Fill in the following prepositions where necessary.

in (x2)    on (x2)  of

 

Excise Duties: Energy

EU excise duty rules cover _______ (1) all energy products used for heating and transport, as well as electricity.

The primary goal of EU energy tax legislation is to ensure that the Single Market runs smoothly and to prevent distortions ___ (2) competition and trade within the EU.

____ (3) addition, energy taxation can play an important role in achieving wider EU goals. In particular, it can help achieve Europe's objective ___ (4) becoming a competitive, low-carbon and energy efficient economy.

• Current EU rules ____ (5) Energy Taxation
• Proposal to revise the Energy Taxation Directive
• Other legislation ____ (6) Energy Taxation
• Energy Tax Rates in the EU

Exercise 7. Word formation.

Complete these sentences using the base word given at the end of each sentence. You need to form an appropriate word. The first one (0) is given as an example.

 

0. Gambling licenses are subject to excise in many countries today. (GAMBLE)

1. In 18th-century England, and for a brief time in British North America, gambling __________ was for a time also subject to taxation, in the form of stamp duty. (IT)

2. Canada has some of the _________ rates of taxes on cigarettes and alcohol in the world. (HIGH)

3. In the United States both the federal and state __________ levy excise taxes on goods such as alcohol, motor fuel, and tobacco products. (GOVERN)

4. Even though federal excise taxes are geographically uniform, state excise taxes __________ considerably. (VARIABLE)

5. In India, almost all _________ products are included for excise duty. (MANUFACTURE)

6. The law in Russia _________ strict licensing rules for oil refineries and alcohol distillers. (REGULATION)

7. In 2010, share of excise taxes in _______ price of a typical cigarette pack in Russia reached 15 - 30 % - still less than its European counterpart. (RETAILER)

8. Tax on mineral resource ________ is paid by oil companies. (EXTRACT)

9. _________ of tax rate for oil (per metric ton) is delegated to the government. (DETERMINE)

 

Exercise 8.

Match the words (1-4) with their definitions (A-D).

1 excise stamp            A a tax on imports (and sometimes, on exports) by

                                          the customs authorities of a country to raise state

                                          revenue, and/or to protect domestic industries

                                     

2 customs duty           B  charge levied by the State on consumption,

                                          expenditure, privilege, or right but not on income

                                          or property

 

3 Tobin tax                C  ad valorem tax levied on sale of goods or services

 

4 indirect tax             D  a stamp attached to some products, such as alcohol

                                          and cigarettes, to indicate that excise taxes on the

                                          products have been paid

 

5 sales tax                  E  an excise tax assessed on currency conversions.

                                          The tax is imposed to help stabilize currency and

                                          interest rates by penalizing currency speculation

 

 

UNIT EXTENSION

Exercise 9. Two-minute presentation.

Choose one of the following subjects about an excise and prepare to give a two-minute presentation about it to the group.

   

· An excise - the Basics

· Impact of an excise tax

· Excise taxation: who pays and how much

· Country-level evidence on different excise systems

· Problems with complex excise systems

· Tobacco and alcohol excise tax policy goal

·  How will an excise affect me?

· Problems of implementation of an excise

· Advantages and disadvantages of an excise

 

PART 2

TOPIC FOCUS: Roles of Tax Authorities

Discuss the questions:

1. What are the roles of tax administration in your country?

2. What legal and illegal means do taxpayers use to reduce their tax liability?

3. What is the most common type of tax fraud in your country?

4. What measures do governments implement to prevent tax fraud?

5. What is the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion?

6. What are the common tax avoidance methods?

7. What are offshore tax havens?

8. What benefits does offshore banking offer to its clients?

9. What are the common forms of tax evasion?

 

Making tax laws is the responsibility of a government’s legislative branch, while their implementation is administered by a government’sexecutive branch. The executive branch, or tax administration, is the government authority responsible for assessment, audit and collection of public revenues. Tax administration has various powers or jurisdictions, namely:

· to administer tax laws fairly and impartially

· to perform regular or enforced collection of taxes

· to monitor tax compliance

· to enforce tax laws in cases of non-compliance

· to facilitate and encourage voluntary compliancewith tax laws

· to provide assistance or information to taxpayers

· to perform tax inspections

· to conduct registration of taxpayers

· to assign a tax identification number

· to detect tax crimes and crime perpetrators

One of the principal tasks of tax administration is the combat against tax evasion. Tax evasion, or illegal non-payment or underpayment of tax liability, is the most serious type of tax fraud, which may inflict considerable damage to a country’s fiscal and public revenues system.

    Committing tax evasion is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment, fines, and other penalties. To prevent tax evasion, states institute various forms of legislative measures, instruments and procedures aimed at minimizing the scope and the possibility of tax evasion.

    The reason for tax evasion is not always only the unwillingness to pay taxes. For some persons, involved in illegal activities, a true representation of their personal income could have far-reaching implications. Reporting these earnings could lead to money launderingcharges. The widespread occurrence of money laundering has led many countries to adopt measures, or anti-laundering laws. These laws require financial institutions to prevent, detect and report money-laundering activities. One of the key conditions for detecting money laundering is to ensure the traceability of transactions to establish the origin of funds.