nep-acc New Economics Papers
on Accounting and Auditing
Issue of 2006‒06‒10
four papers chosen by
Alexander Harin
Modern University for the Humanities

  1. Taxation, Dividend Payments and Ex-Day Price Changes By Daunfeldt, Sven-Olov; Selander, Carina; Wikström, Magnus
  2. Optimal Taxation of Intermediate Goods in the Presence of Externalities: A Survey Towards the Transport Sector By Ahlberg, Joakim
  3. De financiële toestand van de Belgische ondernemingen 2006 Ratio’s en totaalscore op basis van de FiTo-meter 1995-2004 By H. OOGHE; C. SPAENJERS
  4. Task Difficulty, Performance Measure Characteristics, and the Trade-Off between Insurance and Well-Allocated Effort By Wendelin Schnedler

  1. By: Daunfeldt, Sven-Olov (Högskolan i Gävle); Selander, Carina (Department of Economics, Umeå University); Wikström, Magnus (Department of Economics, Umeå University)
    Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to study the effects of taxation on dividend payments and ex-dividend price changes in Sweden during 1991-1995. Under this period, dividends and capital gains were taxed at a flat rate. Tax changes in Sweden during the 1990s thus provide an opportunity to include direct measures of the tax treatment of dividends and capital gains in the empirical analysis, in contrast to previous studies. The results indicate that tax reforms have large effects on dividend payments, while the effects on ex-dividend price changes are less conclusive.
    Keywords: capital gain; censoring; dividend; flat tax; tax reform
    JEL: G12 G35 H24
    Date: 2006–06–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:umnees:0684&r=acc
  2. By: Ahlberg, Joakim (VTI)
    Abstract: The paper surveys the literature on optimal taxation with emphasis on intermediate goods, or, more specific, freight (road) transport. There are two models frequently used, first, the one emanated from Diamond & Mirrlees' (1971) paper, where the production efficiency lemma made it clear that intermediate goods was not to be taxed. And, second, the Ramsey-Boiteux model where a cost-of-service regulation imposes a budget constraint for the regulated firm. In the latter model, in contrast to the first, freight transports (intermediate goods) are to be taxed in the Ramsey tradition, and thus trades the production efficiency lemma against a budget restriction. The paper also discusses welfare effects due to environmental tax reforms, with emphasis to what has become to known as the double dividend hypothesis. Finally, administrative costs in the context of optimal taxation is touched upon, a subject that is to a large degree repressed in optimal tax theory.
    Keywords: Optimal Taxation; Intermediate Goods; Transport; Welfare Effects; Environmental Tax; Administrative Costs
    JEL: H21 H23
    Date: 2006–06–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:vtiwps:2006_003&r=acc
  3. By: H. OOGHE; C. SPAENJERS
    Abstract: Deze studie heeft als primaire doel de evolutie van de financiële gezondheid van de Belgische ondernemingen over een periode van 10 jaar in kaart te brengen. Het is de voortzetting van de jaarlijkse uitgave “De financiële toestand van de Belgische ondernemingen” (laatste editie: Ooghe, Spaenjers en Vandermoere, 2005). De studie loopt over het tijdsvak 1995-2004. De nadruk ligt op de meest recente gegevens van 2004. Dit zijn hoofdzakelijk de jaarrekeningen afgesloten op 31 december 2004 en neergelegd in 2005 (ten laatste op 31 december 2005). Aanvullend worden ook de eerste signalen omtrent de evolutie sinds eind 2004 besproken. Dit gebeurt mede op basis van andere studies en onderzoekingen. We hebben getracht een algemeen beeld van de belangrijkste trends te schetsen. Waar nodig worden opvallende evoluties extra belicht en wordt aandacht besteed aan bepaalde groepen van ondernemingen (per regio, sector, grootteklasse en leeftijdscategorie). Bovendien kan de lezer in bijlage heel wat achtergronddata terugvinden. Inzicht in de meest recente dynamiek op het vlak van de financiële toestand van ondernemingen is voor verschillende partijen van groot belang. Hierbij denken we aan de overheid en de patronale en syndicale organisaties, maar ook aan bedrijfsleiders, bankiers, accountants en onderzoekers. Hopelijk kan dit artikel dan ook bijdragen tot een betere kennis van de Belgische ondernemingswereld. In een eerste deel wordt uitleg gegeven bij de data. Deel 2 gaat in op het aantal Belgische ondernemingen en de verdeling hiervan over verschillende sectoren en klassen. Het derde deel is de hoofdmoot van dit artikel en beschrijft de evolutie van de financiële toestand van de Belgische ondernemingen van 1995 tot en met 2004. De eerste signalen omtrent 2005 en 2006 worden toegelicht in het vierde deel. Deel 5, tenslotte, concludeert.
    Date: 2006–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:06/380&r=acc
  4. By: Wendelin Schnedler
    Abstract: When designing incentives for a manager, the trade-off between insurance and a "good" allocation of effort across various tasks is often identified with a trade-off between the responsiveness (sensitivity, precision, signal-noise ratio) of the performance measure and its similarity (congruity, congruence) to the benefit of the manager's employer. A necessary condition for the trade-off between responsiveness and similarity to be meaningful is that a perfectly congruent measure creates a higher benefit than an equally responsive non-congruent measure. We show that this condition is met if and only if all tasks are exactly equally difficult and there are no spill-overs or synergies across tasks. This means that for most practical purposes, notions of responsiveness and similarity are not informative about the tradeoff between insurance and allocation. In order to understand this trade-off, task difficulty has also to be taken into account.
    Keywords: hidden action, multitasking, incentives
    JEL: M41 M52 J33 D82
    Date: 2006–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:06/147&r=acc

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