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Alex Iancu

Riders mount horse blockade of Paris over stable tax - Telegraph - 0 views

www.telegraph.co.uk/...-of-Paris-over-stable-tax.html

tax riders france VAT

shared by Alex Iancu on 07 Jan 14 - No Cached
  • Lorry drivers and horse riders will seek to block roads in and around Paris and other major cities on Monday after a weekend of protests that saw several thousand truck drivers cause disruption across France and up to 40,000 “red caps” protest in Brittany against tax hikes and job losses.
  • Horse riders will take to the streets of Paris to denounce a plan to raise VAT on stables from 7 per cent to 20 per cent.
  • Meanwhile, lorry drivers plan to block roads around Lille, in the North, and Marseille, in the South in the latest effort to force the French government to cancel the so-called "ecotax" through which it aims to raise more than 1 billion euros a year to finance mostly rail infrastructure projects
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • the French government has suspended its implementation until 2015
  • 26 blockades on France's main road arteries on Saturday
  • Up to 4,500 trucks caused significant disruption from the Paris region to Bordeaux and Aix-en-Provence in the south, affecting transit towards Spain and Italy
  • Meanwhile, in Brittany, up to 40,000 people took part in a rally in Carhaix, many wearing “bonnets rouges” (red caps) that have become synonymous with rising anger against President François Hollande’s punitive tax hikes.
  • “Brittany is being scorned and ignore
  • The government is due to propose a “Pact for the future of Brittany” on Wednesday which it hopes will finally quell the protest movement and stop it spreading to other regions.
  • Jean-Marc Ayrault, the prime minister, has promised a “total overhaul” of France’s tax system to quell tensions – an overhaul that Mr Hollande says will take his entire five-year mandate to complete
  • Jean-Luc Mélenchon, head of the Front de Gauche (Left Front) party, warned that “France is in 1788”, namely on the verge of revolution. “The tax system is rejected by all as everyone knows that it protects the privileged wealthy,” he told Le Parisien.
  • “We are asking for a tax reform respecting a simple principle: everyone pays and the more you earn, the more you pay.”
  • Alex Iancu on 07 Jan 14
     
    Very interesting article dealing with French protests against tax that appears to be protecting the wealthy. A lot can be discussed when analysing this article; the outcome of the blockades can be a subject of discussion (how it delayed transport, for example), also, Elasticities can be dealt with, as PES is clearly higher than PED in this case. 
Giovanni Perini

The great sugar battle: are more fat taxes on the way? | Guardian Sustainable Business ... - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...mexican-coke-sugar-tax-health

shared by Giovanni Perini on 08 Jan 14 - No Cached
  • The great sugar battle: are more fat taxes on the way?
  • Mexico last month approved a tax of one peso, or about eight cents, on every liter of sugary drinks sold
  • Mexico is a high consumer of sugary beverages
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • measures to curb the rising tide of diabetes
  • concluding that a 10% reduction in US sugar consumption would avert 240,000 diabetes cases annually
  • sugar taxes
  • a growing body of studies suggests that fat taxes might work,
  • Taxes should be seen as "a small part of a comprehensive strategy to address obesity,
  • marketing to children, stop selling junk food or stop selling anything
  • Victorita Paun on 10 Jan 14
     
    This article is somewhat lengthy. Your first choice might be more useful.
Andrei Vacarus

Mexico to tackle obesity with taxes on junk food and sugary drinks | World news | thegu... - 3 views

www.theguardian.com/...nk-food-sugary-drinks-exercise

mexico tackles obesity with taxes

shared by Andrei Vacarus on 07 Jan 14 - No Cached
  • parliamentarians passed a law imposing significant new taxes on junk food and sugary drinks.
  • "The lives of millions of Mexicans are literally at risk."
  • But the government has taken the long view – that the potential economic harm from reduced junk food and soft drink sales now is insignificant compared with the damage in 10 years time if obesity continues at the current rate.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • The taxes will increase the price of junk foods – those high in saturated fat, sugar and salt – by 8%
  • 9.2% of children in Mexico now have diabetes.
  • It will also put one peso (about 4p) on a litre of sugary drinks such as Coca Cola
  • "the Danish saturated fat tax is a dream from a researcher's point of view. We're beginning to get the preliminary results of the introduction of the tax. Of the data they have already got, it had a 4% effect on saturated fat levels. It is completely wrong to say it didn't work."
  • Related information
  • Victorita Paun on 08 Jan 14
     
    Good article for a microeconomics discussion. Make sure you identify, analyse and evaluate the underlying concepts.
Giovanni Perini

Mexican senate: Tax on high-calorie food could bite into obesity - CNN.com - 0 views

edition.cnn.com/...junk-food-tax-mexico

shared by Giovanni Perini on 08 Jan 14 - No Cached
  • Tax on high-calorie food could bite into obesity problem
  • "food that is high in calories such as fried foods ... sweets, foods made mainly with cereal, among others..."
  • approved a tax of one peso (about seven-and-a-half cents) on every liter of soft drinks
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • the average Mexican drinks 163 liters (about 43 gallons) of soda a year, which is 40% more than the average U.S. citizen
  • tax measures come after Mexico jumped ahead of the United States to claim first place in a list of most-obese nations
  • A measure that cleared the Mexican senate on Thursday and that now awaits the president's signature puts an 8% tax on edibles with high caloric contents.
  • Victorita Paun on 10 Jan 14
     
    Good choice of article for the Microeconomics section.
Iris Tilea

BBC News - Mexico passes 'junk food tax' reform - 1 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...world-latin-america-24766027

shared by Iris Tilea on 03 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • tax reform bill imposing new levies on junk food and soft drinks.
  • aims to boost government revenue by increasing top earners' income tax.
  • extra cash will go on infrastructure and social security
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Mexico recently surpassed the United States as the country with one of the highest obesity rates in the world.
  • 32.8% of adult Mexicans are obese, compared to 31.8% of Americans.
  • The law imposes a levy of 8% on junk food, after the Senate increased it from the 5% originally proposed; and creates a tax of one peso ($0.07; £0.04) on every litre of soft or sugary drinks.
  • The legislators also passed a controversial hike in value added tax (VAT) for border regions, from 11% to 16%.
  • Alan Cheung on 12 Dec 13
     
    This is a good article. There should be plenty to analyse and evaluate.
azuccolo15

Tax Revenue Rockets Up, Helping Lessen the Deficit, Treasury Department Says - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...ecreasing-deficit-us-says.html

shared by azuccolo15 on 15 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • In March, the Treasury collected $216 billion in taxes, up 16 percent from a year ago, helping reduce the deficit for the month to $37 billion, from $107 billion last year. Spending also sank by 14 percent, or $40 billion.
  • The budget gap last month was the smallest deficit recorded for the month of March since 2000, when economic growth was running at a much faster pace than it is today.
  • While some of the increase was a result of tax increases that took effect at the beginning of 2013, budget experts said it also reflected who was benefiting the most in the current recovery.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • “It’s higher-income people and it is mainly from the stock market; it’s not mainly wages,” said Alice M. Rivlin, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton administration.
  • Military spending in particular has dropped sharply, especially as operations in Afghanistan gradually wind down. In the first half of the 2014 fiscal year, which began last October, the Defense Department’s military spending fell by $20 billion.
  • In addition to the boom in tax revenue, the federal government’s books are being helped by lower military spending, a drop in outlays for benefits like unemployment insurance, and payments to the Treasury from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants that were taken over by Washington in 2008.
  • Corporate tax collections jumped by $17 billion in the first half of the fiscal year, to $117.5 billion, and Social Security receipts also surged.
  • Over all, the deficit is expected to equal 4.1 percent of gross domestic product in 2014, down from nearly 10 percent in 2009, during the depths of the recession.
Alex Iancu

Ponta: Cutting CAS and implementing tax exemption for reinvested profits measures possi... - 0 views

www.agerpres.ro/...s-possible-to-achieve-18-57-36

romania tax jobs government spending

shared by Alex Iancu on 16 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • Cutting CAS and implementing tax exemption for reinvested profits measures possible to achieve
  • Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Monday told the plenary session of the Deputies Chamber that the cutting of the contributions to social security (CAS) by 5 per cent, the same as the introduction of the tax exemption for the reinvested profits are both projects that are 'reasonable" enough and 'possible to achieve.'
  • I believe that with competitive tariffs for energy and an adequate fiscal-budgetary policy, to combine cuttings with a corresponding financial-budgetary discipline, we will succeed in maintaining the economic stability of Romania, in 2015 and 2016 as well," Ponta said.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • 'Reducing contributions to social security by 5 percentage points in the second half of the year is expected to have an impact on the budget worth probably around 2.6 billion lei. This means that the impact next year will be worth around 5.2 billion.
  • the government wants to reduce spending and obtain additional budget revenues so that to be able to cover the 2.6 billion leu in the second half of the year and the 5.2 billion in 2015,' Ponta said.
  • this cutting as a necessary condition for the further economic development of the country and the encouraging of the fiscal facilities and creation of jobs starting on July 1.
  • Alex Iancu on 16 Apr 14
     
    Romania changes its supply side policies. 
Giovanni Perini

BBC News - Guernsey taxes on alcohol, tobacco and fuel to rise in budget - 2 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...world-europe-guernsey-24445235

shared by Giovanni Perini on 06 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • Guernsey taxes on alcohol, tobacco and fuel to rise in budget
  • The increases will add 21p to a packet of 20 cigarettes, 40p to a typical bottle of spirits and 2.3p to a litre of petrol.
  • The income tax allowance is to rise by less than inflation, meaning an increase of £11.20 a year in income tax per wage earner, relative to the Retail Prices Index.
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  • As well as a permanent increase in the value of the bands determining the rate of duty to be paid, there will also be a temporary reduction of the rates paid on the lower bands.
  • Alan Cheung on 12 Dec 13
     
    Topic wise, this is no different than your previous article. I think the previous one is more focused.
sari lakis

BBC News - Developing countries told 'tax tobacco to save lives' - 1 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...health-25192196

shared by sari lakis on 03 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • Poorer countries should consider adopting or raising tobacco taxes to help save lives, a group of leading economists says.
  • They suggest alcohol and sugar could also be taxed.
  • They give China as an example where a 50% tax on tobacco could prevent 20m deaths and generate $20bn over the next 50 years.
  • Alan Cheung on 12 Dec 13
     
    Interesting article here. I think there should be a few more areas highlighted, but that would be for you to make connections.
Andrei Vacarus

More signs Abenomics is working as Japan prices, output rise | Reuters - 1 views

uk.reuters.com/...-economy-idUKBRE97T04U20130830

shared by Andrei Vacarus on 16 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • core consumer prices posted their biggest rise in nearly five years, unemployment fell to its lowest since late 2008, factory output rose and is expected to rise further, and workers' incomes rose.
  • The core-core inflation index, which excludes food and energy prices and is similar to the core index used in the United States, was down 0.1 percent in the year to July, a slower pace of decline than June's 0.2 percent fall.
  • Household spending edged up in the year to July as the feel-good sentiment prompted consumers to eat out more and spend more on travel and leisure.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • As the economy strengthens, the debate is focused on whether to double the tax in two stages or increase it more gradually, rather than whether or not to increase the tax.
  • Wage-earners' incomes also rose an annual 1.3 percent in July, increasing for the fifth straight month.
  • And the jobless rate improved for the second straight month to hit 3.8 percent in July, the lowest since October 2008.
  • e Bank of Japan have gambled on massive fiscal and monetary stimulus to spark life into the economy,
  • strengthening the case for a planned sales tax increase.
  • Pessimists have argued that the benefits of "Abenomics," a three-pillar strategy of fiscal and monetary stimulus combined with a long-term growth strategy, may be short-lived and won't prompt companies to spend more on investment and wages.
  • The Bank of Japan has a target of lifting inflation to 2 percent in about two years, a goal many analysts see as optimistic given the deflation that has dogged the economy.
Majdah Fareed

BBC News - Tax rises needed by 2017 to pay for Jersey pensions - 1 views

www.bbc.com/...world-europe-jersey-26955840

shared by Majdah Fareed on 15 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • Contributions, currently 10.5% of salaries and shared by workers and employers, may have to rise from 2016.
  • Jersey spends three quarters of its welfare budget on pensions.
  • The 2011 Jersey census showed about 18% of the island's population was over the age of 65. The population of the island was nearly 98,000 with about 17,000 people aged 65 or older.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • social security contributions may need to rise by up to 40% by 2042. It also suggests more immigration could limit the need to raise tax by increasing the number of taxpayers.
  • rising to 1% in 2016, to fund long-term care for the elderly.
  • Jersey is introducing a 0.5% income tax in 2015
Valeriu Moraru

BBC News - Australia to hike tobacco taxes to raise $4.7bn - 0 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...business-23528697

shared by Valeriu Moraru on 07 Jan 14 - No Cached
  • Australia to hike tobacco taxes to raise $4.7bn
  • The Australian government is to increase taxes on tobacco, raising A$5.3bn ($4.7bn; £3.1bn) as it seeks to offset a revenue shortfall.
  • Prices will rise by 12.5% per year for four years starting from 1 December. The government said the move would also provide funds for treating cancer and providing stroke-related services. The Labor party is expected to update budget figures on Friday, as it prepares to announce a date for an upcoming general election.
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  • Treasurer Chris Bowen said the move would achieve "several purposes". "It will provide funds for cancer and stroke-related health services, it will deter young people from taking up smoking, and it will help return the budget to surplus," he said. It adds to Australia's move to introduce plain packaging for tobacco products in December after a landmark High Court victory again major tobacco firms.
  • Kevin Rudd, who successfully challenged Julia Gillard for the ruling Labor Party leadership last month amid dismal polling figures, has not yet specified when the election - originally set for 14 September - will be held, but it must take place by 30 November.
  • Victorita Paun on 08 Jan 14
     
    Good article for microeconomics. Just be sure to discuss all the key economic concepts involved.
azuccolo15

BBC News - No change on North Lincolnshire housing grant ban for smokers - 1 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...uk-england-humber-25154871

shared by azuccolo15 on 09 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • A council has said it will not change its policy on refusing housing grants to tenants who smoke, despite spending just 10% of the available budget
  • North Lincolnshire Council is responsible for distributing government money to help people affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy
  • The change in housing benefit rules was introduced in April and has been dubbed the "bedroom tax" by Labour
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • The authority's payment ban also applies to social housing tenants who subscribe to satellite television channels
  • The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides £25m per year in Discretionary Housing Payments to allow local authorities to provide support for tenants affected by the change.
  • Under the changes, 14% is deducted from housing benefit for people with one spare bedroom, and a quarter for two or more.
  • "If their spending includes satellite television. If it includes smoking then what we say to you is we can't give you extra taxpayers' money to support you to continue to make those life choices.
  • He said: "I find it quite shocking that the council are saying they're not going to use the money to support people if they happen to be in a contract for satellite TV, which they might have taken before the bedroom tax came in to effect, or they are smokers
  • Victorita Paun on 11 Dec 13
     
    Good article for externalities! Enough room for commenting on the underlying economic concepts.
  • azuccolo15 on 06 Jan 14
     
    MLA Citation: "No Change on North Lincolnshire Housing Grant Ban for Smokers." BBC News. BBC, 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-25154871 This article best applies to the microeconomics section of this course. To be more specific, it is a good example of negative externalities and how governments try to combat them, as well as the idea of subsidies.
azuccolo15

Japan's Central Bank Holds Off More Stimulus - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...k-holds-off-more-stimulus.html

shared by azuccolo15 on 15 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • The Bank of Japan stuck to its existing monetary policy on Tuesday, confident that it did not need further stimulus to beat chronic deflation even as a sales tax increase clouds the outlook for Japan, the world’s third-largest economy.
  • the country is on track to meet its 2 percent inflation target by around April next year, signaling that no further easing would happen soon.
  • “Japan’s economy continues to recover moderately as a trend, albeit with some fluctuations caused by the tax hike,” the central bank said in a statement announcing the policy decision. “Business sentiment has continued to improve, although some cautiousness about the outlook has been observed.”
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • the central bank maintained its commitment to increasing base money, its key policy gauge, at an annual pace of 60 trillion to 70 trillion yen, or about $580 billion.
  • Bank of Japan officials have been largely unfazed, pointing to positive signs such as shrinking slack in the economy.
anonymous

BBC News - E-tolls lead to South Africa traffic jams - 1 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...world-africa-25193478

shared by anonymous on 03 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • The "e-toll" system affects the ring road around Johannesburg and the motorway to the capital, Pretoria.
  • The government says the toll is need to pay for improved roads
  • fuel tax, VAT and existing tolls
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • e-toll gantries and a conventional, manned toll-gate.
  • monthly fee of 550 rand ($54; £33) to use the roads, while those who do not register pay up to three times as much if they do not pay within seven days.
  • Their car number plates are scanned by gantries over the toll roads and bills sent to their homes if they have not paid in advance.
  • Critics have described the system as "highway robbery".
  • The government says the e-toll is the only way it could have afforded to improve the congested roads around the commercial capital, Johannesburg.
  • Alan Cheung on 12 Dec 13
     
    This should be an interesting article for you to analyse and evaluate.
Sara Lair

New American Airlines CEO vows to make merger work - The Washington Post - 2 views

www.washingtonpost.com/...3-a7b4-4a75ebc432ab_story.html

shared by Sara Lair on 10 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • American Airlines and US Airways seem an unlikely couple, even to the man who will lead the combined company after their merger on Monday.
  • Will you still compete chiefly on price?
  • We know that something around 25 percent of our customers will go to the lowest price irrespective of time or inconvenience. In a low-margin business like ours, you can’t give up 25 percent of your customers, so we have to match on price.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • What’s the new American’s frequent-flier program going to look like?
  • Nothing yet to announce. What we do know is this: Customers immediately will be able to combine their miles and use their miles to fly on a larger network.
  • Victorita Paun on 11 Dec 13
     
    This information highlighted by you lends itself to a short discussion on the law of demand and perhaps market structures and types of competition (the last two being topics which have yet to be covered - from what I understand). I do not believe it will be enough to meet the word count requiements for this assignment. However, there is a section in the article mentioning taxes and that may be a more consistent topic to comment on together with perhaps the explanation of your second excerpt selected above using demand elasticity.
Sara Lair

labor force participation at lowest level since 1978 - Sep. 6, 2013 - 0 views

money.cnn.com/...labor-force-participation

shared by Sara Lair on 16 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • The labor force participation rate -- the percentage of people over 16 who either have a job or are actively searching for one -- fell to 63.2% in August
  • In the latter half of the 20th century, the rate rose steadily for decades as more women were entering the workforce, eventually peaking at 67.3% in 200
  • 0. But the number has been on the decline ever since -- a trend that was accelerated by the Great Recession.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • the main reason for its recent fall is a lack of good jobs.
  • We know there's a lot of hardworking people that want to be productive, we just don't have work for them to do
  • We're operating way below potential,
  • There are now 90.5 million Americas who don't work and are not counted as part of the labor force. This excludes kids under the age of 16 and non civilians such as those in the military or in prison, but includes just about everyone else.
  • Whatever the reason, the fact that just over 63% of the population is engaged in the workforce is problematic. It means that a smaller chunk of the population is paying for promised entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare. And if a smaller share of the country is working, it will also act as a drag on economic growth.
  • "We're not getting the economic growth or the tax payments that were expected when these promises were made
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