Taxation Implications of Insurance in Business

Question: Discuss about the Taxation Implications of Insurance in Business. Answer: Introduction The first decision of the high court relating to the interpretation of GST Act is the case of Reliance Carpet. The decision relates to the treatment of GST on deposit amount in case of decline of land contract. In this paper, the decision of the court is examined and the implications are analyzed (Millar 2013). The High Court on May 2008 held that for supplies made by the Reliance Carpet Co Pty Ltd in relation with retention of forfeited deposit the company is liable to account for the GST (Thampapillai et al. 2015). This is a remarkable decision because of various reasons that are highlighted below: This is the first decision of the high court relating to the application of the GST Act; In this case, the court has made numerous observations relating to the characteristic of the transaction. This would be helpful in analyzing the transactions for the purpose of GST; In this case the court has departed from the approach that was applied to the analogous transactions in the same context by the foreign courts; The application of this decision by the commission in various other context makes this decision more remarkable and important; In this case, Reliance carpet made an agreement on 3 December 2001 that gives the holder of the agreement an option to purchase commercial property in lieu of an option fee of $25000.00. It was stipulated in the option agreement that if the Reliance Carpet receives the letter exercising the option along with the payment of $297500. Then in such case, the Reliance carpet and the purchaser both are bound by the terms of the agreement and they are compulsorily required to sell and purchase the property as per the agreement (Millar 2014). On 5 February 2002, the payment for deposit was made and the contract was implemented and exchanged. It was provided in the contract that the balance of the purchase price should be paid on or before 10 January 2003. The solicitor of Reliance carpet released the deposit on 27 February 2002. The purchaser failed to comply with the contract within the scheduled date (Krever and Mellor 2014). There was further a failure to provide any remedy by the purchas er within 14 days of recession notice issued by the Reliance Carpet. The contract was cancelled on 26 July 2003 and this resulted in the forfeiture of deposit of Reliance Carpet. The commissioner in its notice dated 9 November 2004 assessed that the Reliance carpet is liable to pay GST on the amount of deposit that has been forfeited. There was an objection made on the decision by Reliance Carpet and they applied for appeal on the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for reviewing the decision (Tolhurst 2016). Relevant laws related to the case The section 7-1 of the GST Act states that on taxable supplies the GST is payable. There are two requirements that must be fulfilled for a supply to be taxable supply as provided in section 9-5(a) of the act (Wheelahan 2016). These requirements are: The first requirement is that there must be a supply; The second requirement is that supply must be made for a consideration; The definition of supply provided under section 9-10(1) of the act states that supply include any form of supply. The definition specifically includes grant of real property, surrender of any right or release from any obligation (ORourke 2016). The definition of consideration has a broad meaning and it includes: Payment made in supply of anything; and Payment made for the supply of anything; The GST Act also deals with the rules relating to the timing of the GST. In case of accrual taxpayer the rules provides that GST liability for the taxpayer will arise earlier of the following: At the time of receiving the consideration; or At the time of receiving of supply; The rules also provides that if the taxpayer has received part payment for the supply then GST amount is payable on the entire amount of the supply. Therefore, it can be said that GST liability is not limited to 1/11 of the amount received but the GST is payable on the total consideration payable for the supply (Barnett and Harder 2014). However, it is provided that if the deposit is forfeited or applied as a part of full consideration then deposit is regarded as a part of the supply for the purpose of GST. The commissioner argued that in Division 99 the forfeited deposit is regarded as a taxable supply. If this judgment is held, correct then the question of supply and whether the deposit is part of the supply will be answered (Freedland et al. 2016). The decision of the tribunal states that based on the provisions of the GST Act the deposit should be treated as a part of the consideration after it is forfeited. The GST amount becomes payable in the period the deposit amount is forfeited. Therefore, it was concluded that Reliance carpet is required to pay GST on the amount of the deposit forfeited (Butt 2013). The Reliance carpet appealed to the decision of the tribunal in the full Federal Court. The Federal court in its judgment found that forfeited deposit amount is not to be regarded as a consideration for supply. The argument of the company was that contract of supply was made only for one supply and this is a real property. It was further argued that on completion of the contract the property was made available to the purchaser as per the terms of the contract (Burrows 2015). As per the single supply argument, it was held that if the contract is terminated then there is no supply for which deposit could be considered as consideration. The taxpayer relied on two arguments this are guarantee argument and damages argument. The guarantee argument provides that as suggested by the tribunal and commissioner the deposit have two purposes. The first purpose is that deposit acts as a part payment for the supply of the real property. The second purpose is that deposit acts as a guarantee that the purchaser will perform its obligations under the contract. The taxpayer argued that i f the guarantee was the supply then it was provided to the purchaser on behalf of the deposit. It was argued that if guarantee is regarded as separate supply then purchaser provided it to the vendor. Therefore, in such case the forfeiture of the deposit amount will not result in any supply by the vendor to the purchaser. It was found that forfeiture of deposit is the contractual right that was exercised by the vendor (Carter 2013). The damages argument stated that deposit is regarded as damage so it cannot be considered as supply that is made by the vendor to the purchaser. In the full court judgment, it was found that if an applicant enters into a contract for sale or purchase then such contract is for the supply of real property and nothing more or less. The court held that the decision of the tribunal required the contract to be split into two parts supply of interim obligation and supply of actual property. The court adopted the approach that transaction cannot be classified bas ed on the individual rights as held in the case of Hallstroms Pty Limited V Commissioner of Taxation (1946) and Commissioner of Taxation V Raymor (NSW) (1990). Therefore based on the above arguments it was held that forfeited deposit is not to be regarded as supply and hence GST is not payable. The commissioner challenged the judgment in the high court. The court has made significant observation in deciding the case. The court held that the term supply should include a grant, assignment or surrender of real property. It was held that the term real property has an extensive meaning. The court has made number of important observation relating to the nature of deposit. It has said that deposit is a type of standalone obligation and the deposit is a form of security that the purchaser has given to the taxpayer for the performance of the contract. There was other aspect of deposit that supported the case of the taxpayer (Groppi and Ponthoreau 2013). However, the court concluded that for the case of the commissioner it is sufficient that one or more characteristics of consideration are satisfied so that deposit can be regarded as consideration. In this case, the deposit performed as a security for the completion of the contract and it was to be forfeited on failure. Based on the above arguments the High Court found that forfeited deposit is a consideration in connection with the supply made by the taxpayer. Hence, it was concluded that the taxpayer has made taxable supply (DAVIES 2013). Analysis of the decision In the judgment of the high court, there was no observation made on the nature of the GST. The Judgment only mentions that GST is a tax on supplies but it is not a tax on consumption. The judgment did not provide any general guidance relating to the interpretation of the GST. From the decision, it could be implied that high court has rejected the commercial or substance approach that have been taken for the interpretation of GST (Stefanou 2016). The high court has ignored one of the main concerns raised in the full federal court that whether the termination of deposit is subject to GST if the supply is free from GST. The section 9-30 of the GST Act has provided solution to this difficulty. It states that if the right to receive a supply is GST free then the supply itself will be GST free. There is no clarity whether section 9-30 of the GST Act is applicable in the judgment of the high court. The commissioner has earlier adopted a position in GSTR 2006/2 that GST is applicable for for feited deposit even if it is a GST free supply. However, currently the commissioner in its statement has confirmed that in case of a GST free supply the deposit forfeited for such supply is also GST free (Stefanou 2016). The decision of the high court has far-reaching consequences this decision will make the taxpayer revisit all the transaction related to forfeited deposit. There is another effect in the courts decision that where the Division 99 is not applicable then the consideration that is received on supply is regarded as initial grant of right and not the part of the core supply that is the main subject matter of the contract. The high court decision has encouraged the use of the liquidated damage clause. The contracting party can enter into agreement for refund of deposit on all situation rather than forfeiture (Barkoczy 2016). The high court has rejected the argument of the Reliance carpet that there was no relation between the supply and the forfeited deposit. It was argued by the Reliance carpet that numerous rights and obligations under the contract were exchanged irrespective of the fact whether the deposit is paid or not. From the decision of the high court, it can be implied that if th e considered is connected with the supply then it is regarded that there is a relationship between the supply and consideration. This can be contrasted with the test provided under section 95- (a) for determining supply made for a consideration (Stefanou 2016). Conclusion The above discussion has highlighted the case of the Reliance carpet and the decision that was taken on that case. Based on the above discussion it can be concluded that the case will have significant impact on the landscape of the GST. The importance of the decision can be realized from the fact that it was recently quoted in a full federal court and the commissioner has also quoted the decision in recent draft rulings. Reference Barkoczy, S., 2016. Foundations of Taxation Law 2016.OUP Catalogue. Barnett, K. and Harder, S., 2014.Remedies in Australian Private Law. Cambridge University Press. Burrows, A. ed., 2015.Principles of English Commercial Law. Oxford University Press. Busch, D., Macgregor, L. and Watts, P. eds., 2016.Agency Law in Commercial Practice. Oxford University Press. Butt, P., 2013.Modern legal drafting: a guide to using clearer language. Cambridge University Press. Carter, J.W., 2013.The construction of commercial contracts. Bloomsbury Publishing. DAVIES, B.K., 2013.THE TAXATION IMPLICATIONS OF INSURANCE IN BUSINESS SUCCESSION PLANNING IN AN AUSTRALIAN CONTEXTA PROPOSAL FOR REFORM(Doctoral dissertation, The University of Western Australia). Freedland, M., Bogg, A., Cabrelli, D., Collins, H., Countouris, N., Davies, A.C.L., Deakin, S. and Prassl, J. eds., 2016.The Contract of Employment. Oxford University Press. Groppi, T. and Ponthoreau, M.C. eds., 2013.The use of foreign precedents by constitutional judges. Bloomsbury Publishing. Krever, R. and Mellor, P., 2014. Legal Interpretation of Tax Law: Australia.Legal Interpretation of Tax Law (Amsterdam: Kluwer, 2014), pp.15-45. Millar, R., 2013. Thoughts on the Contribution of the Late Justice JG Hill to Australia's GST.Austl. Tax F.,28, p.137. Millar, R., 2014. Grappling with basic VAT concepts in the Australian GST: the meaning of supply for consideration.World Journal of VAT/GST Law,3(1), pp.1-31. ORourke, K., 2016. Taking the purpose out of creditable purpose.Tax Specialist,20(2), p.50. Stefanou, C., 2016.Drafting legislation: a modern approach. Routledge. Thampapillai, D., Tan, V., Bozzi, C. and Matthew, A., 2015.Australian Commercial Law. Cambridge University Press. Tolhurst, G., 2016.The assignment of contractual rights. Bloomsbury Publishing. Wheelahan, E., 2016. Contemporary issues in construing tax legislation.Taxation in Australia,51(4), p.197.

Personal Finance Plan Worksheet free essay sample

The process of creating a detailed plan to meet your financial needs and prepare for the future is called b. personal financial planning. 2. Which of the following is not one of the five major steps of the financial planning process? c. collect and organize your financial information 3. Which phase in life is commonly associated with focus on marriage, family, purchasing a home, and career development? c. ate 20’s through your 40’s 4. Which of the following is a benefit of having a college degree that can affect your financial planning? d. all the above 5. Which of the following elements of a comprehensive financial plan involves analyzing future needs, such as saving for retirement or college funding for dependents? d. protecting wealth and dependents Directions Respond to the following short-answer questions in 50-to 100-words: 6. People have different styles when it comes to handling their money. List the two things that affect your personal beliefs and opinions about financial planning. We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Finance Plan Worksheet or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page How well do you feel you manage your money? Can you spot areas for improvement in your money management style, and if so, where/how? a. Two things that affect my personal beliefs about financial planning are: my family composition and values. I want my family to be comfortable and I also save but not as much and often as I should. Making sure I save for hard time and my family stability is a must. Setting up a budget is a main topic in my household. b. I can do better and stop tapping into my savings. I do have a savings account that is linked to my account. Everytime I spend something a dollar is sent to my savings, so that also help me balance my account as well. I also need to focus on our needs and not what we want. c. Yes I could stop spending more money and save more which is hard because we just moved and we are buying the house we are renting. Im putting money into the house but bills still have to be paid. We are starting to do a budget to eliminate the how, who, when, and where. 7. Which element of the comprehensive financial plan focuses on your housing needs, setting aside money for emergencies, and establishing a career path? Consider your own finances. Do currectly own a vehicle and/or home? If yes, how well do you manage monthly home and auto expenses? How well do you save for unforeseen expenses? a. Securing basic needs b. I own two vehicles and purchasing a home. We pay our mortgage at the beginning of the month in which we split, we pay the bills as soon as we get the bills and we split those as well, then the car notes are split up, and at the end of the month our car insurance is due. c. We have a savings account that pulls money from our checking whenever we spend money nd then we literally have what I call a piggy bank and we save change as well. There is nothing wrong about saving change because it does add up. 8. The economy is unpredictable and can affect your personal financial planning. List one factor in economic conditions that may affect your financial future. How could you reduce the impact of that factor on your finances? a. Inflation b. To reduce the affect of inflation is to save and go on a budget. You can also shop smarter by shopping cheaper, like generic brands. Also using coupons and your rewards card to reduce the cost of groceries and gas. You can shop around for the cheapest prices and most of the time if you buy in bulk its cheaper. 9. Which step in the five-step financial planning process requires you to organize your financial information, create personal financial statements, and evaluate your current financial position? Have you ever completed this step? If so, is it still applicable to your current financial situation? If not, do you plan to do this soon? Why or why not? a. Step1: Analyze your current financial position. b. Yes I have done it before, but now we just moved and we are now creating a new budget. Since the bills have changed we have to do a new budget and gather our bank statements, bills, and calculater our income to be more financially stable and save more money. We are currently going over a new budget as we speak. 10. Step Five in the five-step financial planning process discusses the importance of regularly reevaluating and revising your plan because personal circumstances often change. List two life changes that may require you to update your financial plan. Have you recently experienced a change that requires you to reevaluate your financial plan? If so, what was it and how have you accommodated it? (Please share only what you are comfortable sharing) a. Marriage and children b. I just recently got married and we’re just purchasing a home. My husband just received social security and 100% in military disability and I work. This make it a little easier for us to make it. I do have children and one is disabled so its tough but we make it. We split everything down the middle so no one person would be overwhelmed with paying all the bills on their own. We try to do a budget and stick to it. We do bargin shop and try to limit where we go due to high gas prices. We also put money to the side for different things we want to do whether its go out to eat, go to the movies, or date night. We also put money back for food and gas. We include everything we do and everything that can happen in our budget and daily life.

Intolerance in The Chrysalids Essay Example

Intolerance in The Chrysalids Essay Example Intolerance in The Chrysalids Essay Intolerance in The Chrysalids Essay John Wyndham focuses on the dangers of strict social conformity. He also suggests that blind acceptance of tradition results in persecution, rebellion and ultimately destruction. At the beginning of the story the author shows the society here is very religious and show they have a strict social conformity everything there has to fit their idea of a true image of god, If it does not fit it is destroyed, or if it is a human they are banished to the fringes. The fringes are very deviated land where they put blasphemys to try and survive but they hope for them to die. anything that defied the true image was satanic God decreed that man should have one body, one head, two arms and two legs: that each arm should be joined in two places and end in one hand: that each hand should have four fingers and one thumb: that each finger should bear a flat finger-nailThen God created woman, also, in the same image, but with these differences, according to her nature: her voice would be of higher pitch than mans: she should grow no beard: she should have two breasts- David Strorm . This was taught to them through their lives and lived by that is the true image of god anything not like it was a blasphemy. People who can hide this past the

How to Build Sentences With Appositives

How to Build Sentences With Appositives An appositive is a word or group of words that identifies or renames another word in a sentence. As weve seen (in the article What Is an Appositive?), appositive constructions offer concise ways of describing or defining a person, place, or thing. In this article, you will learn how to construct sentences with appositives. From Adjective Clauses to Appositives Like an adjective clause, an appositive provides more information about a noun. In fact, we may think of an appositive as a simplified adjective clause. Consider, for example, how the following two sentences can be combined: Jim Gold is a professional magician.Jim Gold performed at my sisters birthday party. One way to combine these sentences is to turn the first sentence into an adjective clause: Jim Gold, who is a professional magician, performed at my sisters birthday party. We also have the option of reducing the adjective clause in this sentence to an appositive. All that we need to do is omit the pronoun who and the verb is: Jim Gold, a professional magician, performed at my sisters birthday party. The appositive a professional magician serves to identify the subject, Jimbo Gold. Reducing an adjective clause to an appositive is one way to cut the clutter in our writing. However, not all adjective clauses can be shortened to appositives in this fashiononly those that contain a form of the verb to be (is, are, was, were). Arranging Appositives An appositive most often appears directly after the noun it identifies or renames: Arizona Bill, The Great Benefactor of Mankind, toured Oklahoma with herbal cures and a powerful liniment. Note that this appositive, like most, could be omitted without changing the basic meaning of the sentence. In other words, its nonrestrictive and needs to be set off with a pair of commas. Occasionally, an appositive may appear in front of a word that it identifies: A dark wedge, the eagle hurtled earthward at nearly 200 miles per hour. An appositive at the beginning of a sentence is usually followed by a comma. In each of the examples seen so far, the appositive has referred to the subject of the sentence. However, an appositive may appear before or after any noun in a sentence. In the following example, the appositive refers to roles, the object of a preposition: People are summed up largely by the roles they fill in society wife or husband, soldier or salesperson, student or scientistand by the qualities that others ascribe to them. This sentence demonstrates a different way of punctuating appositiveswith dashes. When the appositive itself contains commas, setting off the construction with dashes helps to prevent confusion. Using dashes instead of commas also serves to emphasize the appositive. Placing an appositive at the very end of a sentence is another way to give it special emphasis. Compare these two sentences: At the far end of the pasture, the most magnificent animal I had ever seen- a white-tailed deer- was cautiously edging toward a salt-lick block.At the far end of the pasture, the most magnificent animal I had ever seen was cautiously edging toward a salt-lick block- a white-tailed deer. Whereas the appositive merely interrupts the first sentence, it marks the climax of sentence two. Punctuating Nonrestrictive and Restrictive Appositives As weve seen, most appositives are nonrestrictivethat is, the information that they add to a sentence is not essential for the sentence to make sense. Nonrestrictive appositives are set off by commas or dashes. A restrictive appositive (like a restrictive adjective clause) is one that cannot be omitted from a sentence without affecting the basic meaning of the sentence. A restrictive appositive should not be set off by commas: John-Boys sister Mary Ellen became a nurse after their brother Ben took a job at a lumber mill. Because John-Boy has multiple sisters and brothers, the two restrictive appositives make clear which sister and which brother the writer is talking about. In other words, the two appositives are restrictive, and so they are not set off by commas. Four Variations 1. Appositives that Repeat a NounAlthough an appositive usually renames a noun in a sentence, it may instead repeat a noun for the sake of clarity and emphasis: In America, as in anywhere else in the world, we must find a focus in our lives at an early age, a focus that is beyond the mechanics of earning a living or coping with a household. - Santha Rama Rau, An invitation to Serenity Notice that the appositive in this sentence is modified by an adjective clause. Adjectives, prepositional phrases, and adjective clauses (in other words, all of the structures that can modify a noun) are often used to add details to an appositive. 2. Negative AppositivesMost appositives identify what someone or something is, but there are also negative appositives that identify what someone or something is not: Line managers and production employees, rather than staff specialists, are primarily responsible for quality assurance. Negative appositives begin with a word such as not, never, or rather than. 3. Multiple AppositivesTwo, three, or even more appositives may appear alongside the same noun: Saint Petersburg, a city of almost five-million people, Russias second-largest and northernmost metropolis, was designed three centuries ago by Peter the Great. As long as we dont overwhelm the reader with too much information at one time, a double or triple appositive can be an effective way of adding supplementary details to a sentence. 4. List Appositives with PronounsA final variation is the list appositive that precedes a pronoun such as all or these or everyone: Streets of yellow row houses, the ochre plaster walls of old churches, the crumbling sea-green mansions now occupied by government offices all seem in sharper focus, with their defects hidden by the snow. - Leona P. Schecter, Moscow The word all is not essential to the meaning of the sentence: the opening list could serve by itself as the subject. However, the pronoun helps to clarify the subject by drawing the items together before the sentence goes on to make a point about them.

Professional Nursing Development Plan Assignment

Professional Nursing Development Plan - Assignment Example From this area of focus, a student learns an important area in leadership and development as it explores some of the roles of leadership within the multidisciplinary teams in health care organizations. As a person aspiring to assume a nursing leadership role in future, one learns that teamwork has undoubtedly become an important area of focus for the modern health care sector; it has gained enormous popularity (Arroliga, Huber, Myers, Dieckert and Wesson, 2014). Teamwork is essential in nursing profession because functioning as unit implies that everyone in the healthcare organization will act as a team, and the positive effects are felt on the increased efficient of the job. A leader also learns that team working is crucial in enhancing patients’ experience.In this area of study, I am introduced to the impact that evidence-based practice has on the nursing profession and practice. From this topic, I have learned that evidence-based practice contributes a great deal to healthc are transformation and necessary for redesigning efficient, safe and efficient healthcare. From this area of focus, a student learns that clinical knowledge, basic science knowledge, research findings are the ‘‘evidence’’ while practice-based research results are more likely to produce the most desired patient experience. Evidence-based practice improves the healthcare sector through greater availability of information, a higher level of patient experience and satisfaction, cost containment and quality health care.

Journalism, Mass Media and Communication Coursework

Journalism, Mass Media and Communication - Coursework Example The Press Association, under this Ministry broke the story. This is the department which is responsible over the evening papers regarding the ministry. As a result of the integration in the communication industry, the story builds up thus reaching the masses. In reference with Sally Grimes, a Stringer from Rome, it is evident that Alicia Beddi, the alleged, argued that the British government Minister Riskitt left her flat in the Via Venuto. This is a report collected by the Sunday Watchdog. She also adds in the report that the minister is living with some friends some distance from Rome (Kovach and Rosenstiel 2009).With an aim to honour his position in the government, Robin Bland, a staff reports that the minister reassigned from the government. His wife Sally also promises to back the husband in his defence against the allegation. The minister claims that he resigned to stand a firm position to defend the allegation. His popular figure in the Old Town, resulting from his mother†™s achievements also pushes him to clean his name under the affair allegations. Jas Patel, Blacktown correspondent strongly backs the Minister’s innocence. She claims that the MP has been a faithful member in service of his people. This was at a press conference at the MP’s constituency. Mrs. Lorna the regional Chairperson also argues that is a national disgrace that the newspaper has made such publications alleging the misconduct by the MP. She states that she is convinced that the MP has answers to the allegations.

President Kennedy as the person who saved the west from nuclear war Essay Example for Free

President Kennedy as the person who saved the west from nuclear war Essay Section 1 The Cold war, which existed between the Soviet Union and the United States following World War ll, and the constant threat of nuclear devastation, which it presented, evolved throughout its history. The relationship between these two super powers was strained at the best, at its worst; it was hostile and came near the unleashing of the devastating nuclear arsenal both countries possessed. The term cold war was used first by an American banker relating to the tension between the U. S.S.R and the USA, when he said cold he was referring to the fact that both countries were doing there best to stop direct fighting and for it to become a hot war. The reason these two super powers fought were over their ideologies on how to live in each others country where as America was run by Capitalism, this was the system that gave common civilians the right to vote for which ever government party they wanted to run the country it also gave the press freedom of speech where government scandals were hardly censored, unlike The Soviets who ran a one party state consisting of only the Communist party called Soviets, but because most of the soviets were Communist the government was really run by the one party. Also there was mass government run industries like the media as this was run by them, the news was censored strictly throughout covering up any government scandal. The other major difference was the distribution of wealth and the line between the rich and the poor as this was very low in Russia however in the U.S average living standards where much higher as wealth was dispersed more unevenly throughout business Tycoons and their estate s. All these factors lead to nuclear war and the cold war between Russia and America, America was the first to release a nuclear attack and used, the first nuclear atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, on 6th August 1945 showing the world what lengths America would go to, to win a war. Source 1a A concluding sentence The relationship also evolved over time, and the emergence of Fidel Castro in Cuba was a catalyst for a change in the relationship between these powers. The threat he and his Communist party presented to his American neighbours would change the way the Americans dealt with their Cold War enemies. In the same way, Castros Communists also gave Nikita Khrushchev and the Soviets an entrance into North and Central American affairs. Section two Prior to the revolution in Cuba, during Batistas brutal regime there was a period of time describes as an easing of tensions in relationships between the East and the West. These tensions were eased because many of the potential conflicts between Eastern and western sides had been resolved, such as the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. During Batistas regime as dictator over Cuba the Americans had been its main customer of Cubas main resource, Sugar cane, this made relationships between Cuba an America quite friendly and Cuba was full of American influence with Gentlemens Clubs, Brothels and Casinos it was nick named the rich Americans playground, also on the island were strong Mafia connections, yet the police did little to stop them as they could easily be bribed and were often dealing themselves. The easing of tensions and the apparent lack of interest from either of the two cold war powers in aggression against one another would be brought to an end following Castro taking over Cuba in early 1959, but at this time the relationship between Fidel Castro and the Cuban Communist was not entirely clear. During the Cuban revolution that saw Fulgencio Batistas brutal regime overthrown and come to an end, Castro had been at the fore of the uprising. He sold all the American owned businesss the mere presence of a Communist island within 100 miles of the United States drew much attention to Cuba, both to the Soviet Union and their American rivals. The real cold war evolution did not have its beginnings in the working relationship, which was to be established between Havana and Moscow, but rather in the deteriorating relationship between the Cuban capital and Washington. American business interests in Cuba were being threatened by Castros policy of nationalisation of lands, and the U.S. was begging to feel that they could not do business with Castros government this feeling was the reason for the beginnings of an action against the Castro Regime approved by President Eisenhower, and late adopted by John Fitzgerald Kennedy when he was elected to office in November 1960. This program consisted of political action, propaganda and military operations and was behind the infamous Bay of Pigs invasion, although this program was directed against Cuba it may also have sent another message to the soviet Communists that the Americans were not prepared to tolerate communism so near their own borders. In any case, Source 2b Concluding sentence This policy, a direct reaction to Fidel Castro himself and the communist regime, which he had brought to power, could not have any positive effect on relations between the Capitalist Americans and the communists. The real advantage of Cuba to the Soviets was in the form of gaining leverage in negotiations over Berlin, which was of far more importance to the communist than the small, poor island ruled by Castro. Tensions over Berlin came about after Khrushchev demanded the western powers, which occupied Berlin, evacuate the city. Khrushchev, alarmed at the growing military and economic strength of West Germany otherwise, the soviets would turn the administration of Berlin to the East German government, with which the west had no agreements and under the rule of which the western powers would have no access whatsoever to Berlin. By removing the western influences from the area, Khrushchev hoped to Weaken ties between the United States and West Germany and provoke disunity among NATO allies The NATO powers however did not back down, however there came to be a dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente over the question of administration of Berlin. This still existed in 1962, and Fidel Castro would prove to be a willing pawn in a move by Khrushchev to gain the upper hand in the negotiations over the administration of Berlin. Prior to the events of 1962, which made up the Cuban missile crisis came the infamous Bay of Pigs invasion, this great American failure showed to which lengths the Americans were prepared to go to remove the influence of Castro and communism from the island of Cuba. On 16th April 1961, 1,300 CIA- trained Cuban exiles in American-surplus planes and boats left to invade Cuba and liberate their countrymen this so called liberation was unsuccessful the Cuban people had been prepared for such an invasion and in fact the Cuban Military forces and Castro himself also knew of the plans of the invasion. One hundred and fifty invaders were killed, the rest taken prisoner and the American attempt to overthrow Castro and his regime had failed. There were several crucial outcomes to this invasion however, all affecting the relationship between the eastern and western powers. The soviets, due to the ability of the island nation to withstand the invasion, became convinced of the value of Cuba in gaining the upper hand over the U.S. enough so that the Castros regime would now be worthy of a major military and diploma. But while the Soviet Union now considered Cuba a worthy ally, it became evident to Castro that he also needed to pursue a relationship with the Soviet Union for protection because his island was very much within the U.S. sphere of influence. The invasion, while unsuccessful, showed that the Americans were willing to go to great lengths to remove him from office, and at this point, the best solution for Castro appeared to be the pursuit of an alliance with Moscow, directed against his American neighbours. The strengthening of ties between Cuba and the Soviet Union, as a result of this Bay of Pigs invasion, led directly to the Cuban Missile Crisis. As much as that conflict resulted from Khrushchevs design to take advantage of Cubas proximity to the U.S. to install missile sites, it was the American policy towards Cuba, that which sought, by any means necessary, to remove Fidel Castros influence over Cuba, which pushed the new Communist allies into each others arms. The mere presence of Fidel Castro was responsible for the heightening of tensions between the Soviet Union and John F. Kennedys United States leading up to the crisis. There was a strong Soviet presence in Cuba prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The sanctions, which followed Castros rise to power placed a large burden on the Cuban economy, as the U.S., naturally, had been the islands primary trading partner. This burden was eased by the Soviets who, in 1960, agreed to buy out Cubas U.S. sugar share, and later made the promise to provide necessary aid in the case of armed intervention. In fact, United States sanctions against Fidel Castro and his government provided the rationale and the catalytic action which accelerate close economic, military and political relations between Cuba and the USSR. But the gravity of the Soviets economic pursuits in Cuba is far less than the deal made which allowed the Soviets to build missile sites on the island. Due to the deadlock over the Berlin question, Khrushchev felt he needed to gain the upper hand in military might to have his way. Because the USSR was falling behind in the arms race, a creative solution was needed which would achieve equality and the cheapest and fastest way was to install shorter-range missiles on Cuba. The role of Castro in this affair was to accept the missiles from the USSR, but for his own set of reasons. Castro felt that some protection was needed from the threat of any more American invasions, and the addition of missile sites to his island would strengthen his position considerably. The military installations instilled confidence and would be a tremendous asset given any aggression by the Americans or their Western allies. In any case, both nations had interests in the missiles being installed in Cuba, so Castro gave the plan his blessing. By this time, it had become clear to the Soviets that their high expectations of Castro were warranted, as this revolutionary leader had given them the opportunity they thought they needed to tip the scale in their favour where there real interests lay, Berlin. For someone who had so critical a role in bringing about the Cuban Missile Crisis, Fidel Castro played only the smallest role once it began. When an American U-2 first spotted evidence of the construction of a missile site in Cuba on 14 October 1962, the crisis began. While negotiations to end the crisis were underway between Kennedy and Khrushchev, Castro was left out and did not take the exclusion lightly Castro even went so far as to make a speech, on 23 October 1962, denying that either the Cubans or the Soviets would ever consider withdrawing their missiles While the Soviets and the Americans were negotiating a peace, while still on the brink of launching an all-out nuclear attack, Castro was still trying to extract some political gain from the conflict. He imposed a set of conditions on the removal of missiles from his island, which called for the end of the U.S. blockade of the island, which had resulted when the crisis began, and for the end of subversive acts on the part of the U.S. against Cuba. All of these were ignored when a final agreement was hammered out between the U.S. and the USSR. Castros stubborn refusal to admit that he had been the real loser in the entire crisis was brought into focus when he refused entrance into Cuba to UN observers who were to assure that the missiles were dismantled, as had been agreed upon by Kennedy and Khrushchev. Castros reaction to his personal failure in the affair would signal the lesson he learned, as he made it known that never again in the chess game of power would his country play the docile pawn While Castro was involved in conflicts in Africa in the 1960s, and supported the communism of Vietnam, his involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis left the greatest of marks upon relations between the Cold War powers. What Castro may not have realized in all his bitterness over the results of the crisis is that, unwittingly, he had the effect of easing tensions between the U.S. and the USSR. His mere presence and his part in bringing about the crisis were instrumental in beginning a new era in the relationship between East and West. Prior to this point, any move by one side was met by an equally strong move by the other. Under such a system, no peaceful end could be sought to any conflict, only the escalating of tensions to a breaking point. The breaking point in the Cold War was the most undesirable, nuclear conflict, the implications of which were most destructive and grave. Indeed, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, while Castro was dreaming of power and prestige for his native Cuba, the Americans were reportedly minutes away for launching their nuclear arsenal against Russia, and likely the Soviets were in a similar position. But the diplomatic resolution to the problem, in spite of Castros designs, represented a turning point in the way problems were dealt with between the United States and their nuclear rivals. In a game of such high stakes, no longer could move be met with countermove because in such a case both would be losers. The value of diplomacy was realized and, in a way, Fidel Castro and his regime were facilitators for this lesson. After the crisis, relations once again eased into detente between the U.S. and the USSR and Castro, standing by his assertion that he would no longer be the pawn for any other, no longer wielded much influence in Cold War politics. And the relations between the two powers eased, that existing between Castros Cuba and the USSR grew more strained. These were restored somewhat later, but no longer were they of particular military or international significance. Cuba has continued to be a source of frustration to the United States, but this mainly from an ideological or philosophical point of view. While Cuba gradually began to pursue a pro-Moscow course their alliance with Moscow no longer posed any real threat to America in the way of future military aggression. Through the Cold War, the Americans had developed a great hostility towards anything perceived as being communist, Marxist, or socialist and Cuba has retained this aspect, but to have had any great fear of Castro and what he mig ht do after the resolution of the missile crisis would not have been warranted. Castros role in the relationship between East and West, therefore, was played out over a short period of a few years, but on the largest of stages. His initial contribution to the evolution of this relationship was to cause it a large degree of strain. When the revolution of Castro became successful, he infuriated the Americans whose businesses and lands were being revoked by Castros policy of nationalization. The U.S. would accept this treatment at the hands of so insignificant a neighbour and launched the Bay of Pigs invasion. The reaction of the Cubans to this was the strengthening of ties with the USSR and inevitably the tensions between the USSR and the U.S. were raised as well. The USSR had one foot in the door, intolerably close to the American border and when the Soviets but this played this strategic card but installing the missile sites, the tensions were raised further. Castros role in the evolution of East/West relations ended soon after this point as both the Americans and Russians began to ignore him and pursue their own solutions to the conflict Castro brought about. Because of this exclusion, Castro no longer wielded any influence and faded into the background. Nevertheless, the Americans had been humiliated by seeing an island nation, which they had once dominated fall under the influence of the Russian communists, and this was Castros own accomplishment. It brought the prominence and importance to his country, which he desired and did fulfil some of the more immediate goals such as removing the economic stresses placed on his country by the U.S. sanctions. While the new tensions he brought about between the Soviet Union and the U.S. were alleviated following the crisis, Castro undeniably brought the world one step closer to witnessing nuclear war. It could therefore be said of Castro that his role and influence in Cold War politics was twofold. Firstly, it was largely his doing that the two powers came closer to clashing than they had ever come before, and it was largely in spite of him that this clash never took place. Instead, what followed was a detente, which, while still filled with suspicion and mistrust of one another, never again came so close to a boiling point as during the early days of Castros regime in Cuba.