Tax Law Commons^™

Renewable Energy: Where We Are Now And How Renewable Energy Investment And Development Can Be Expanded, Kevin M. Walsh

Kevin M Walsh

The renewable energy field is currently stifled because many renewable energy developments require tax equity investors to provide additional funds to get the project off the ground and running. The Code provides tax credits to incentivize investors to invest. Currently, the Investment Tax Credit (“ITC”) is the only available credit left for renewable projects placed in service from 2014 on. Tax credits are a step in the right direction to encourage renewable investment; however, the credits are limited in application mostly to large financial institutions. Moreover, investments into one specific renewable energy project can be risky because there is no …

Conserving A Place For Renewable Power, Jacob P. Byl

Jacob P. Byl

Promoting renewable power and conserving land are often conflicting goals because renewable power requires a lot of land. The conflict is becoming an important issue on lands encumbered by conservation easements. I argue that the current legal rule allowing oil and gas development, but not wind and solar development, on conserved land does not make sense in light of the threats of climate change. The best way to encourage renewable power while respecting the intent of landowners is to have the Internal Revenue Service promulgate rules that explicitly allow renewable power going forward and interpret existing easements with a set …

The Key Stone In The Carbon Tariff Wall: The Alberta Oil Sands And The Legality Of Taxing Imports Based On Their Carbon Footprint, Mark L. Belleville

Mark L. Belleville

Can one nation—consistent with international trade law—tax imports or otherwise treat them differently based on the CO2 emitted in another country during production of the import? This Article analyzes the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) decisions, and the considerable amount of scholarship regarding Border Tax Adjustments (BTAs) and concludes that such treatment of imports is legally permissible. In early 2013, the European Union (E.U.) will vote on a proposed rule that seeks to classify crude oil coming into E.U. refineries based on “life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions,” including CO2 emitted during extraction. Canada, seeking …

Judicial Review Of Administrative Action/ Decision As The Primary Vehicle For Constitutionalism: Law And Procedures In Tanzania, Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

This paper examines the discretionary powers of the High Court of Tanzania to review decisions and actions of other public bodies as a means to uphold the spirit of the Constitution on checks and balances between the three organs of the state. The writer examines the procedures for judicial review, the legal and procedural requirements and the remedies available under the laws of Tanzania, however, the writer further examines experiences from other countries particularly from case laws.

The Alternative Forms Of Dispute Settlement And The Essential Difference Between These And Arbitration, Michael Diathesopoulos

Michael Diathesopoulos

The paper examines the characteristics of some common alternative forms of dispute settlement and their key differences from arbitration regarding their nature and scope. Its purpose is to explore each mechanism's suitability for specific types of disputes.

The Vehicle Miles Tax: The Unintended Consequences Of Paying As You Drive, Gregory A. Lush

Gregory A. Lush

No abstract provided.

The Vehicle Miles Tax: The Unintended Consequences Of Paying As You Drive, Gregory A. Lush

Gregory A. Lush

3. A Vehicle Miles Tax Reduces Manufacturer Incentives to Build Electric Vehicles

It follows that if consumers have few incentives to buy electric vehicles, manufacturers will have less of an incentive to make them. If electric cars were not in demand, then why would anyone make them and try to sell them? In a market that is finding electric vehicles to be a tough sell, we need to encourage the sale and production of electric vehicles as much as possible. The effect of enacting a mileage-based tax will be the attrition of automakers producing electric vehicles, furthering the nation’s dependency …

Historia, Maendeleo Na Mabadiliko Ya Katiba Tanzania Tangu Uhuru Hadi Miaka Hamsini Ya Uhuru 9 Desemba 2011., Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania ni nchi iliyotokana na nchi mbili za Tanganyika na Zanzibari mwaka 1964, tangu uhuru wa Tanganyika 1961 na uhuru wa Zanzibari 1963 pamekuwapo na maendeleo ya kikatiba kwa upande wa Muungano na kwa Zanzibari ambayo hatuna budi kuyatazama kwa mapana yake hasa juu ya ushirikishwaji wa watu katika kuzipata katiba hizi.

Electronic Contracts In Tanzania: An Appraisal Of The Legal Framework, Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

The concern of our study was to examine the legal basis for electronic contracts in Tanzania. The major problems that were being examined are; the ascertainment of e-contract terms and the other party in the contract with the focus to consent i.e. consensus ad idem requirements and capacity to contract. With the first problem, e-commerce involves e-contracts and the business community in Tanzania enters into contractual arrangements with external world via websites or email in which case the electronic environment is not suitable in Tanzania in terms of the laws and the technology. Messages sent via internet may be garbled …

Ownership Unbundling In European Energy Market & Legal Problems Under Eu Law, Michael Diathesopoulos

Michael Diathesopoulos

In this paper we will examine the issue of ownership unbundling and forced divestiture remedies imposed in a series of recent competition law cases of the energy market - examined in other papers - in relation to the possible existence of a series of legal obstacles. These energy market decisions belong to a group of antitrust cases in which a structural divestiture remedy has been imposed under the provisions of Article 9 of Regulation 1/2003. This divestiture refers to transmission networks and to generation capacity and is meant to lead to severe structural changes, which are compatible with the findings …

Social Contract Theory Of John Locke (1932-1704) In The Contemporary World, Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

The 17th century period was marked by an attempt to erect effective safeguard against violations of natural law by governments. Law in this period was conceptualized as an instrument for the prevention of autocracy and despotism. Absolutism in Europe that was associated with governmental encroachments necessitated a strong shield of individual liberty. In this period legal theory placed the main emphasis on liberty, thus the law was to render governments capable of functioning as a guarantor of individual rights. This paper aims at examining the social contract theory of the 17th-century English philosopher, John Locke, its parameters, limitations and its …

Competition Law And Sector Regulation In The European Energy Market After The Third Energy Package: Hierarchy And Efficiency, Michael Diathesopoulos

Michael Diathesopoulos

The aim of this research is to provide the basic parameters for a model for the definition of the relation between the general competition and sector specific frameworks and rules regarding the regulation of the Internal Energy Market, especially after the Third Energy Package. The research considers the recent sector specific framework in relation to a series of recent competition law cases of the Energy Market where structural remedies were applied under the commitments procedure. Essential facilities doctrine and generally competition law tools do not seem to provide a suitable framework for effectively addressing the dynamic competition concept, treating the …

Like Water For Energy: The Water-Energy Nexus Through The Lens Of Tax Policy, Roberta F. Mann

Roberta F Mann

Water is essential for life. Inadequate potable water supplies lead to poverty, disease, starvation, and civil strife. Climate change is likely to put more pressure on the world’s supply of fresh water. Rising sea levels will introduce salt into some fresh water systems. As high mountain snow cover and glaciers decline, they will store less fresh water. As regions heat up, droughts will become more persistent. Producing energy uses water. How much water is used depends on the source of the energy. Yet in the rush to transition to a renewable energy economy, policy makers have paid little heed to …

Cancun Climate Negotiations, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, held from November 29 to December 11, 2010, in Cancún, Mexico, relaunched the United Nation's multilateral facilitation role.

From Energy Sector Inquiry To Recent Antitrust Decisions In European Energy Markets: Competition Law As A Means To Implement Energy Sector Regulation In Eu, Michael Diathesopoulos

Michael Diathesopoulos

This paper presents the conceptual path followed by European Union, European Commission and European Competition Network, after the Energy Sector Inquiry (2007) towards the realisation of the objective of an Energy Internal Market, fully functional and open to competition. Firstly, we examine the findings of Sector Inquiry and then we describe how the Third Energy Package - that followed - tried to address the issues highlighted by the Inquiry and how Third Energy Package introduces a promising but complex system, in order to develop sector rules. Following the above, we proceed to a brief but close examination of 10 recent …

Relational Contract Theory And Management Contracts: A Paradigm For The Application Of The Theory Of The Norms, Michael Diathesopoulos

Michael Diathesopoulos

This paper examines management contracts as a paradigm for the application of relational contracts theory and especially of the theory of contractual and relational norms. This theory, deriving from Macauley's implications, but structured and analysed by I.R. MacNeil gives us a framework for the explanation and understanding of contractual obligations and business relations' rules and practice. After presenting the key literature about the norms theory and especially defining the content of MacNeil's norms, we define management contracts as relations, characterised by a high relational element and we explain why, investigating all their features, which make them a suitable object for …

False Imprisonment As A Tort In India, Hari Priya

Hari Priya

The tort of false imprisonment is one of the most severe forms of human rights violation, and this paper aims to define and to understand the concept of false imprisonment as a tort in India. It also seeks to know about the evolution of the notion of false imprisonment as a tort, with reference to Indian and foreign cases, and understand who and when can one be held liable for the tort of false imprisonment. It further deals with the remedies available for the said tort.

Business Tax In Nigeria: The Controversy Of Multiple Taxation, Humphrey Onyeukwu

Humphrey Onyeukwu

Doing business in Nigeria is ranked 125th in the world out of 183 economics by the latest ranking of the World Bank. A major parameter for this assessment is using the incidences of regulatory controls and taxation of business activity to determine the ease of doing business in Nigeria. The controversy of multiple taxations has become one of the constraints of businesses in Nigeria due to overlaps of the various tiers of government taxing rights on business entities.

Nigeria practices fiscal federalism in which the fiscal responsibility of government is based on a three-tiered tax structure divided between the federal, …

Who Is Afraid Of Nigeria's Petroleum Industry Bill?, Humphrey Onyeukwu

Humphrey Onyeukwu

The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has drawn different emotions from the stakeholders since it came into the public domain. The PIB proposes fundamental reforms of the Nigeria’s oil industry and is anchored on five major goals namely creation of new regulatory institutions, transformation of upstream contractual agreements, new fiscal regime, downstream sector deregulation, government participation in the industry and transparency in contractual agreements.

However, the scepticism shrouding the provisions of the bill is not helped with the recent media reports that oil companies are threatening to sue the federal government over the Bill’s purported retroactive agenda. The disclosure by the …

The Deepwater Horizon Spillage And Lessons In Liability Claims For Nigeria, Humphrey Onyeukwu

Humphrey Onyeukwu

The recent catastrophic Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and resultant spill, offshore Louisiana, USA awakened the world once again to the environmental hazards of oil explorations. Although the causal factor for the Deepwater Horizon spill is speculated, human error appears the consensus of experts who have tried reconstructing the events of that fateful day. The possible cause of the explosion will certainly be a controversial issue in a long time but the effects of the spillage on human, aquatics and environmental costs are very evident. There are several lingering questions from developments of the deepwater tragedy that set the tone for …

The Nigerian Local Content Act: Is It The Game Changer?, Humphrey Onyeukwu

Humphrey Onyeukwu

The passage into law of the Nigerian Local Content Bill is one of the significant developments for domesticating the oil industry through local value additions. The bill received presidential assent on 22nd April 2010 and created a Law to provide for the development of indigenous content in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry. Previous acts of governments had made feeble policy attempts at developing a local content framework for the industry and the fanfare associated with the recent enactment into law of the Nigerian Local Content Bill is very understandable.

Nigeria is the world's eighth-biggest oil exporter and relies on …

Tribal Land Laws In Andhra Pradesh, Hari Priya

Hari Priya

No abstract provided.

Section 4 Of The Hindu Succession Act Of 1956, Hari Priya

Hari Priya

A brief write up in the form of a comprehensive article aiming to critically evaluate the Section 4 of the Hindu Succession Act of 1956. The law, as it stands amended, has not only brought about changes in the succession laws of Hindus, but has also paved the way for some positive modifications in the law of partition, alienation of property, inheritance and adoption, and the paper is an effort to evaluate this provision of the law.

The Legal And Practical Aspects Of Atm's In Tanzania, Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

The concern of our study was to examine the legal and practical aspects of ATMs in Tanzania. The major problems that were being examined are; the 24 hours operation on ATMs vis-à-vis system failure or error and the system of one bank allowing cardholders of another bank to use its ATMs. With the first problem, all banks in Tanzania with ATMs have attractive advertisements to customers that affirm sufficient services in any time of the day but in reality, the machines usually fail to respond the instructions of the cardholder regardless the fact that the cardholder inserts the card and …

Nigerian Gas Master Plan And Policy: Is It A Constrained Energy Policy?, Humphrey Onyeukwu

Humphrey Onyeukwu

The Nigerian Gas policy is been aligned to maximise the oil and gas sector value to the economy and transit from an oil industry to an integrated oil and gas industry. These initiatives have been geared towards boosting the domestic market and realize maximum revenue possible from gas. As a result, the gas policy framework in Nigeria has been undergoing series of reforms and new policy initiatives and these have initiated the Gas Master Plan, namely: the Domestic Gas Supply Obligation, the Gas Pricing Framework and the Gas Infrastructure Blueprint. In the light of the interplay of political and economic …

Obsolescence Bargaining In Transit Pipelines: What Options Exist For Securing Resource Supply, Humphrey Onyeukwu

Humphrey Onyeukwu

ABSTRACT:

Within the Oil and Gas value chain, transportation plays an important role in fusing the link between the producer and consumer nations. The supply of oil and gas are principally through pipelines routes which typically transcend across several borders and therefore requires the negotiation of transit terms with transit nations. This situation has therefore subjected resource supply, a very important factor input in the matrix of energy consumption to the vagaries of obsolescing bargain and its ancillary effect of potential disruptions to the consumer nation. This paper shall seek to examine the issues of obsolescing bargain in transit pipelines …

Transfer Pricing In The Nigerian Context, Humphrey Onyeukwu

Humphrey Onyeukwu

Transfer pricing is an issue in International Taxation which has continue to befuddle both the taxpayer and the tax authorities. It is a valid business practice for associated companies in the pricing of inter-related sales within the group and on the other side of the divide, it creates a suspicion for the tax authorities that the pricing may be a form of profit shifting with the result of providing avenues for tax avoidance.

In the Nigerian context, the issue is not helped further as there is an absence of clear transfer pricing regulations. An increasingly share of world trade consists …

Securitization Of Foreign Investments In Marginal Oilfields, Humphrey Onyeukwu

Humphrey Onyeukwu

No abstract provided.