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property, while indirect taxes are those levied on
expenditure �in the form of sales tax or value added
tax which are collected by the seller but ultimately
borne by the purchaser).
Historically, taxes have been a major source of
conflict between governments and the governed.
Such conflicts led, for example, to the English Civil
War in the seventeenth century which resulted in
the dethronement and execution of King Charles I,
and to the American War of Independence in the
late eighteenth century. One of the key principles of
democracy is `no taxation without representation',
that is, taxes must be enacted into law by a
democratically elected legislative body.
The most common direct personal taxes are the
personal income, property and capital transfer taxes.
Income tax may be payable to municipal, local and
national governments, and in federal countries to the
foregoing as well as to state, cantonal or provincial
government. Individuals owning unincorporated
businesses �as sole traders or in partnership) are
liable for personal tax on their business profit or
share of it. Property tax on real estate is usually
payable to local or municipal government. Capital
transfer taxes typically take the form of inheritance
tax on the estate of a deceased person, being paid to
the national government. Individuals also suffer
indirect taxes as purchasers of goods or services
which are subject to sales or value added tax. They
may also be liable to pay other indirect taxes such as
tax on transfers of real estate.
The most common direct corporate taxes are
those on business profits and on property �real
estate). Indirect corporate taxes include those on
share issues and on transfers of real estate. Businesses
do not normally suffer sales taxes, since these are
passed onto the ultimate individual customer. In the
case of value added tax �VAT), normally a business
has to pay the government value added tax on its
sales �output VAT) less value added tax on its
purchases �input VAT). Whether in economic terms
the burden of such taxes falls onto the business or on
the consumer depends on the state of competition in
the market and the price elasticity of demand for
the good or service in question. These determine
the extent to which the business in its pricing may
pass the burden of the tax onto the consumer or have
to absorb the tax by reducing its profit margin.In
many countries, specific indirect taxes are levied on
tourist expenditure �such as hotel bills). This may be
done in order to help pay for infrastructure costs
incurred by government in connection with tourism
development. One of main arguments made in
favour of tourism development is its ability to
generate large tax earnings for governments, which
in some countries amounts to billions of dollars.
taxi
SIMON ARCHER, UK
A taxi is a fast, flexible but relatively expensive
mode of transportation frequently used to
transfer tourists from airports or railways stations
to their accommodation. They are particularly
useful for travelling around unfamiliar city streets
or for transporting luggage. Taxis are very popular
with business tourists �see business travel). To
avoid financial and other malpractices, taxicabs are
often licensed by the government.
teacher education
teacher education 573
ANNE GRAHAM, UK
Both professional and academic experts in tourism
have identified the quality of educators and the
quality of the educational material they use as
being among the most important determinants in
the success of an education system. They have
further identified a number of issues affecting the
success of efforts to educate tourism educators.
Structural issues involve a range of contextual factors
which create somewhat unique problems for those
responsible for tourism education policy. These
include the late arrival of tourism as a field of
education and training, a lack of industry consensus
on the need for education, the diverse nature
of tourism/hospitality education and training, the
multiple educational demands of a rapidly growing
industry, the lack of institutional structures to
support tourism education, a shortage of positions
for educators, and finally, the lack of advanced level
programmes to properly train tourism educators.
In addition, there are a range of professional
issues that must be taken into account by individuals
interested in pursuing a career in tourism education.