems so meaningless and useless since it cannot be spent due to the lack of time to do so. Another problem is also the cost of worker burn out. While productivity is theoretically increased per worker, the added stress and workload that is given per worker leads to a faster deterioration of the human resource and means that in the long run the potential productivity gains are actually nullified by the deterioration of human capital. All of these time saving devices which claim to increase productivity were invented for a simple reason, to decrease work time. They were not really invented to free time up for other work but were envisioned to allow a person to do more with less. We should learn to keep it that way, be happy with doing more with less and do not fret about doing more with more.

Internal And External Sources Of Business Finance

The business I am going to be talking about will be a shop called news, food and wine. This shop can use a wide variety of different internal and external sources, this is why I’m going to be using this business. A shop will need business finance because they might want to expand the business, they can’t afford to pay workers or the bills or they have just started up. Internal finance is to do with money that is coming from the owners or already in the company. However external means that the money is being taken out by the company and may not be the businesses money to be spending yet they have to pay it back. Internal finance Internal finance consists of the money in the business such as retained profit. Retained profit is profit made†¦show more content†¦There is also a loan which is a large amount of money someone can lend off a bank or a loan company to buy something. This may be used in a shop to buy new stock or for expanding but they don’t have the right amount of money to expand using internal finance. Loans can be arranged to pay back in small instalments which may be suitable for the shop to give back. However loans have some interest on them therefore you have to pay extra for getting the loan, the longer it takes to pay back the more the interest will be. A mortgage is a very large amount of money that can usually be taken out from a bank to buy something like a shop or a warehouse to keep stock. A shop may be paying off a mortgage by the profit they are making while they are using the shop. For a mortgage it usually has a high interest rate due to there being a large amount of money being given out. This is used when the business does not have the bulk amount of money to pay for the shop so they will allow the bank to buy it and mortgage it to the person to pay off monthly instalments for it. Hire purchase is something that is being hired yet in the meanwhile you are paying off for it, there will be monthly payments on the item. A shop would do this if they didn’t have the right amount of money at the time of purchase so they will pay off monthly. This can also be an easier than paying in bulk