ABSTRACT
The way in which tax systems address the timing of the recognition of income and the timing of the recognition of future deductions can be understood against the background of the theory of financial accounting, according to which a firm measures its earnings for its own purposes. As we will see below, regardless of whether the particular tax method has chosen to adopt GAAP in relation to the measuring of earnings (including the subject of the timing of their creation), or has chosen to deviate from GAAP for tax purposes, these principles were always in the background. From this it follows that in examining the solutions offered by the tax systems reviewed, it is important to provide a brief background of the underlying theory of GAAP in relation to the timing question.
