As firms grow, taxation and, in particular, value added tax (VAT), is one of the first areas in which they must deal with government regulations. It has been argued in the United Kingdom that regulatory requirements are burdensome and can even be a constraint on the development and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The authors focus on SMEs and link the literature on VAT regulations and compliance costs to wider issues relating to SMEs. The costs of complying with VAT regulations are separated into core costs and total costs. Core costs are the mandatory costs that SMEs have to incur in order to comply with the VAT legislation and regulations. Total costs include VAT planning and one-off costs. For SMEs core costs represent a larger proportion of total compliance costs than is the case for larger businesses. A reduction in core costs would have a significant impact on the total VAT-compliance costs for SMEs. Factors expected to be associated with higher compliance costs are identified and tested in a multivariate framework. Empirical data were obtained from a survey of 4796 firms resulting in a final sample of 1085 firms and a response rate of 25.1%. Higher compliance costs (in absolute terms) are associated, inter alia, with increased turnover, newly registered firms, and increased complexity. Firms with higher compliance costs also perceived high psychological costs of VAT compliance. Compliance costs were also higher for individuals who did not have English as their first language, and individuals with special needs. The important implications of the findings for policy are highlighted.
Purpose -Electronic filing (e-filing) of personal tax returns has become a global trend in developed countries. An increasing number of individual UK taxpayers are seeking help from tax advisers as ambitious e-filing targets increase the interaction between taxpayers, tax agents and government departments. This article aims to review the attitudes to information and communications technology (ICT) adoption between these three groups. Design/methodology/approach -This article has partly built on the work of Walsh and White, who use Moore's "Technology Adoption Life Cycle" to examine e-filing adoption by taxpayers and tax preparers in the USA. However, this article uses a mixed methodology that the authors argue is more suitable for the wider issues found in the UK. Findings -The results confirm that small/medium sized tax agent firms are more likely to be technology enthusiasts/early adopters of e-filing for their individual clients. As their business policies are more likely to be directly driven by technology enthusiasts, they have fewer issues with the incomplete e-filing system available at the early stages of its roll out and were more motivated by the visible benefits available from adopting e-filing. Larger firms have been slower and appeared more reluctant to embrace e-filing of personal tax returns being concerned that engaging in HM Revenue and Customs controlled systems and targets would compromise their internal systems, ICT integrity and control of complex tax cases. Practical implications -This split in e-filing attitudes by tax agents supports Moore's "chasm" argument for technology adoption processes, implying solutions for widening participation found appropriate for other domains could be equally applicable in this domain. The article reflects on these findings and proposes practical solutions that build on prior research to assist the government in achieving the future ambitious targets for e-filing. Originality/value -This paper reports the results of a national survey of tax advisers, supported by follow-up interviews, addressing the development of e-filing for personal taxation in the UK.
The climate change levy (CCL) is an important part of the UK Government's response to being a signatory to the Kyoto agreement. Prior to the introduction of the levy there were sharply contrasting views, which ranged from Sir Robert May's view that it was ‘an opportunity, not a threat’ to the CBI's view that it should be an option of last resort. In order to consider the impact of the CCL on UK businesses, interviews were undertaken within one ‘not for profit’ and two commercial organizations to explore reactions to its introduction. The findings from the study suggest the primary foci of concerns are based upon increases to the cost base and threats to international competitiveness. Further, there is doubt that the ambitious targets signed up to by the UK Government are likely to be achieved, unless there are fundamental changes in support for businesses, or the targets are revised. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Proppant produced during production often causes damage to downhole pumps and surface equipment. In addition to restricting production rate, frequent workovers are often required to remove proppant or sand infill, thus resulting in costly downtime. To help resolve these proppant production problems, solvent-based curable resins have often been used in remedial treatments of affected wells. These resin systems have been applied in intervals of less than 100 ft. For longer intervals, ineffective diversion of solvent-based resins and their potential interaction with water in the wellbore can prevent them from providing complete coverage over the entire perforated interval.A novel water-based consolidation system has been successfully developed to overcome safety, fluid compatibility, and placement issues, which most current solvent-based resins encounter during their field applications. This paper presents the results of laboratory testing and field applications and discusses the challenges, lessons learned, treatment procedures, and recommendations in applying this newly developed resin system.The curable consolidation component is emulsified to form a water-external emulsion so that the active material can be delivered in a brine-based solution. Extensive laboratory testing has indicated that optimum concentration of coating is necessary to maximize the bonding between proppant grains. This allows the proppant pack to withstand high production flow rates and to overcome the effects of stress cycling while minimizing any reduction in its permeability. Results from field trials showed that this aqueous-based consolidation system successfully treated both proppant and formation sand in nearwellbore regions to lock them in place without damaging production flow paths. In these field tests, intervals in excess of 300 ft were treated effectively with a bullhead squeeze using consolidation-treatment fluids that were foamed to a quality of 50 or higher to aid in diverting treatment fluids and extending treatment volume.One major advantage of this aqueous-based system is its simplicity in field treatments without the concern of fluid incompatibility between fluid stages during their placement because of its benign behavior. The new system uses small treatment volumes to impart excellent consolidation properties while, at the same time, retaining formation permeability. This makes the treatment system simple to deploy and economically viable.
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