The European Corporation: Strategy ... - Google Book Search

The European Corporation: Strategy ... - Google Book Search

"Capitalismo do Reno"

Com o colapso do capitalismo de matriz anglo-saxónica (o mercado como mecanismo de coordenação de toda a actividade económica e orientação para os resultados de curto prazo), deverá então a sociedade capitalista em que vivemos repensar as suas fundações institucionais.

As ideias que irão vingar não são novas, como se verá a seguir, mas sim são divergentes da quasi-hegemonia do modelo anglo-saxónico (daí a pouca atenção que foi dada) que era visto como aquele que representava maior eficiência económica e por conseguinte maior bem-estar social.

Transcreve-se a definição do "Capitalismo do Reno" retirada do answers.com:

"A system of capitalism characterized by non-market patterns of coordination by economic actors and extensive state-regulation of market outcomes. The term Rhenish Capitalism was popularized by Michel Albert in his book Capitalism vs. Capitalism (1993) and is central to recent research on ‘varieties of capitalism’. Rhenish capitalism is associated with Northern European economies—most centrally Germany but also the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden—and has also been used to characterize Japan. Non-market coordination refers to the engagement by firms, unions, and other social actors of a variety of associational bodies used to develop and renew economic institutions. Examples include collective wage bargaining, vocational training systems, technology transfer initiatives, and credit-based financial systems with ‘stakeholder’ patterns of corporate governance. State regulation supports non-market coordination through accepting many associational agreements as legally binding and through granting statutory bargaining rights to traditionally weak social actors, such as unions within collective bargaining law or employees within ‘codetermination’ or workplace representation law.

The varieties of capitalism literature has compared Rhenish and Anglo-Saxon economies to develop the idea of ‘comparative institutional advantage’. According to this theory, differences in capitalism systems create different patterns of economic adjustment, particularly applied to patterns of commercial innovation. Deep patterns of non-market coordination associated with Rheinisch capitalism create competitive advantages in industries associated with ‘incremental’ innovation or ‘diversified quality production’ such as the machine-tool or speciality chemical industries, but, through creating restraints on the short-term reallocation of resources, create comparative institutional disadvantages in newly developing or ‘radically innovative’ industries such as biotechnology or computer software.

Political research on Rhenish capitalism draws on the literature on democratic corporatism, suggesting that forms of social democracy characterizing the small European economies also exist at the level of the firm. Proponents of Rhenish capitalism argue that strong state regulation creates ‘beneficial constraints’ on employers such as limits on employee dismissals that encourage the development of substantial firm-specific training of employees and patterns of ‘workplace democracy’ that are lacking in Anglo-Saxon forms of capitalism. Critics of Rhenish capitalism argue that long-term employment norms limit the ability of firms to quickly adjust to technological and market changes and create labour market rigidities that contribute to higher unemployment than is typically found in Anglo-Saxon economies. Other critics note that Rhenish capitalism produces cross-class political coalitions between employers and skilled employees that exclude the unemployed and low-skilled (particularly immigrants and, until recent decades, women) from meaningful political representation."

Tendo em conta as vissicitudes da natureza humana, não posso deixar de me afirmar como adepto deste modelo capitalista.

Vamos acompanhar os desenvolvimentos institucionais que se avizinham.

BENEFÍCIOS FISCAIS: PRODUÇÃO DE FILMES

Com os incentivos abaixo descritos, a França demonstra uma aposta forte na indústria cinematográfica.

International Tax Review, 22/12/2008:

"France creates tax credit for films

The French government is to introduce a tax credit to bring filmmakers from around the world to shoot films in France.
The new regulations will see 20% of the production costs returned and could take up to €4 million ($5.6 million) off the film's budget.
The credit will extend to documentary makers and television and animation productions.
The move is designed to reverse the trend that has seen low-cost Eastern European countries become the favoured location for filmmakers.
The new tax credit rules state that the filming must take place over at least five days and spend at least €1 million ($1.4 million) to qualify."

IRS: UMA ADMINISTRAÇÃO FISCAL MODERNA

Leia-se a seguinte notícia divulgada pelo IRS. Realcei a negrito a parte final, que demonstra bem o grau de evolução e maturidade da administração fiscal norte-americana.

"Issue Number: IR-2008-144 Inside This Issue

IRS Names Seven New Members to IRPAC WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced the selection of seven new members for the Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC). The appointees will join 27 returning members who are in the second year or third year of a three-year term. “IRPAC provides an important role in the tax administration process,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “IRPAC members provide thoughtful perspectives and recommendations on many information reporting issues that help us make the right decisions for taxpayers.” The committee will hold its first meeting on January 27, 2009. The following people have been appointed to serve on the committee: S. Douglas Borisky is counsel with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in New York, N.Y. Elizabeth T. Dold is a principal attorney in the Groom Law Group in Washington, D.C. Lisa Germano is the president, general counsel and co-founder of the Actuarial Benefits & Design Company in Midlothian, Va. Joan M. Hagen is Managing Director, Financial Management Services, and University Chief Accountant for Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. Jerri LS Langer is a founding member of Cokala Tax Information Reporting Solutions in Ann Arbor, Mich. Emily L. Lindsay is currently teaching financial accounting and managerial accounting at American University, Kogod School of Business, as Executive-in- Residence in Washington, D.C. Kathy M. Ploch is a tax manager for Zientek & Company, PC in Houston, Texas.

The IRPAC was established in 1991 and focuses on information reporting issues. The committee’s purpose is to provide an organized public forum for discussion of relevant tax administration issues between IRS officials and representatives of the public. "

O presidente Obama já começa a preocupar...

Notícia da Int. Tax Review de Dezembro 2008


"Tyco changes domicile

Tyco, the US industrial company, is planning to move its tax residence from Bermuda to Switzerland. The change in its place of incorporation needs the approval of a special general meeting of shareholders in March. It is not the only US corporation to be preparing for the same change. Foster Wheeler, an engineering, construction and project management company, and Weatherford, a service supplier in the oil and gas markets, have announced similar plans in recent days.
News reports speculate that American companies are moving out of tax havens now to avoid any penalties that incoming President Barack Obama might impose on US companies that use such locations.
More to follow..."

ENTREVISTA DE LOBO XAVIER

António Lobo Xavier concedeu uma entrevista à revista TOC n.º 104 (Novembro/2008), donde se destacam as seguintes afirmações que lhe são atribuídas:

1. "(...) A partir dos dados do Relatório do Conselho Superior dos Tribunais Administrativos e Fiscais e dos dados da própria administração fiscal, calculo que estejam hoje em litígio, quer por via administrativa quer nos tribunais, entre cinco e sete milhões de euros."

2. "(...) Os incentivos estão mal orientados. Os funcionários têm incentivos e prémios para a liquidação dos impostos e não sofrem as consequências quando têm de os devolver aos contribuintes."

3. "Só se deveria premiar as pessoas pelo resultado definitivo. Não faz sentido estimular cobranças temerárias, não fundamentadas, em muitos casos surrealistas, que outras gerações ou outros governos pagarão. (...) A administração não cumpre espontaneamente as sentenças. Não conheço caso algum em que, tendo o contribuinte ganho, a administração cumpra a sentença e devolva o que foi cobrado a mais. Em geral, temos que ir com acções de execução da sentença."

Estará alguém disponível para fazer o contraditório destas afirmações atribuídas a Lobo Xavier na citada entrevista?

Debate de ideias

É uma pena não assitirmos em Portugal à organização de conferências como esta.

DESPEDIMENTOS NA ADMINISTRAÇÃO FISCAL INGLESA

Notícia da ITR:

"UK tax authorities announces job cuts and office closures

International Tax Review --> -->

HM Revenue & Customs in the UK will close 93 offices across the country and cut over 3,400 jobs by 2011, said the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union which represents over 70,000 HMRC employees.
The cuts followed a regional review programme which began in 2006. HMRC consulted staff, trade unions and key external stakeholders on its proposals.
The PCS has warned that the closures will be bad for business, the public and the taxpayer and will lead to the loss of valuable skills and expertise.
"As the recession worsens this will come as a bitter blow to a dedicated workforce and will lead to a loss of valuable knowledge and expertise," said a union spokesperson.
"Job cuts are already damaging the ability of HMRC to function and undermining public confidence in the department," he said."

UBS: Acompanhamento

Foi dito neste blog que se iriam acompanhar os desenvolvimentos do "Caso UBS".

Divulga-se a seguir a notícia publicada na International Tax Review.

"UBS forced to name US tax evadersDavid Stevenson --> -->

UBS has finally succumbed to US pressure and will release the names of an unspecified number of American customers who may have committed tax fraud.
The US has been asking the Swiss bank to share client information since it indicted one of its executives for aiding tax fraud in November.
The US authorities have requested information on US-domiciled holders of Swiss-based accounts at UBS. Under Swiss law the bank cannot turn over Swiss-based client data to any foreign authorities. "Pursuant to a Switzerland-US treaty, these matters go through an administrative assistance process. The administrative assistance proceedings are a matter between the relevant domestic and foreign authorities and the UBS clients concerned, UBS is not a party to these proceedings," said a spokesperson for UBS.
This will not signal the end of Swiss banking secrecy laws. "Contrary to the idea conjured up in public discussions, banking secrecy is not absolutely valid. It is not there to protect cases of tax fraud," Peter Kurer, UBS chairman, is reported to have said.
Swiss law distinguishes between tax evasion and tax fraud. Tax fraud is considered a criminal matter and those involved cannot hide behind banking secrecy laws. "Banking secrecy is misunderstood," said Rolf Wüthrich, a senior tax partner at Vischer, a law firm in Switzerland. "It is not absolute secrecy and can be lifted to aid criminal proceedings."
The use of financial instruments to avoid paying tax is not considered a crime in Switzerland But there are rumours that the Swiss authorities may reach a settlement with the US authorities in their long-running investigations into alleged tax evasion in there. If the Swiss start lifting banking secrecy rules to aid investigations into tax evasion this would be a significant departure from their position now.
"UBS was running the risk of losing its banking licence. It was this threat of having its license revoked that prompted the bank to act," said Wüthrich.
However, others are not so sure. "I doubt that the US would have revoked UBS's banking license due to the size and stature of the bank. Although if the US authorities believed that UBS was one of the main culprits for the significant loss of tax revenues then it is possible," said an advisor who did not wish to be named.
About 19,000 US citizens have money in Swiss accounts. "It would be logistically impossible to go through all of the accounts held by US citizens," said Wüthrich.
"The US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are examining UBS's conduct in relation to cross-border services provided to US-domiciled clients by UBS client advisors based in Switzerland. The Department of Justice is examining whether certain US clients sought, with the assistance of UBS client advisors, to evade their US tax obligations," said Byrne.
The US does not distinguish tax evasion and tax fraud as clearly as their Swiss counterparts. However, the Swiss government has the final say regarding the release of banking information to foreign authorities. At present, this will only be done where there have been allegations of criminal tax fraud and not tax evasion."


Mostra-se importante notar que os conceitos de evasão fiscal e fraude fiscal têm uma importância relevante na disponibilização de informação por parte das autoridades suiças.

Tax Governance Institute (TGI)

Link para o TGI.