What are Stealth Taxes? Stealth taxes are a type of tax levy. The defining feature of a stealth tax is that the formal taxpayer passes the cost of the tax along to others via higher expenses or lower payments, and the ultimate payer of the tax is unaware they shoulder the burden. Governments use stealth
What Is Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)? Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is a drilling technique used to extract heavy crude oil which is buried too deep or otherwise burdensome to access. Its location makes it economically inefficient to mine using traditional methods. There are several variations of the SAGD process, but Butler, McNab, and Lo developed the
What Is the Steam-Oil Ratio? The steam-oil ratio is a metric used to assess the efficiency of thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques. Specifically, it relates to EOR methods that utilize steam injections to retrieve oil from underground reservoirs. A low steam-oil ratio shows that relatively little steam is required to produce a barrel of
What Are Step Costs? Step costs are expenses that are constant for a given level of activity, but increase or decrease once a threshold is crossed. Step costs change disproportionately when production levels of a manufacturer, or activity levels of any enterprise, increase or decrease. When depicted on a graph, these types of expenses will
What Is the Stephen M. Ross School of Business? The Stephen M. Ross School of Business is the business school at the University of Michigan. Founded in 1924 and located in Ann Arbor, MI, the school offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. The Stephen M. Ross School of Business is well-known for its Master of
What Is a Step-Up Bond? A step-up bond is a bond that pays a lower initial interest rate but includes a feature that allows for rate increases at periodic intervals. The number and extent of the rate increase, as well as the timing, depends on the terms of the bond. A step-up bond provides investors with
What Is a Step-Up in Basis? Step-up in basis refers to the adjustment in the cost basis of an inherited asset to its fair market value on the date of the decedent’s death. Cost basis is what determines the taxes owed, if any, when the asset is sold. Cost basis starts with the price paid
What Is a Standard Floor Limit? The term “standard floor limit” refers to the transaction size beyond which merchants are required to obtain authorization when processing a credit card transaction. For example, a merchant with a standard floor limit of $100 would need to authorize any transaction for more than $100. Due to the rise
What Is Standardization? Standardization is a framework of agreements to which all relevant parties in an industry or organization must adhere to ensure that all processes associated with the creation of a good or performance of a service are performed within set guidelines. Standardization ensures that the end product has consistent quality and that any
What Is a Standard Lot? A standard lot is the equivalent of 100,000 units of the base currency in a forex trade. It is one of the three commonly known lot sizes; the other two are mini-lot and micro-lot. In the world of finance, lot size refers to a measure of a quantity or increment of
