Questions 39 and 40 refer to the following text.

Customs enforcement is concerned with the protection of society and fighting trans-national organized crime based on the principles of risk management. In discharging this mandate, Customs compliance and enforcement services are involved in a wide range of activities relating to information and intelligence exchange, combating commercial fraud, counterfeiting, the smuggling of highly taxed goods (especially cigarettes and alcohol), drug trafficking, stolen motor vehicles, money laundering, electronic crime, smuggling of arms, nuclear materials, toxic waste and weapons of mass destruction. Enforcement activities also aim to protect intellectual and cultural property and endangered plants and animal species.

In order to assist its Members improve the effectiveness of their enforcement efforts and achieve a balance between control and facilitation, the World Customs Organisation has developed a comprehensive technical assistance and training programmes. In addition, it has established Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs) that are supported by a global database, the Customs Enforcement Network (CEN), to facilitate the exchange and use of information.

The WCO has also developed instruments for international co-operation in the form of the revised Model Bilateral Agreement (MBA); the Nairobi Convention, which provides for mutual administrative assistance in the prevention, investigation and repression of Customs offences; and the Johannesburg Convention, which provides for mutual administrative assistance in Customs matters. The WCO’s Customs Control and Enforcement programme therefore aims to promote effective enforcement practices and encourage co-operation among its Members and with its various competent partners and stakeholders.

(Source: http://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/enforcement-and-compliance/
overview.aspx, retrieved on 12 March 2014.)

Questions 39 and 40 refer to the following text.

Customs enforcement is concerned with the protection of society and fighting trans-national organized crime based on the principles of risk management. In discharging this mandate, Customs compliance and enforcement services are involved in a wide range of activities relating to information and intelligence exchange, combating commercial fraud, counterfeiting, the smuggling of highly taxed goods (especially cigarettes and alcohol), drug trafficking, stolen motor vehicles, money laundering, electronic crime, smuggling of arms, nuclear materials, toxic waste and weapons of mass destruction. Enforcement activities also aim to protect intellectual and cultural property and endangered plants and animal species.

In order to assist its Members improve the effectiveness of their enforcement efforts and achieve a balance between control and facilitation, the World Customs Organisation has developed a comprehensive technical assistance and training programmes. In addition, it has established Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs) that are supported by a global database, the Customs Enforcement Network (CEN), to facilitate the exchange and use of information.

The WCO has also developed instruments for international co-operation in the form of the revised Model Bilateral Agreement (MBA); the Nairobi Convention, which provides for mutual administrative assistance in the prevention, investigation and repression of Customs offences; and the Johannesburg Convention, which provides for mutual administrative assistance in Customs matters. The WCO’s Customs Control and Enforcement programme therefore aims to promote effective enforcement practices and encourage co-operation among its Members and with its various competent partners and stakeholders.

(Source: http://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/enforcement-and-compliance/
overview.aspx, retrieved on 12 March 2014.)

Questions 34 through 38 refer to the following text.

We've been keeping our veterinarian in business lately. First Sammy, our nine-year-old golden retriever, needed surgery. (She's fine now.) Then Inky, our curious cat, burned his paw. (He'll be fine, too.) At our last visit, as we were writing our fourth (or was it the fifth?) consecutive check to the veterinary hospital, there was much joking about how vet bills should be tax-deductible. After all, pets are dependents, too, right? (Guffaws all around.)

Now, halfway through tax-filing season, comes news that pets are high on the list of unusual deductions taxpayers try to claim. From routine pet expenses to the costs of adopting a pet to, yes, pets as "dependents," tax accountants have heard it all this year, according to the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants, which surveys its members annually about the most outlandish tax deductions proposed by clients. Most of these doggy deductions don't hunt, but, believe it or not, some do. Could there be a spot for Sammy and Inky on our 1040?

Scott Kadrlik, a certified public accountant in Eden Prairie, Minn., who moonlights as a stand-up comedian (really!), gave me a dog's-eye view of the tax code: "In most cases our family pets are just family pets," he says. They cannot be claimed as dependents, and you cannot deduct the cost of their food, medical care or other expenses. One exception is service dogs. If you require a Seeing Eye dog, for example, your canine's costs are deductible as a medical expense. Occasionally, man's best friend also is man's best business deduction. The Doberman that guards the junk yard can be deductible as a business expense of the junk-yard owner, says Mr. Kadrlik. Ditto the convenience-store cat that keeps the rats at bay.

For most of us, though, our pets are hobbies at most. Something's a hobby if, among other things, it hasn't turned a profit in at least three of the past five years (or two of the past seven years in the case of horse training, breeding or racing). In that case, you can't deduct losses—only expenses to the extent of income in the same year. So if your beloved Bichon earns $100 for a modeling gig, you could deduct $100 worth of vet bills (or dog food or doggy attire).

(Source: Carolyn Geer, The Wall Street Journal, retrieved on 13 March 2014 - slightly adapted)

Questions 34 through 38 refer to the following text.

We've been keeping our veterinarian in business lately. First Sammy, our nine-year-old golden retriever, needed surgery. (She's fine now.) Then Inky, our curious cat, burned his paw. (He'll be fine, too.) At our last visit, as we were writing our fourth (or was it the fifth?) consecutive check to the veterinary hospital, there was much joking about how vet bills should be tax-deductible. After all, pets are dependents, too, right? (Guffaws all around.)

Now, halfway through tax-filing season, comes news that pets are high on the list of unusual deductions taxpayers try to claim. From routine pet expenses to the costs of adopting a pet to, yes, pets as "dependents," tax accountants have heard it all this year, according to the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants, which surveys its members annually about the most outlandish tax deductions proposed by clients. Most of these doggy deductions don't hunt, but, believe it or not, some do. Could there be a spot for Sammy and Inky on our 1040?

Scott Kadrlik, a certified public accountant in Eden Prairie, Minn., who moonlights as a stand-up comedian (really!), gave me a dog's-eye view of the tax code: "In most cases our family pets are just family pets," he says. They cannot be claimed as dependents, and you cannot deduct the cost of their food, medical care or other expenses. One exception is service dogs. If you require a Seeing Eye dog, for example, your canine's costs are deductible as a medical expense. Occasionally, man's best friend also is man's best business deduction. The Doberman that guards the junk yard can be deductible as a business expense of the junk-yard owner, says Mr. Kadrlik. Ditto the convenience-store cat that keeps the rats at bay.

For most of us, though, our pets are hobbies at most. Something's a hobby if, among other things, it hasn't turned a profit in at least three of the past five years (or two of the past seven years in the case of horse training, breeding or racing). In that case, you can't deduct losses—only expenses to the extent of income in the same year. So if your beloved Bichon earns $100 for a modeling gig, you could deduct $100 worth of vet bills (or dog food or doggy attire).

(Source: Carolyn Geer, The Wall Street Journal, retrieved on 13 March 2014 - slightly adapted)

Questions 34 through 38 refer to the following text.

We've been keeping our veterinarian in business lately. First Sammy, our nine-year-old golden retriever, needed surgery. (She's fine now.) Then Inky, our curious cat, burned his paw. (He'll be fine, too.) At our last visit, as we were writing our fourth (or was it the fifth?) consecutive check to the veterinary hospital, there was much joking about how vet bills should be tax-deductible. After all, pets are dependents, too, right? (Guffaws all around.)

Now, halfway through tax-filing season, comes news that pets are high on the list of unusual deductions taxpayers try to claim. From routine pet expenses to the costs of adopting a pet to, yes, pets as "dependents," tax accountants have heard it all this year, according to the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants, which surveys its members annually about the most outlandish tax deductions proposed by clients. Most of these doggy deductions don't hunt, but, believe it or not, some do. Could there be a spot for Sammy and Inky on our 1040?

Scott Kadrlik, a certified public accountant in Eden Prairie, Minn., who moonlights as a stand-up comedian (really!), gave me a dog's-eye view of the tax code: "In most cases our family pets are just family pets," he says. They cannot be claimed as dependents, and you cannot deduct the cost of their food, medical care or other expenses. One exception is service dogs. If you require a Seeing Eye dog, for example, your canine's costs are deductible as a medical expense. Occasionally, man's best friend also is man's best business deduction. The Doberman that guards the junk yard can be deductible as a business expense of the junk-yard owner, says Mr. Kadrlik. Ditto the convenience-store cat that keeps the rats at bay.

For most of us, though, our pets are hobbies at most. Something's a hobby if, among other things, it hasn't turned a profit in at least three of the past five years (or two of the past seven years in the case of horse training, breeding or racing). In that case, you can't deduct losses—only expenses to the extent of income in the same year. So if your beloved Bichon earns $100 for a modeling gig, you could deduct $100 worth of vet bills (or dog food or doggy attire).

(Source: Carolyn Geer, The Wall Street Journal, retrieved on 13 March 2014 - slightly adapted)