The Summer 2003 Issue contains the following articles:

TAX

The Partner Rule
For Income Tax Purposes
In the new Income Tax Act of 2001, the levying of taxes has been almost entirely individualized. In other words, every taxpayer is to account for his own income and deductibles.
As the strict division of taxation would have undesirable consequences, tax-wise (for instance, if you do not have an income, you cannot benefit from the deduction created for (your portion of) the joint home), the “partner rule” has been created which makes it possible for “fiscal partners” to transfer to each other certain sources of income and certain deductibles, resulting in a more favorable taxation.
This article goes into the rules and regulations regarding the partner rule.
www.loyensloeff.com
Charles Willigers, e-mail: Charles.willigers@loyensloeff.com

BUSINESS

Drawing a Portrait of the Family Firm
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Family Business
The majority of all firms worldwide are family-owned yet they are underexposed in most management literature. The mix of family and business can be a very potent one, but is equally a source of problems, especially when dealing with sensitivities in personal relationships. This article discusses the importance of family business and highlight some of their specific challenges concerning ownership, access to capital and corporate governance. It argues that the discussion on corporate governance should not be limited to widely held corporations (with dispersed stock ownership), but should also take the specific characteristics of family businesses into account.
Marleen Dieleman and Carina de Walle, e-mail: m.dieleman@lusm.leidenuniv.nl, cadewalle@dbbw.nl

LEISURE

Dordrecht
An Historic Fun-Filled City
Not only tourists but also many expats living in the Netherlands are inclined to visit the more well-known cities. I must say this is something I am also guilty of. However, over the years, work or leisure has taken me to different cities and towns in the country.
In search of a porcelain artist, I visited Dordrecht recently and found it a very impressive spot in its own right. Lying in the province of South Holland at a strategic location where the rivers Merwede, Oude Maas (Old Meuse) and the Noord meet (incidentally, the busiest river point in Europe), the old city turns out to be a picturesque and quaint historical gem with no less than approximately a thousand monuments.
www.kunstrondjedordt.nl
Almas Mahmud