Friday, January 31, 2020
Tax Law Essay Example for Free
Tax Law Essay Summarize the sources and objectives of modern income tax statutes. The primary source of US tax law is Congress. Power to initiate tax legislation is vested in the House of Representatives but all tax bills must pass both houses and be signed into law by the President. Many times the details of the legislation are not dictated by Congress, but left to the Treasury Department which adopts regulations (that have the force of law) to spell out the details as well as interpret the statutes and provide guidance on the law. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issues rulings that address the application of the law to specific fact situations. The court system is also involved in making tax law through decisions about specific fact situations. The main tax courts are the US Tax Court and the District Courts of the US. These decisions can (and do) overturn and change tax provisions based on other decisions, as well as the legislative history of the particular legislation. The primary objective of the federal income tax law is to raise revenues for government operations. In recent years, the federal government has broadened its use of the tax laws to accomplish various economic and social policy objectives. Economic Objectives The federal income tax law is used as a fiscal policy tool to stimulate private investment, reduce unemployment, and mitigate the effects of inflation on the economy. The federal income tax law also attempts to stimulate and encourage certain activities, specialized industries, and small businesses. Social Objectives The tax law attempts to encourage or discourage certain socially desirable or undersirable activities. For example: Special tax-favored pension and profit-sharing plans have been created for employees and self-employed individuals to supplement the social security retirement system. Compare and contrast GAAP and tax accounting. Explain why they are different. GAAP accounting records all financial transactions: cash, accrual, investment, expenses, tax and all other expenses and deductions that may or may not have to be reported on your yearly tax form. This form of accounting is governed by strict standards and rules and may show actual income that is different from taxable income. GAAP accounting is a set of standards provided by policy boards and commonly accepted methods of recording financial information that gives consistency to any type of financial reporting. Tax based accounting is used by most CPAs, and the majority of certified financial statements come from tax based accounting. The focus of this type of accounting is on tracking your taxable income as it builds throughout the year. Tax accounting is a method of producing financial statements that uses the same methods that will apply to your tax return. Features GAAP accounting provides a means for a business to have a complete overview of the reality of its operations by tracking all monetary relationships, investments and expenditure. Tax accounting provides a focus on business or personal expenses that pertain to tax records only. Benefits GAAP accounting is more involved then tax accounting and provides more details about the monetary reality of daily operations that may or may not pertain to your tax needs. It also provides an accurate statement of your liabilities and assets. Tax based accounting has less rules and makes it easier to see where you stand at any given point of the year with taxable income, it does not, however, reliably report all liabilities and assets. Considerations When choosing which form of accounting to use for your personal or business needs there are several points to consider. If your business must issue financial statements to investors, GAAP provides greater consistency in the reporting, as it is guided by industry standards and not subject to the many changes that occur in tax requirements on a yearly basis. If you are newly in business, or if you are just beginning to use an accounting method in your personal life, you may want to utilize GAAP standards, as it will allow ou to begin to see how money is used in all areas of your life and business. If you are established in your business and do not need to issue financial statements, or your personal budget is adequate and realistic to your living needs, the simpler tax accounting methods may be better for you as your focus will remain on what is needed to successfully file taxes at the end of each year, and you do not need the masses of data associated with tracking ever y financial transaction that occurs during the year. Expert Insight Tax accounting, also known as OCBOA (Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting), also includes a method of accounting known as cash basis. It is rare that any business can succeed basing its accounting on cash. The intricacies of financial transactions and the necessity of looking for non-cash based deductions come tax time make cash based tax accounting impractical. Note that all standards for accounting are set by the IASC (International Accounting Standards Commission). Differentiate between tax avoidance and tax evasion. Since the passage of the first income tax law, tax accountants, lawyers, and business persons have concerned themselves with choosing among the various forms a transaction may take. Tax planning is the process of arranging an individual’s transactions in such a manner as to maximize the individual’s after-tax income. This process is called tax avoidance, and it is a legal and legitimate pursuit. Some persons choose to ignore their obligations and the clear provisions of the law, and their actions often result in Tax Evasion. Tax evasion involves fraudulent or criminal behavior as well as conduct involving deception, concealment, or destruction of records. Tax evasion occurs when the taxpayer avoids payment of taxes that are legally due and owed under tax laws, either through underreporting income or claim deductions to which they are not entitled. The English precedents were relied on repeatedly by Indian courts as well. Tax avoidance was thus seen as a permanent right of assessees. Then came the turbulence, temporary though. The Supreme Court, in the McDowell Co Ltd vs CTO (1985 154 ITR 148 SC) case, said that time has come to depart from the old thinking. It said even tax avoidance is bad and deserves condemnation. The apex courts justification for this being, the House of Lords, the highest judicial forum of English, has given a go-by to the principle laid down by the British courts (in Duke of Westminster case). Since tax avoidance as a legal route was rejected by the very country of origin, it does not merit any better treatment in India, the Supreme Court held. The adverse legal consequences of this judgment for taxpayers were enormous. First, it came from the highest court of the land and, therefore, binding on all lower courts and Tribunals. Two, the McDowell case blurred the distinction between avoidance and evasion. The Department, of course, welcomed the ruling. It repeatedly tried applying this case, as only the Supreme Court can undo the McDowell case, if at all. And fortunately the apex court did reverse the findings in the McDowell case in Union of India vs Azadi Bachao Andolan (2003 132 Taxmann 373 SC). It was argued before the Supreme Court that the McDowell case had changed the face of fiscal jurisprudence in the country. Therefore, for any tax planning, the court must strike down what is intended to and results in avoidance. Rejecting this argument, the apex court upheld the legitimate rights of taxpayer in tax avoidance. In the process, it found that the McDowell ruling was nothing exceptional but only an exception to the well-settled law.
Thursday, January 23, 2020
M-commerce :: essays research papers
Contents Part A: What is M-Commerce? 2 Part B: Terminologies & Standards 2 Part C: Features & Advantages of M-Commerce 3 Part D: Services 3, 4 Part E: Limitations of M-Commerce 4 Part F: Conclusion 4 Part G: References 5 What is Mobile Commerce? M-commerce (mobile commerce) is the buying and selling or transaction of goods and services through wireless devices such as cellular phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). OR Simply, any e-commerce done through wireless devices (e.g. mobile phones) over any network especially the internet. Some Terminologies & Standards Used in M-Commerce      GPS:          Global Positioning System A system of satellites and receiving devices used to locate positions on the Earth      PDA:          Personal Digital Assistant It’s a handheld wireless computer.      SMS:          Short Messaging Service Enables us to send simple text messages.      EMS:          Enhanced Messaging Service Enables us to send simple melodies, images, sounds, animations and formatted text.      MMS:          Multimedia Messaging Service Enables us to send multimedia messages.      WAP:          Wireless Application Protocol It is an international standard for mobile internet access.      Smart Phone: Internet-enabled cell phones A combination of a mobile phone and a PDA.      GPRS: General Packet Radio Service One of the latest advancements in wireless data. It is used in GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) for transferring data in packets. Features & Advantages of M-Commerce Mobility Users can carry cell phones or other mobile devices anywhere. Reachability With a cell phone a user can be contacted anywhere anytime. Convenience These devices can store data and have advance features and are easy to use. Instant Connectivity Users can connect instantly and easily to the internet through their wireless devices anytime anywhere. Location-Based Services By knowing interests of a user sellers can send user-specific or location-specific advertising messages. Mobile Services Some services offered in m-commerce are:- Entertainment †¢Ã‚     Music †¢Ã‚     Games †¢Ã‚     Graphics †¢Ã‚     Video Communications †¢Ã‚     Short Messaging †¢Ã‚     Multimedia Messaging †¢Ã‚     Advertising Messaging †¢Ã‚     E-mail †¢Ã‚     Video – Conferencing Transactions †¢Ã‚     Banking †¢Ã‚     Shopping †¢Ã‚     Auctions †¢Ã‚     Booking & Reservations Information †¢Ã‚     News †¢Ã‚     Sports †¢Ã‚     Jokes †¢Ã‚     Directory Services †¢Ã‚     Maps †¢Ã‚     Traffic and Weather †¢Ã‚     Stock Exchange Limitations of M-Commerce      Limited storage capacity of devices      Hard to browse sites      Small size of mobile devices (screens, keypads etc.)      Insufficient bandwidth      Power consumption limitations      Poor reception in some places (like tunnels) Conclusion Within a few years, there will be well over a billion mobile phone users worldwide and the majority of mobile phones will be connected to the Internet.
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Benefits Of Reading Books Essay
I’ve found that no matter what I read, the act of reading every day has helped me in nearly every aspect of my life. Here are a few of my favorite ways that reading has improved my quality of life, and will definitely improve yours. 1. Mental Stimulation Studies have shown that staying mentally stimulated can slow the progressof (or possibly even prevent) Alzheimer’s and Dementia, since keeping your brain active and engaged prevents it from losing power. Just like any other muscle in the body, the brain requires exercise to keep it strong and healthy, so the phrase â€Å"use it or lose it†is particularly apt when it comes to your mind. Doing puzzles and playing games such as chess have also been found to be helpful with cognitive stimulation. 2. Stress Reduction No matter how much stress you have at work, in your personal relationships, or countless other issues faced in daily life, it all just slips away when you lose yourself in a great story. A well-written novel can transport you to other realms, while an engaging article will distract you and keep you in the present moment, letting tensions drain away and allowing you to relax. 3. Knowledge Everything you read fills your head with new bits of information, and you never know when it might come in handy. The more knowledge you have, the better-equipped you are to tackle any challenge you’ll ever face. Additionally, here’s a bit of food for thought: should you ever find yourself in dire circumstances, remember that although you might lose everything elseâ€â€your job, your possessions, your money, even your healthâ€â€knowledge can never be taken from you. 4. Vocabulary Expansion This goes with the above topic: the more you read, the more words you gain exposure to, and they’ll inevitably make their way into your everyday vocabulary. Being articulate and well-spoken is of great help in any profession, and knowing that you can speak to higher-ups with self-confidence can be an enormous boost to your self-esteem. It could even aid in your career, as those who are well-read, well-spoken, and knowledgeable on a variety of topics tend to get promotions more quickly (and more often) than those with smaller vocabularies and lack of awareness of literature, scientific breakthroughs, and global events. Reading books is also vital for learning new languages, as non-native speakers gain exposure to words used in context, which will ameliorate their own speaking and writing fluency. 5. Memory Improvement When you read a book, you have to remember an assortment of characters, their backgrounds, ambitions, history, and nuances, as well as the various arcs and sub-plots that weave their way through every story. That’s a fair bit to remember, but brains are marvellous things and can remember these things with relative ease. Amazingly enough, every new memory you create forges new synapses (brain pathways)and strengthens existing ones, which assists in short-term memory recall as well as stabilizing moods. How cool is that? 6. Stronger Analytical Thinking Skills Have you ever read an amazing mystery novel, and solved the mystery yourself before finishing the book? If so, you were able to put critical and analytical thinking to work by taking note of all the details provided and sorting them out to determine â€Å"whodunnit†. That same ability to analyze details also comes in handy when it comes to critiquing the plot; determining whether it was a well-written piece, if the characters were properly developed, if the storyline ran smoothly, etc. Should you ever have an opportunity to discuss the book with others, you’ll be able to state your opinions clearly, as you’ve taken the time to really consider all the aspects involved. 7. Improved Focus and Concentration In our internet-crazed world, attention is drawn in a million different directions at once as we multi-task through every day. In a single 5-minute span, the average person will divide their time between working on a task, checking email, chatting with a couple of people (via gchat, skype, etc.), keeping an eye on twitter, monitoring their smartphone, and interacting with co-workers. This type of ADD-like behaviour causes stress levels to rise, andlowers our productivity. When you read a book, all of your attention is focused on the storyâ€â€the rest of the world just falls away, and you can immerse yourself in every fine detail you’re absorbing. Try reading for 15-20 minutes before work (i.e. on your morning commute, if you take public transit), and you’ll be surprised at how much more focused you are once you get to the office. 8. Better Writing Skills This goes hand-in-hand with the expansion of your vocabulary: exposure to published, well-written work has a noted effect on one’s own writing, as observing the cadence, fluidity, and writing styles of other authors will invariably influence your own work. In the same way that musicians influence one another, and painters use techniques established by previous masters, so do writers learn how to craft prose by reading the works of others. 9. Tranquility In addition to the relaxation that accompanies reading a good book, it’s possible that the subject you read about can bring about immense inner peace and tranquility. Reading spiritual texts can lower blood pressure and bring about an immense sense of calm, while reading self-help books has been shown to help people suffering from certain mood disorders and mild mental illnesses. 10. Free Entertainment Though many of us like to buy books so we can annotate them and dog-ear pages for future reference, they can be quite pricey. For low-budget entertainment, you can visit your local library and bask in the glory of the countless tomes available there for free. Libraries have books on every subject imaginable, and since they rotate their stock and constantly get new books, you’ll never run out of reading materials.
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
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