Tax Planning Essay Example for Free

Tax Planning Essay It was the responsibility of the Satrap to collect the due amount and to send it to the emperor, after deducting his expenses (the expenses and the power of deciding precisely how and from whom to raise the money in the province, offer maximum opportunity for rich pickings). The quantities demanded from the various provinces gave a vivid picture of their economic potential. For instance,  Babylon  was assessed for the highest amount and for a startling mixture of commodities; 1,000  silver talents  and four months supply of food for the army. India, a province fabled for its gold, was to supply gold dust equal in value to the very large amount of 4,680 silver talents. Egypt was known for the wealth of its crops; it was to be the granary of the Persian Empire (and, later, of the  Roman Empire) and was required to provide 120,000 measures of grain in addition to 700 talents of silver. This was exclusively a tax levied on subject peoples. Persians  and  Medes  paid no tax, but, they were liable at any time to serve in the  army. [12] In India, Islamic rulers imposed  jizya  (a  poll tax  on non-Muslims) starting in the 11th century. It was abolished by  Akbar. Numerous records of government tax collection in Europe since at least the 17th century are still available today. But taxation levels are hard to compare to the size and flow of the economy since  production  numbers are not as readily available, however. Government expenditures and revenue in France during the 17th century went from about 24. 30 million  livres  in 1600-10 to about 126. 86 million  livers  in 1650-59 to about 117. 99 million  livres  in 1700-10 when  government debt  had reached 1. 6 billion  livres. In 1780–89, it reached 421. 50 millionaires. Taxation as a percentage of production of final goods may have reached 15%–20% during the 17th century in places such as  France, the  Netherlands, and  Scandinavia. During the war-filled years of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, tax rates in Europe increased dramatically as war became more expensive and governments became more centralized and adept at gathering taxes.

The Borderlands: 1880 - 1940 :: American America History

The Borderlands: 1880 - 1940 The time of change in the region called the "borderlands" occurred during the period between 1880 and 1940. The region became urbanized and ended its years of isolation from the rest of the world. In the past the region's economy was based on ranching and farming. As the region became more urbanized the economy changed. The economy did not change equally between the United States and Mexico, the United States' side of the border boomed while Mexico's side did not. The cities that did prosper in region were based on the actions of the United States. Actions that affected the cities in Mexico were Prohibition and the Great depression. Events in the United States were not the only economic factor to effect the region. The Mexican Revolution had great social and economic influence to the region. On November 10 1910, the Mexican Revolution began and did not end until President Diaz was overthrown. The United States and its border towns were heavily involved in the conflict. The fighting was mainly in the north and they need supplies. The majority of the weapons and supplies for the Revolution was brought in the United States. The border cities in the United States became the chief suppliers of guns to the Revolution. This form trade was illegal and mainly done on the Black Market. The legal trade that existed before the Revolution disappeared with the outbreak of war. Mexico had closed the border during the conflict to prevent the supply of arms. The United States had also tried to stop the flow of arms but not successful. Eventually the United States had sent troops to the region when the fighting spilled over the border. The troops stayed in the region after the Mexican Revolution and were an economic boom to the region. The United States at the turn of the century was under going a major social movement. The United States was trying to change its society to a more moral country. The groups involved in the movement consisted of many groups from around the United States. Some of the most notable groups involved in the social reform movement were the churches in the country. They targeted many aspects of life of the normal Americans. The social reforms targeted social ills such as adultery, crime, and lastly, drinking. These groups had large number of followers, and had considerable height in government.

Culture and God’s Words Essay

The Bible has long been teaching people about the value and importance of life. For thousands of years, the Bible has been solid in its advocacy on doing what is best for the life of humanity and all other living creatures in the world. However, while human beings innovated new ways of life and new ways of doing things, cultures was born, and often, these cultures are not in complimentary to God’s words as written in the Bible. With the advent of industrialization, scientific era and the world wide connections and globalization, people tend to acquire not just ways of doing things easier but also of making life easier to destroy. People forgot the original message of God and went on doing things that belittle life in all its forms. According to Toynbee and Ikeda (2008), the 20th century has been a very devastating era in human history. This is because of the many untold miseries that humans have confronted for adhering to culture to the extreme. Take for example the culture of globalization that is now a worldwide phenomenon. Globalization according to Gunton (2004) is simply the opening of barriers to information, market, labor and the like. Globalization gave people the power to have a global village, enabling different countries to connect freely with each other. Despite the benefit of this culture of openness, globalization has also brought so much sufferings especially to the poor people who were the subject for labor violations, discrimination and all forms of violence that are forbidden in the Bible. The culture of openness and limitless access brought about by globalization has also created a threat to human security as seen in the September 11 incident in the United States of America. This case according to Corson and Pearcey (2004) negates the importance of life as emphasized in the Bible. Technological advances in the other hand, also served as a catalyst for a much wider scale of destruction. Culture and God’s words oftentimes do not match, but it is up to human beings to make a balance on their commitment to value life while at the same time adhere to culture. References Colson, C. and Pearcey, N. (2004). How now shall we live. New York. Tyndale House Publishers. Gunton, C. (2004). The one, the three, and the many: God, creation, and the culture of modernity. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Toynbee, A. and Ikeda, D. (2008). Choose Life: A dialogue. New York: I. B. Tauris and Co. Ltd.

Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury - 1876 Words

In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury it focuses on the downfall of a society due to the uprising of technology. Guy Montag, the protagonist of the story, is a firemen in this dystopian society where books are forbidden. When we think of firemen nowadays we picture someone who protects people from the dangers of fire, but in the book firemen are the ones who create fires to intentionally burn books that they ve hunted down in peoples houses. Books are looked at as something that promotes people to be unique and independent and create this free thinking. The society does not want their people to think that this a normal and â€Å"good† thing. The government wants to control everyone in order to maintain peace in the community. The†¦show more content†¦The burning of book refers to the ritual demolition of books or other written materials, which is usually carried out in a public context, it represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or political opposition to the materials in question (Book Burning). These book burnings became a major symbol of the repression that followed in Nazi Germany. The books that Nazi s targeted were the ones that opposed their ideas. The Marxist theory revolves around class differences, economics, etc. It looks into the capitalist society and the complications that it poses to each group of people Marxist Theory). In Fahrenheit 451, this is portrayed by Guy, Mildred, and other minor characters in the story. The bourgeoisie, or the higher class, is portrayed by Guy s boss, Beatty. He is very controlling of Guy and what he does. Clarisse and Faber represent the intellectuals in the theory because of the wisdom and curiosity they have. The theory states that the revolution will be caused by the ongoing conflict between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie (Marxist Theory). Just like how in the story those who enforce the laws have issues with those who question it. Montag is p art of the proletariat he begins to show