Nougatine of Nevers #4
Hello!
After the snow, the rain has pearled on the tip of our truffles. I took the opportunity to stay warm at home, transform the world with friends over a drink and listen to each other with kindness and curiosity!
So this week I share with you :
Tax incentives
Set objectives at different milestones
Batman in tutu
🍹 Tax incentives
Let's go for episode n°2 of the discovery of the tax and its many facets!
This title hides one of the very interesting functions of the tax, that of orienting behavior. I have only recently taken the measure of it. I had a classic vision of taxation: that of filling up the State's coffers to enable it to carry out public service missions. Incentive taxation is also called "behavioral" taxation. And for good reason, the main objective of the measures is to introduce levies on people likely to be subject to them in order to modify their behavior so as to push them to a certain behavior whether it be to consume a certain good or, conversely, to move away from it.
Power of the incentive
Incentives include the reduction of certain taxes by lowering the rate to engage the consumer. For example, cultural goods such as books and cinema tickets have a so-called "reduced" VAT rate of 5.5% (compared to 20% at the standard rate).
Conversely, taxation can be boosted in order to dissuade the consumer from adopting a behavior by increasing economic pressure. Have you ever heard of the French soda tax? Yes, it's the tax on sweetened beverages introduced in 2012. Its rate increase has made it a hot topic in 2017.
Its objective? To encourage a decrease in the consumption of soft drinks, which are strongly implicated in the rise of overweight and obesity.
Its mechanism? Very simple: tax beverage producers in proportion to the quantity of sugar contained in them, ranging from 3 to 27€ per hectoliter of beverage depending on the sugar content.
Its effects? On the industrial side. 1) A decrease in the quantity of sugar in products; 2) A price increase to pass on the tax to consumers.
Same thing on the consumer side: 1) an increase in the price of beverages by up to 25%; 2) a 4% reduction in the consumption of these beverages.
This type of policy, advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO), is applied in many countries, sometimes in the form of "nutritional taxes". In 2016, researchers measured the consequences of this type of measure compared to other countries without it. Without this specific taxation, the consumption of sweetened beverages increases.
Here this incentive taxation - rather disincentive - is, among many others, an effective means of fighting obesity. I find it interesting that it is a way for the State to intervene in society.
To be qualified? Not really!
By hitting the wallet, tax incentives are effective and achieve the objective they set themselves. We can hardly find one or more examples of tax incentives whose objectives have only been partially achieved. Perhaps the CICE - Tax Credit for Competitiveness and Employment? if its objectives were to boost innovation, financing capacity, competition and employment, many surveys showed that it had only reached 30% of the number initially set.
How is it in your country ? Do you know of any tax incentive schemes? Do you have an idea of an incentive measure that could be put in place?
⏰ Set goals at different milestones
Setting goals gives a lot of strength... and the benefits are reinforced by playing on the different temporalities!
First of all, asking yourself about your desires, your aspirations of the moment, is beneficial to take a breath in the high-speed train of everyday life (“tchou-tchou” = French noise of a train) and its tumults. Once you set yourself a goal, you find that notion of commitment that you saw in the newsletter N#1, commitment, this time with yourself. It immediately gives it an unsuspected strength.
The key point is to pursue objectives on different terms. The effects of this projection exercise? To project oneself in several spatio-temporal faults: in 1 month, 2 weeks, 4 days and 6h45 minutes. It can also consist in the decomposition of an objective at several deadlines, in a multiplicity of steps. The objective will de facto become realistic. Moreover, reaching these stages is super encouraging and rewarding. Finally, it allows you to question the objective in the longer term as you go along, "Is this what I wanted to do?”
Each of these small blocks must be realistic, measurable, to be a source of motivation and not discouragement. I recommend the SMART grid that I use for both my professional and personal goals.
Let's end with an example in the area of job search. The long-term objective, say over a year, would be: to evolve in a management position. Along the way, there is a succession of objectives of different sizes, as many steps necessary to steer and rotate if necessary. Medium-term: one can question oneself on the sector sought, undertake additional training. Short term: update your Linkedin profile, format your CV, schedule a lunch with this inspiring person.
Achieving each of these first steps is the beginning of success!
What are your next goals? Are they realistic? Have you broken them down and climbed one step at a time?
🦇Batman in tutu
I present you my Batman in tutu. I say my because I bought it. Batman, this heroic male, is doing some entrechats in my living room. And then, I captured him a little bit. Because usually, TocToc's works jump in the streets and dress the walls.
Keep your eyes open in the alleys of Paris, especially those of the Marais, you will recognize other of his characters.
Funnily enough, TocToc comes from Berry, which is not far from my native Nièvre (French department), which made me smile when I heard about it.
What does this image evoke for you? What are you thinking about? Funny isn't it?