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The purpose of this paper is to advance a set of criteria for appraising the merits of alternative options to financing common property capital expenditure in multi‐owned housing (MOH) complexes and to then draw on this conceptual framework to determine which mode of common property capital expenditure funding is preferable.

A priori reasoning has been provided to pursue the study's objective.

Sinking funds represent the preferred approach to financing common property expenditure in MOH schemes and special levies are the least preferred approach.

Due to the a priori based conceptual development undertaken, some subjectivity is bound to be invoked.

The study provides key insights to government policy makers charged with drafting MOH legislation and provides strong support for those jurisdictions that require sinking funds to be raised in MOH complexes. The study also informs the owners executive committees of MOH schemes of the benefits of maintaining sinking funds.

The study highlights the considerable MOH unit owner financial distress that can be averted by pursuing a policy of raising sinking funds.

The study has immense originality, as it is the first academic study to focus on MOH common property capital expenditure issues.

In this article the costs and likely benefits of industrial training are compared, for the nation, for the individual, and for companies under the impact of levy/grant systems introduced under the Industrial Training Act, 1964. Problems of decision‐making at national and industrial or company level will be related to new problems facing the individual in modern society. The problem of evaluating the benefits appears in a new and more favourable light if industrial training is seen as an effort to increase not merely skill and technical knowledge, but also motivation and as looking forward to a new pattern in industrial relations.

Most libraries use a combination of three methods for acquiring serials: purchase through subscription agencies and other vendors, purchase direct from publishers, and the exchange of materials with other institutions. Subscription agencies and vendors dominate serial acquisitions, handling between half and two‐thirds of the annual serial expenditures of U.S. libraries. Subscription agents can avail themselves of economies of scale, discounts from publishers, and sophisticated automated systems, to provide basic subscription services — order placement and renewal, publisher prepayment, and support for the claiming of missing issues. Beyond these basics, agents offer a variety of ad‐ditional services ranging from printed catalogs and customized invoices to online files of serial pricing data, and electronic messaging systems. Although some agencies offer discounts on certain types of publications and services, they usually levy service or handling fees to cover the cost of service provision.

Just £1m expended on research into large bored under‐reamed piles, has made possible the construction of tall buildings on London clay to a value of £1.25bn. Pulverised fuel ash (PFA) which used to be a waste product is now used to replace about 350,000 tons of cement per annum at a saving of over nearly £9m per year as a result of £2.25m spent on research. These are just two of the examples of enormous returns on research investment in the construction industry in a report ‘Research Funding in the Construction Industry’, published by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

During the first six or seven years of operation of the Industrial Training Act, boards have been given freedom to develop their approach to encouraging training within fairly wide limits. Approval for their proposals has generally been forthcoming, and it has clearly been recognised that variations in approach are desirable, both as a means of identifying more effective methods of training, and as a necessity to meet the different needs of particular industries. The reasons for establishing boards have been stated many times, and are already well known. A number of industries recognised the need for an organised approach to industrial training prior to 1964, and had already in existence voluntary organisations concerned with training. The Wool Textile industry provides one example. The existing nucleus of training staff in the industry's Recruitment, Education and Training department became, in 1964, members of staff of the first Industry Training Board, and their work continued, but on a very much broader front. The voluntary training levy was replaced by a statutory one, and all firms were involved in a levy and grant system. As may be imagined, this met with something less than approval in many cases. Nevertheless, it did provide the incentive to improve the quantity and quality of training.

Local governments in the U.S. rely less on the property tax than they have historically. This long-term trend has been accompanied by important shifts in the composition of local revenues. While the property tax still serves as one primary source of local government revenue, increasingly other sources are used to pay for local government. This paper first examines that trend, the forces behind it, and its regional impact. We then explore trends in three central states - - Iowa, Nebraska, and Arkansas -- that have experienced substantial revenue shifts in recent years. A concluding section discusses the options for the future.

Special districts comprise over 40% of local governments, prompting debate on the merits of general versus special entities. Previous research focused on relative cost-efficiency and tended to ignore how special districts impact government accountability. This study fills a critical need by testing how type of government (general versus special) impacts citizen awareness of and familiarity with government, a precondition for accountability. Drawing from two theoretical perspectives (institutional reform and public choice), we used survey research to assess familiarity with the goals and performance and financial practices of local governments in Indiana. Our study participants were more aware of and familiar with general than special governments, which supports the institutional reform perspective more than public choice. We conclude that efforts to improve accountability should be expanded to include special districts.

This paper aims to examine the indirect tax reform process in China. Specifically, it examines the reform of business tax to value-added tax. Inefficiencies within the new tax system are identified and discussed. The “business tax to value-added tax” reform was seen as an essential element in promoting the economic transition and stimulating the service industries (Jin and Jin, 2013).

The paper uses archival and current literature. In undertaking the study, the different periods of indirect tax are examined, prior to 1994, 1994-2012, the changes from 2012 culminating in the new 2017 regime. Attributes of “good” value-added tax (VAT) systems are covered as well as a comparison with New Zealand’s goods and services tax (GST).

The paper finds that to align with the international trend of indirect tax development and more efficiently accomplish the economic transition China needs to build a more neutral VAT system with fewer reduced rates and exemptions and the tax system have created tax inefficiencies and increased the compliance cost. VAT is imposing an increasingly significant impact on China’s national economy and industrial structure as well as accountants.

This is the first study that analyses the indirect tax reforms that are currently being implemented in China and as such has lessons for China but also for VAT/GST in general. We should not forget how special New Zealand’s GST is and the clarity of focus of those who implemented it!

The purpose is to review public policies and government interventions in the book publishing industry, a sector where public policies have blossomed. The paper concentrates on five major issues: intellectual property rights and issue of infringements (piracy), the debate about the fixed price of books (vs free market) or the agency versus wholesale models, VAT discrimination between printed books and e-books, the role institutions like libraries and registration authorities, and competition issues.

This article is based on an extensive set of research initiated by the EC JRC IPTS on the “Statistical, ecosystems and competitiveness analysis of the Media and Content Industries”. The research implied an extensive review of the literature, meetings with players and validation workshops. This paper focuses more on the analysis of policy documents and position of players.

The paper shows a growing discrepancy between the leading position of the EU publishing industry and its position in on-line distribution and production of e-books. The EU leads the global publishing market, with companies like Bertelsmann, Hachette or Pearson. However, compared with the USA, in the EU, the e-book market is still negligible. The European e-book market is fragmented, expanding fast in the UK and lagging behind in other Member States. As digitisation of books and earlier on-line distribution of physical books are changing the landscape, the paper considers potential policies at EU level to coordinate, accompany and speed up the process of digitalisation.

The article stems from the research initiated by the IPTS on the “Statistical, ecosystems and competitiveness analysis of the Media and Content Industries” (MCI). This research was based on a review and synthesis of the available literature, desk research. The results were reviewed by experts from the book industry at dedicated meetings. The paper does not cover other important public policy issues such as the role in the functioning of democracies, triggering consequent rights and responsibilities with respect to human rights, democracy, and freedom of information and cultural diversity.

To contribute to the debate about the policies needed for the economic health and development conditions that will support the future competitiveness of the book publishing industry. There is a need to better understand if policies designed for the physical world will be effective in a digital world. Distribution is very different in a digital world from physical distribution; these supply-side policies may reach their limits.

In the media and entertainment markets, the book market is the only one where EU companies (Bertelsman, Hachette, Pearson, Wolters Kluwer) lead. However, this industry is one of the less covered segments of these markets. Besides, the paper combines a review of legacy policies such as copyright, fixed prices, and issues raised by the digital shift such as VAT discrimination between physical books and e-books.