Smuggling

Smuggling is a clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various motivations to smuggle. These include the participation in illegal trade, such as in the drug trade, in illegal immigration or illegal emigration, tax evasion, providing contraband to a prison inmate, or the theft of the items being smuggled. Examples of non-financial motivations include bringing banned items past a security checkpoint (such as airline security) or the removal of classified documents from a government or corporate office. Much smuggling occurs when enterprising merchants attempt to supply demand for a good or service that is illegal or heavily taxed. As a result, illegal drug trafficking, and the smuggling of weapons (illegal arms trade), as well as the historical staples of smuggling, alcohol and tobacco, are widespread. As the smuggler faces significant risk of civil and criminal penalties if caught with contraband, smugglers are able to impose a significant price premium on smuggled goods. The profits involved in smuggling goods appear to be extensive.

With regard to people smuggling, a distinction can be made between people smuggling as a service to those wanting to illegally migrate, and the involuntary trafficking of people. Trafficking in human beings, sometimes called human trafficking, or in the much referred to case of sexual services, sex trafficking – is not the same as people smuggling. A smuggler will facilitate illegal entry into a country for a fee, but on arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is free; the trafficking victim is coerced in some way. Victims do not agree to be trafficked: they are tricked, lured by false promises, or forced into it. Traffickers use coercive tactics including deception, fraud, intimidation, isolation, physical threats and use of force, debt bondage or even force-feeding drugs to control their victims.

Tax Avoidance

Tax avoidance is the legal utilization of the tax regime to one’s own advantage, to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law. The term tax mitigation is a synonym for tax avoidance. Its original use was by tax advisors as an alternative to the pejorative term tax avoidance. The term has also been used in the tax regulations of some jurisdictions to distinguish tax avoidance foreseen by the legislators from tax avoidance which exploits loopholes in the law.

Tax evasion is an activity commonly associated with the underground economy and one measure of the extent of tax evasion the amount of unreported income, namely the difference between the amount of income that should legally be reported to the tax authorities and the actual amount reported. Both tax avoidance and evasion can be viewed as forms of tax noncompliance, as they describe a range of activities that are unfavorable to a state’s tax system.

Tax avoidance may be considered to be the dodging of one’s duties to society, or alternatively the right of every citizen to structure one’s affairs in a manner allowed by law, to pay no more tax than what is required. Avoidance also reduces government revenue and brings the tax system into disrepute, so governments need to prevent tax avoidance or keep it within limits. The obvious way to do this is to frame tax rules so that there is no scope for avoidance. In practice this has not proved achievable and has led to an ongoing battle between governments amending legislation and tax advisors’ finding new scope for tax avoidance in the amended rules. In the UK in 2004, the Labour government announced that it would use retrospective legislation to counteract some tax avoidance schemes, and it has subsequently done so on a few occasions.

Exercise 9. Choose the right answer.

1. What examples of non-financial motivations do you know?

a) drug trade; b) bringing banned items;

c) illegal immigration; d) smuggling of weapons.

2. What is the synonym to the “trafficking in human beings”?

a) human trafficking; b) white slave;

c) contraband to a prison inmate; d) historical staples of smuggling.

3. What does the term “tax avoidance” mean?

a) amending legislation; b) research of new;

c) legal utilization of the tax regime; d) tax avoidance schemes.

4. What was Labour government going to use to counteract some tax avoidance schemes?

a) retrospective legislation; b) new amending;

c) loopholes in the law; d) good lawyers.

5. What is the tax avoidance associated with?

a) agriculture; b) shadow policy; c) culture; d) underground economy.

6. Why do people use legal tax avoidance?

a) to look better; b) to pay no more tax than required;

c) to begin new life in a new country; d) to get more opportunities.

7. Why do governments need to prevent tax avoidance or keep it within limits?

a) because tax avoidance creates loopholes in the law;

b) because tax avoidance increases the bribe value;

c) because tax avoidance reduces government revenue;

d) because tax avoidance damages the state’s image.

8. Whom must each citizen report his/her income?

a) to our employee; b) to our parents and relatives;

c) to the customs authorities; d) to the tax authorities.

9. What does a tax advisor do?

a) he helps legally to reduce payable taxes; b) he pays your taxes;

c) he hides your money in a safe; d) he reduces your income.

10. What kinds of items are more often smuggled?

a) children, women and other slaves;

b) nephews, uncles and other distant relatives;

c) clothes, footwear, headwear;

d) alcohol, tobacco, drugs, weapons, items of cultural value.

Exercise 10. Translate the following terms into Russian. Give your own definitions (in English) and learn these terms by heart.

1. tax avoidance; 2. tax evasion; 3. tax mitigation; 5. trafficker; 6. unreported income; 7. violation; 8. deception; 9. to smuggle; 10. intimidation.

Exercise 11. Write an outline of the text.

COMPREHENSION

Exercise 12. Fill in the table. Add two more categories for comparison.

	Russian Federation	United Kingdom
Law regulating customs offences
Administrative offences
Possible punishment

Exercise 13. Fill in the gaps using the words given below, and translate the sentences into Russian.

minimize taxation tax advisors legislation smuggling

taxpayer’s responsibility relating to motivation taxes

legal liability immigrants

1. Customs officers arrested the band that has been … opium in the UK for eight years. 2. There are not any … in the Russia Federation, and any tax avoidance is considered as a violation of a law. 3. To pay … is a civil duty. 4. Individuals usually require tax advisors to … . 5. Tenants have … for any damage they cause. 6. Before an item of … becomes law it may be known as a bill. 7. Illegal … are smuggled into the country by boat. 8. Documents … immigration laws were discussed during last Parliament session. 9. What was your … for becoming a Customs Officer? 10. It is the … to ensure that returns made to the tax authorities are correct and complete.

Exercise 14. Replace the underlined words with the synonymous terms from the texts.

1. She has not committed a criminal offence. 2. You will bear responsibility if you commit an unlawful act. 3. Smuggling is a disciplinable offence. 4. We have been able to diminish our tax bill by 10%. 5. When he was doing this he didn’t think about his own benefit. 6. It is out of my competence. 7. When was this Statutory Instrument abrogated? 8. The state used to requisite land from those who opposed to the king. 9. One of the most prevalent customs crimes is smuggling. 10. You should be careful as you venture to lose everything you’ve got.

Exercise 15. a) Match the verbs on the left with the nouns on the right.

1. to facilitate	a) a crime;
2. to face	b) the amount of tax;
3. to be established	с) procedures;
4. to commit	d) a victim;
5. to carry out	e) illegal entry into a country;
6. to lure	f) into disrepute;
7. to reduce	g) significant risk;
8. to bring	h) to an battle;
9. to coerce	i) by the state;
10. to lead	j) by false promises.

b) In the sentences below replace the Russian expressions with the phrases you have got. Use these expressions in the necessary form.

1. The modern customs policy of some countries (способствует нелегальному въезду в страну). 2. All the people if they want to receive vast sums of money (столкнутся с серьезными рисками). 3. Customs tariffs on the exported goods (устанавливаются государством) in accordance with the working legislation, as well as with the foreign and domestic policy of the country. 4. He was sent to prison because he (совершил преступление). 5. You couldn’t leave the country until you (выполните все) customs (процедуры). 6. He (был завлечен обманными обещаниями) into this business. 7. There are several ways (уменьшить сумму налога), both legal and unlawful. 8. The high crime rate (навлек на) this district (дурную славу). 9. The criminals (удерживали жертву силой). 10. The unreasonable policy of the President (привела к борьбе) between three branches of Government.

WRITING AND COMMUNICATION

Exercise 16. Write an assay on the given topics and discuss it with your partner.

1. Comprehensive analysis of Russian and British legislation regulating customs relations.

2. The main types of customs offences.

Exercise 17. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

1. Преступление предусматривает наказание до семи лет лишения свободы и штраф в 1 миллион рублей. 2. После суда всё её имущество было конфисковано. 3. Я сообщу о вас в полицию, если вы не перестанете меня преследовать. 4. Для наиболее эффективного предотвращения контрабанды в последние десятилетия было создано множество новых технических средств. 5. Чтобы избежать негативного влияния на государственный бюджет из-за неуплаты гражданами налогов, законодательные органы вносят поправки в законы. 6. Согласно действующему законодательству субъектом административной ответственности может быть как физическое, так и юридическое лицо. 7. Наиболее распространенными видами контрабанды являются незаконная транспортировка наркотиков, оружия, алкоголя и табака. 8. Как показывает мировая практика, если в какой-то стране ухудшаются политические и экономические условия, то увеличивается незаконная миграция населения. 9. Каковы основные наказания за совершение административных правонарушений? 10. Таможенное преступление, как и преступление в другой сфере, это социально опасное действие.

PROJECT WORK

Prepare to discuss the topic “The dynamics in the customs crime”. First group presents the statistics data, graphs and official resources related to the Russia Federation and second – to the United Kingdom. Try to explain currency changes.