Claims that the VAT facilitates tax enforcement by generating paper trails on transactions between firms contributed to widespread VAT adoption worldwide, but there is surprisingly little evidence. ...This paper analyzes the role of third-party information for VAT enforcement through two randomized experiments among over 400,000 Chilean firms. Announcing additional monitoring has less impact on transactions that are subject to a paper trail, indicating the paper trail's preventive deterrence effect. This leads to strong enforcement spillovers up the VAT chain. These findings confirm that when taking evasion into account, significant differences emerge between otherwise equivalent forms of taxation.
•We investigate the role of incentives in promoting BEVs in Norway.•Purchase taxes are most critical in promoting BEV purchase.•To 84% of BEV owners VAT and purchase tax exemption is ...sufficient.•Different incentive groups promote adoption in different user groups.
Norway has become a global forerunner in the field of electromobility and the BEV market share is far higher than in any other country. One likely reason for this is strong incentives for promoting purchase and ownership of BEVs. The purpose of this study is to describe the role of incentives for promoting BEVs, and to determine what incentives are critical for deciding to buy a BEV and what groups of buyers respond to different types of incentives. The questions are answered with data from a survey among nearly 3400 BEV owners in Norway.
Exemptions from purchase tax and VAT are critical incentives for more than 80% of the respondents. This is very much in line with previous research, which suggests that up-front price reduction is the most powerful incentive in promoting EV adoption. To a substantial number of BEV owners, however, exemption from road tolling or bus lane access is the only decisive factor.
Analyses show that there are clear delineations between incentive groups, both in terms of age, gender, and education. Income is a less prominent predictor, which probably results from the competitive price of BEVs in the Norwegian market. Perhaps most interesting is the assumed relation between incentives and character of transport systems the respondents engage in.
Despite longstanding interest in the central cholinergic system in schizophrenia (SCZ), cholinergic imaging studies with patients have been limited to receptors. Here, we conducted a proof-of-concept ...positron emission tomography study using 18F-VAT, a new radiotracer that targets the vesicular acetylcholine transporter as a proxy measure of acetylcholine transmission capacity, in patients with SCZ and explored relationships of vesicular acetylcholine transporter with clinical symptoms and cognition.
A total of 18 adult patients with SCZ or schizoaffective disorder (the SCZ group) and 14 healthy control participants underwent a positron emission tomography scan with 18F-VAT. Distribution volume (VT) for 18F-VAT was derived for each region of interest, and group differences in VT were assessed with 2-sample t tests. Functional significance was explored through correlations between VT and scores on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and a computerized neurocognitive battery (PennCNB).
No group differences in 18F-VAT VT were observed. However, within the SCZ group, psychosis symptom severity was positively associated with VT in multiple regions of interest, with the strongest effects in the hippocampus, thalamus, midbrain, cerebellum, and cortex. In addition, in the SCZ group, working memory performance was negatively associated with VT in the substantia innominata and several cortical regions of interest including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
In this initial study, the severity of 2 important features of SCZ—psychosis and working memory deficit—was strongly associated with 18F-VAT VT in several cortical and subcortical regions. These correlations provide preliminary evidence of cholinergic activity involvement in SCZ and, if replicated in larger samples, could lead to a more complete mechanistic understanding of psychosis and cognitive deficits in SCZ and the development of therapeutic targets.
In this work a multi-scale two-level (MS2L) optimisation strategy for optimising VAT composites is presented. In the framework of the MS2L methodology, the design problem is split and solved into two ...steps. At the first step the goal is to determine the optimum distribution of the laminate stiffness properties over the structure (macroscopic scale), while the second step aims at retrieving the optimum fibres-path in each layer meeting all the requirements provided by the problem at hand (mesoscopic scale). The MS2L strategy has been improved in order to integrate all types of requirements (mechanical, manufacturability, geometric, etc.) within the first-level problem. The proposed approach relies on: (a) the polar formalism for describing the behaviour of the VAT laminate, (b) the iso-geometric surfaces for describing the spatial variation of both the laminate stiffness properties (macro-scale) and the layers fibres-path (meso-scale) and (c) an hybrid optimisation tool (genetic and gradient-based algorithms) to perform the solution search. The effectiveness of the MS2L strategy is proven through a numerical example on the maximisation of the first buckling factor of a VAT plate subject to both mechanical and manufacturability constraints.
A high-performance piezoelectric nano-ceramic was fabricated through stereolithography of low viscosity and high solid loading ceramic/polymer composite suspensions. Through the proper fitting ...calculation of experimental data, the maximum theoretical solid loading, rheological and curing behaviors of the suspension system were evaluated and lucubrated. The suspensions with a 40 vol% solid loading of the BaTiO3 nanoparticles displayed shear thinning behavior and a relatively low viscosity of 232 mPa·s at 46.5 s−1 shear rate. After post-process, the 3D printed ceramic specimens showed a nanometer-level grain size with a density of 5.69 g/cm3, which corresponds to about 95% of the theoretical density. The printed ceramics exhibit a piezoelectric constant of 163 pC/N and relative permittivity of 2762 respectively. The results achieved in this research indicate that the stereolithography process is a promising 3D printing technology to fabricate piezoelectric materials with complex geometries and exquisite features for the applications of ceramic components.
Changes in Value-Added Tax (VAT) rebate rates affect exports. This paper shows, when financially strapped, the timely and efficient allocation of rebates becomes essential. Using a unique panel of ...Chinese firms with export and rebates information, we show that delay in rebates has negative but unequal effects on firm exports. Delays in rebates also cause more exit and reduce the product scope. Furthermore, we find a “Matthew effect” in allocating rebates: exporters with tighter financial constraints respond more elastically to a delay in rebates, yet they are also more likely to have a higher delay ratio. Thus, reducing rebates delay to the most constrained firms is more effective than a similar reduction to the least constrained firms. In partial equilibrium, correcting the misallocation in rebates would increase Chinese exports by 35%, while eliminating rebates delay would increase exports by 52%.
•We show that delay in rebates substantially reduces firm export sales.•Local governments with more “downstream” exporters are more likely to delay rebates facing fiscal tightening.•Exporters with tighter financial constraints respond more elastically to a delay in rebates, they are also more likely to have a higher delay ratio.•Correcting the misallocation in rebates would increase total Chinese export.•We show that a poor refund system can do significant harm to the competitiveness of the export sector.
We analyze price responses to large restaurant VAT rate reductions in two different European countries. Our results show that responses in the short and medium run were clustered around two focal ...points of zero pass-through and full pass-through. Differences between independent restaurants and chains is the key explanation for this pattern. While nearly all independent restaurants effectively ignored the tax reductions and left consumer prices unchanged, a substantial fraction of restaurants belonging to chains chose a rapid and complete pass-through. In the longer run, prices converged, but primarily through a price reversion among chain restaurants. The stark difference in price responses does not appear to arise because of different market characteristics such as location, initial price levels, meal types and restaurant segment.
•We analyze price responses to large restaurant VAT rate reductions in two different European countries.•Price responses in the short and medium run were clustered around two focal points of zero and full pass-through.•Differences between independent restaurants and chains is the key explanation for this pattern.•Independent restaurants effectively ignored the tax reductions, while many chain restaurants chose a complete pass-through.•These stark differences do not appear to arise because of different market characteristics such as location or initial price levels.
Adding plasticizer is an appealing strategy to optimize binder removal for ceramic components fabricated by vat photopolymerization (VPP). However, so far the studies for effect mechanism of ...plasticizer on whole technological process of VPP are comparatively very limited, especially through analysis of physical and chemical properties of plasticizers. Herein, the effect of molecular weight and chemical structure of plasticizer on suspension property, binder removal, and sintered performance of zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) ceramics was comprehensively investigated. Two types of plasticizers, namely, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polypropylene glycol (PPG), with various molecular weights from 200 to 600 were used. Interestingly, only after adding PEG200 or PPG200, the suspensions still exhibited desired rheological and photocuring behavior, and the superior surface quality was still observed. More importantly, PPG200 proved to be the most effective plasticizer to achieve the most excellent and stable mechanical performances, as well as the highest debinding efficiency.
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•Molecular weight and chemical structure of plasticizer had a notable influence on whole process of VPP-based ceramic AM.•Correlation of plasticizer with suspension property, binder removal, and sintered performance was identified.•Optimal plasticizer formulation of Al2O3/ZrO2 ceramic suspension via VPP-based 3D printing was investigated.•PPG200 noticeably enhanced both binder removal efficiency and mechanical performances of VPP 3D-printed ZTA ceramics.
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Elastomers are a unique and important class of polymers that enjoy applications in virtually every industry, including healthcare, aerospace, automotive, and apparel. However, due to ...inherent physical, thermal, and mechanical properties of elastomers, the additive manufacturing (AM) of elastomers remains challenging. These challenges are discussed in the context of various AM processes, including powder bed fusion, material extrusion, and vat photopolymerization. This review provides an in-depth discussion of the current state of silicone and polyurethane polymers for AM, and also discusses polyesters/polycarbonates, liquid crystalline elastomers, and monomer compositions that provide elastomeric properties upon photocuring. Finally, the current state of common, commercially-available elastomers for AM is provided, as well as an outlook for this rapidly progressing field. We expect this review to be useful for any research involved with the additive manufacturing of elastomers.
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