Marziana Madah Marzuki and Muhammad Syukur Muhammad Al-Amin
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of audit fees, auditors' quality and board ownership on tax aggressiveness in Thailand.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of audit fees, auditors' quality and board ownership on tax aggressiveness in Thailand.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample of this study is based on 215 firm-year observations of SET-100 listed companies in Thailand during the 2010–2018 periods. This study employs a panel least square regression with period fixed effects. The study retrieved the corporate governance variables from the downloaded annual reports, whilst the remaining data were collected from the EMIS database.
Findings
This study provides evidence that audit fees reduce tax aggressiveness and board ownership enhance tax aggressiveness among the firms. Nonaudit services provided by auditors impair auditors' independence and lead to higher tax aggressiveness. The result supports the agency theory, which explains that managers and blockholders may enjoy private benefits of control at the expense of other shareholders in the absence of market control. Thus, firms need good governance practices such as incentives paid for the effort of auditors and nonaudit services monitoring to curb such exploitation.
Research limitations/implications
The results provide implications to the firms and regulators that incentives to the monitoring parties such as auditors can reduce tax aggressiveness among the firms. Nevertheless, higher ownership given to boards as incentives may lead to concentrated ownership and thus lead to the type 2 agency problem, which is between majority and minority shareholders. The result also provides caution to the regulators to monitor the nonaudit services provided by the auditors as it might impair their independence and compromise the tax paid to IRB.
Originality/value
This study is pioneer research discussing tax avoidance in Thailand. The Thai Government has been noticing that tax avoidance is being performed in the country, but academic discussion on this topic had never been elaborated.
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Leadership is basically about influence and ability to cultivate followership. This chapter examined the nature of indigenous socio-political leadership in Africa using Zimbabwe…
Abstract
Leadership is basically about influence and ability to cultivate followership. This chapter examined the nature of indigenous socio-political leadership in Africa using Zimbabwe, Sudan and Nigeria as caselets and compared this with the post-colonial or modern-day leadership realities. A survey was conducted among senior executives at Lagos Business School, Nigeria, with a sample size of 200 persons, to find out their perception of the African indigenous leadership system. An overwhelming 90% believe that culture plays a big role in shaping African leadership style. However, two-thirds of the respondents agreed that Africa lacks proper institutional structures to support good leadership, thus encouraging corruption (97% of the respondents) and non-accountability among the leaders. Also, only 5% thought cultural orientation was the reason why the African followers do not hold their leaders accountable. In other words, it is not in the African culture not to hold leaders accountable for their actions. So, what went wrong? We attempted a deeper look at the effect of colonial rule and the attendant militarisation of the African continent. Our conclusion is that the colonisation of the continent by Europe brought significant distortion to the traditional African indigenous leadership institutions and the psyche of the African leader and the followers alike. Post-colonial Africa has witnessed 133 recorded coups d’etat between 1952 and 2016. This chapter is recommended to all those who seek a deeper understanding of the nature of the African indigenous leadership practices and the factors that have shaped these over the years.
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Uttam Deb and Muhammad Al Amin
The purpose of this paper is to quantify the potential impact of the latest World Trade Organization (WTO) agricultural draft modalities circulated on December 2008 on the economy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to quantify the potential impact of the latest World Trade Organization (WTO) agricultural draft modalities circulated on December 2008 on the economy of Bangladesh.
Design/methodology/approach
The study conducted simulation exercise using partial equilibrium model – Agricultural Trade Policy Simulation Model – to estimate the likely impact of the Doha round negotiation on Bangladesh agriculture.
Findings
One of the major findings of the study is that the world prices of agricultural commodities are likely to increase by 5 per cent if proposed modalities are implemented. The estimated results reveal that Bangladesh is likely to lose a considerable amount of economic welfare. This is due to a larger amount of loss (consumer surplus and government revenue) compared with a smaller amount of (producer surplus) gain. However, the study estimates that aggregate production of agricultural commodities, and production and export of most of the agricultural commodities will increase. On the other hand, import of agricultural commodities will decrease.
Practical implications
The study puts forward a number of suggestions with regard to Bangladesh's negotiating strategy for advancing its interests in the ongoing WTO negotiations on agriculture.
Originality/value
This study is the first ever attempt that has identified a number of negotiation strategies for Bangladesh using partial equilibrium modelling technique with respect to the latest WTO agricultural draft modalities.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP). The EU and the USA are negotiating the TTIP, a trade agreement that aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP). The EU and the USA are negotiating the TTIP, a trade agreement that aims to remove trade barriers across different economic sectors to increase trade between the EU and the USA. The TTIP will have spill over effects on the MENA region, the GCC, Australia and the Asian sub-continent, as it raises key questions for intellectual property and international trade agreements. For instance, will the USA and EU be on an equal footing or will one triumph over the other, will third party countries like the GCC states be expected to adopt new standards.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design is a paper and online data collection method to find literature to date on intellectual property law development in the GCC states in relation to the three research objectives as set out above. The literature is the population, and this could prove problematic. Different databases have been used to cover all sources where data can be found.
Findings
As the EU-USA TTIP is aiming to conclude by the end of 2015, the GCC has an opportunity to reassess its relationship with both the EU and GCC. Up until now, the GCC was able to enter into negotiations with the EU and USA relatively independently. However, where the EU and USA can agree, there will be a harmonisation of regulations. This therefore has repercussions for the GCC. The TTIP has three main aims: to increase trade and investment through market access, increase employment and competitiveness and create a harmonised approach to global trade. To harmonise global trade, the EU and USA aim to harmonise their intellectual property rights through an intellectual property rights chapter that deals specifically with enhancing protection and recognition for geographical indications, build on TRIPS and patentability.
Research limitations/implications
This study is non-empirical.
Originality/value
The TTIP will have spill over effects for the GCC, as it has yet to finalise the EU-GCC free trade agreement and USA-GCC framework agreement. The power dynamics between the USA and EU will be a deciding factor on the intellectual property chapter in the TTIP in terms of what the provisions for intellectual property will look like and what powers will be available to investors to bring investor-state-dispute settlement claims against foreign countries.
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Donard Games, Geoffrey Soutar and Joanne Sneddon
This study aims to examine the relationship between personal values and small and medium enterprise (SME) innovation in Minangkabau, a Muslim ethnic group in Indonesia.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relationship between personal values and small and medium enterprise (SME) innovation in Minangkabau, a Muslim ethnic group in Indonesia.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach was used to survey 400 small business owners. Structural models were estimated using WarpPLS.
Findings
The study established that SME owners had mixed values. This highlights the context of entrepreneurship because it provides an understanding of the links between personal values and some innovation-related constructs.
Research limitations/implications
The study made a little comparison of personal values in other Muslim societies. It is beneficial as a reference for future studies on comparisons between the Minangkabau and other ethnic Muslim groups.
Practical implications
Minangkabau small enterprise entrepreneurs need reflection on their values and business innovation because integrating these two aspects strengthens business identity.
Social implications
The entrepreneurs may need to balance personal and socio-cultural values to implement both business innovation and social harmony successfully.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that takes into account the innovation concept. It examines personal values related to some concepts on innovation. It can partly be explained by the high level of religiosity in the Minangkabau ethnic group.
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Audit hour reporting is rare internationally. Thus, to what extent shareholders have the power to influence audit effort/hour demand is a question left unanswered. This study aims…
Abstract
Purpose
Audit hour reporting is rare internationally. Thus, to what extent shareholders have the power to influence audit effort/hour demand is a question left unanswered. This study aims to use unique South Korean data to determine whether the increasing power of the largest foreign/domestic shareholders and blockholders can influence audit hour demand.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis is conducted using a sample of Korean listed firms over the 2004–2018 sample period.
Findings
The results show: as the percentage equity holding of the largest foreign shareholder and blockholder (>5%) increases, audit hour demand increases. As the shareholding of the largest domestic shareholder increases, audit hour demanded decreases. The association between audit fees/hours is not qualitatively indifferent, after controlling for the audit fee premium effect. Furthermore, the largest foreign shareholder is shown to demand increasingly higher levels of audit hours from Big4 auditors, relative to NonBig4. All results are consistent with audit demand theory.
Originality/value
Whilst previous studies offer audit fee/risk interpretations, this study extends the literature by developing a framework to explain why audit hour demands differ for specific groups. Because audit hour information is rare internationally, the study has important policy implications.
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Jitender Kumar, Garima Rani, Manju Rani and Vinki Rani
The substantial rise in tax evasion raises concerns about its adverse impact on the tax system’s integrity. This article aims to empirically investigate the factors affecting…
Abstract
Purpose
The substantial rise in tax evasion raises concerns about its adverse impact on the tax system’s integrity. This article aims to empirically investigate the factors affecting income tax evasion behavior among individuals in India’s National Capital Region (NCR).
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional design was applied to gather primary data from (N = 548) taxpayers using a “self-administered survey questionnaire.” The hybrid “partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)” approach was applied to analyze the data.
Findings
This research presents a comprehensive model that explains 53.4% of the variance in behavioral intention and accounts for 51.4% in the actual behavior of individuals who participate in income tax evasion. The outcomes show that high tax burden, corruption and complexity of the tax system significantly influence behavioral intention. On the contrary, digitalization and tax morale insignificantly influence behavioral intention. Notably, behavioral intention is significantly associated with the actual behavior of individuals engaging in income tax evasion.
Practical implications
The outcomes offer valuable implications for practitioners, including policymakers, governments and tax authorities, to effectively curb income tax evasion behavior and help them make informed decisions.
Originality/value
The innovative research model enhances prevailing knowledge by providing empirical insights into the effect of income tax evasion behavior among individuals in India. This study also contributes methodologically by combining PLS (linear) and fsQCA (nonlinear) techniques, demonstrating that both methodologies offer a deeper comprehension of the factors affecting individual behavior to engage in income tax evasion.
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This article explores the role of history and historical memory in the formation of early Zionist/Israeli national security doctrine. To that end, it makes three moves. First, it…
Abstract
This article explores the role of history and historical memory in the formation of early Zionist/Israeli national security doctrine. To that end, it makes three moves. First, it explores a series of public addresses made by Zalman Rubashov (Shazar) in 1942–1943. A key public intellectual in the Jewish community of preindependent Palestine (the Yishuv), Rubashov means to help his listeners make sense of, and respond collectively to, the unfolding destruction of European Jewry. Second, it draws cautious parallels between those public intellectual pronouncements and the postwar work of Friedrich Meinecke, a prominent German historian and public intellectual and a sometime teacher of Rubashov. In both cases, I suggest, history does more than make sense of a moment of political transition: It seeks to reframe the self-understandings of citizens and their collective political relations. Third, drawing on a recent memoir by Noam Chayut, a prominent Israeli antioccupation activist, I explore how those self-understandings can be lost when the historical claims upon which they are predicated lose their sense of immediacy, naturalness, or coherence.
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Abstract
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Nasrun Mohamad and Asmak Ab Rahman
This paper aims to present the results of a comprehensive literature review with regard to the application of Tawarruq in the Islamic banking system covering the period between…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the results of a comprehensive literature review with regard to the application of Tawarruq in the Islamic banking system covering the period between 2011 and before. The review aims to synthesize the previous research, capsulize the structural overview inasmuch as future research might be oriented and identify the gaps and direction for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
A range of published and unpublished documents was collated and filtered based on the defined rules to identify the determinants of the writing. The documents were then be classified into few segments in which content analysis was conducted to capsulize the essence of the subject matter described in the literature.
Findings
The analysis demonstrates that most of the studies discussed the fundamental theories which concerning the area of jurisprudence, while a few of them did discuss the application aspect in the banking environment. However, none of the operational process is discussed in-depth, whereas the risk of Shari’ah non-compliance might arise in the detail transaction.
Research limitations/implications
The databases used in the search might not contain all the documents that could be relevant for the review. Furthermore, the defined-rule for document searching and selection excluded the out-of-scope documents that might be relevant.
Originality/value
This paper identifies the gaps that become apparent in the literature in assisting researchers to ascertain the interesting areas as well as the direction for future research.