We address the challenge of designing performance-based incentive schemes for schoolteachers. When teachers specialize in different subjects in a society with social prejudice, performance-based pay that depends on the average of student performance can cause teachers to coordinate their effort...

The Government of India submitted the ‘Direct Taxes Code' Bill, 2010 the Parliament in August, 2010. The Code, expected to come into force from the next financial year i.e. 1st April 2012, is not just a regular amendment but replaces all the existing direct tax laws in India. The drafters have...

With the objective of tax-minimization towards increasing shareholder return, tax-avoidance strategies are being frequently employed by corporations especially multinationals. In the wake of increasing evidence of corporate collapses linked with tax-avoidance maneuvers, both economic and legal...

Whether or not refund is due to an assessee, is in itself a vexed question which requires judicial determination and appellate endorsement. Whether or not interest is payable on such refund, is no lesser vexed question. While in common law it is well settled that interest is payable for...

In a recent decision the European Court of Justice (‘ECJ') has examined the claim of a taxpayer alleging discriminatory and unfair classification by the tax authorities even though similarly placed goods were classified differently with a resultant lower tax-incidence.In this decision the ECJ...

Many firms use ranking systems for the employee performance evaluation process, where they reward with higher wages to top performers and lower wages to low performers. However, in some firms, payoffs of an employee depend on the final outcomes of the assigned tasks and not on the relative...

An inquiry into the innate nature of a tax presupposes examination of an intricate web of variables, which on most occasions results into raging debates. For examples, whether a tax on service provider is a tax on service or a professional tax, whether a tax on capital value of assets is same as...