Tuesday 12 February 2013
More certainty in Singapore tax rules
WE OFTEN express how desirable it is to have certainty in tax codes. We also lament how tax rules have become more complex and wish that they could be simplified. But does certainty mean having simpler tax rules? Can taxation really be kept simple when business operations and transactions are becoming more complex?
As Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, said in a recent dialogue: “In French we talk about ‘le realism du droit fiscal’ because realistically if business is complex, then the taxation of that business must be complex. In fact, my view is if taxation isn’t complex, it isn’t fair. But there is no good reason to overcomplicate the rules.”
With governments trying to bridge the widening gap between spending and revenues, there have been an ever-increasing number of complex changes to tax laws and regulations. No wonder businesses worldwide are feeling a mounting sense of uncertainty. Yet, in the midst of this storm of changes, governments are also embracing tax reforms to simplify their tax systems, so that they are more competitive and relevant to businesses.
Take the US for example. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, in an interview with Ernst Young, had remarked: “We’re not competitive internationally – it’s a huge burden, compliance costs are out of sight, it’s very complex – and if we can address that, we can get a tax code that’s modernised, fair, simple, and really grows the economy and creates jobs.” Well, at least in the short term, the recent fiscal cliff deal offers greater tax certainty and respite for American taxpayers.
More certainty in Singapore tax rules
Israeli soccer racists may have gone step too far
The torching of Beitar Jerusalem’s offices by fans angry at the signing of two Muslim players has sparked a major outcry which both supporters and ex-players hope could end decades of open racism at the club.
Friday morning’s arson attack, which caused heavy damage to a room used as the club’s museum, came just hours after prosecutors filed charges against four fans accused of racist chants aimed at the two new players from Chechnya.
Along with trophies, pictures and other memorabilia, a pair of boots and a jersey worn by former Beitar and Israel star Eli Ohana went up in smoke.
But for Ohana it will be a small price to pay if it ends up spelling an end to years of xenophobia.
“If it will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and fixes the problem, then they can burn another two rooms,” he told Maariv newspaper. “If this can be wiped out, it will be worth even this price.”
And many of the fans feel the same.
“They burned the past, don’t let them burn our future,” the official supporters’ website wrote in a report on the attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the arson as “shameful.”
“Lately, we have seen displays of extremism that we find unacceptable. These must be uprooted, of course, from the world of sports,” the Israeli leader said on Sunday.
“I am pleased that the prime minister for the first time referred to this issue,” said Ohana, who retired from the pitch in 1998. “It is a sign that the issue has reached the highest levels.”
Former Beitar and Israel midfielder Danny Neuman said the trouble was caused by a hardcore of around 500 to 1,000 fans who belong to a supporters group called “La Familia” which makes up about 10 percent of the regular crowd.
“We need to vomit these people out of our midst,” he told public radio.
The latest trouble began on January 26 when the club’s owner, Russian-Israeli billionaire Arkady Gaydamak, announced the acquisition of the two Chechen players: Zaur Sadaev and Dzhabrail Kadaev.
The announcement prompted a hardcore of fans to chant anti-Arab slogans while waving signs reading “Beitar — pure forever” during a game later that day.
Israeli law forbids discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race or religion, and Beitar is the only team in the premier league never to have hired an Arab player in its 77-year history.
The club was founded in 1936, in what was then British-ruled Palestine, by a rightwing Revisionist Zionist youth movement called Beitar.
In the early days, many of its players belonged to the Irgun, the hardline Zionist militia that fought the British until Israel’s creation in 1948, the supporters’ website says.
Over the decades, the team has won support from fans on the far-right fringe of Israeli society.
When Gaydamak bought Beitar in 2005, he tried to change the culture and bring in Arab Israeli midfielder Abbas Suan, former captain of the Arab side Bnei Sakhnin and a member of the Israel national squad.
His bid crashed in flames, with fans reportedly chanting “War! War!” from the terraces at Teddy stadium, the club’s Jerusalem home.
In Israel, the offence of “incitement to racism” potentially carries a jail term, but so far courts have not hit them with the full force of the law, only slapping offenders with a fine or excluding them from matches.
But police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that is about to change.
“We’re now in the second stage of ongoing investigations, finding and tracking down those that are leading the incitement to racism, using such means as are necessary to make arrests, including before incidents occur,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.
On Sunday night, police flooded Teddy stadium with hundreds of uniformed and plainclothes officers as Beitar faced off with Bnei Sakhnin.
Although 45 fans of both sides were kicked out of the stadium, there were no serious incidents.
“The burning of the club headquarters and all the racist chants of the past two months — all that has led people to wake up at last,” Neuman remarked.
“Better late than never.”
Israeli soccer racists may have gone step too far
GoingPlaces.sg Revamps Website to Offer Online Hotel Booking and Travel Deals
We want to make it easy for our readers to just click, search and book a hotel or a travel package.
Singapore (PRWEB) February 11, 2013
A leading travel website established in Singapore, GoingPlaces.sg, is now smarter and better with the inclusion of more featured articles and travel resources such as online hotel booking and travel insurance quotation. The vibrant travel portal is taking one step closer to the goal of offering a wide array of all inclusive travel services by partnering with travel operators, international online hotel reservation services and travel insurance companies in Singapore.
The recently published ITB World Travel Trends Report 2012/2013 suggests that outlook for Asian outbound tourism in 2013 to be “overwhelmingly positive”. According to this report, “Asia remains the powerhouse for world tourism growth this year with strong growth of 7% in outbound travel as incomes rise and consumers are able to travel more.”
Easy Access to Booking Hotel Online
“Over the last two years, we observed that readers of our website include both budget-minded travelers and small groups going on family holidays. Free independent travelers (FIT) usually book cheaper accommodation while families prefer bigger rooms and better hotels near shopping areas,” said Lim Phing Phing, founder of the GoingPlaces.sg. “We want to make it easy for our readers to just click, search and book a hotel or a travel package.”
Goingplaces.sg partners with leading online hotel booking services: Agoda.com, Booking.com and Hotel.com to offer a wider range of hotel deals from guesthouses that cost US$10 a night to 5-star resort hotels.
Travel Deals: Bundled Cheap Airfares and Hotel Booking
According to a recent report on Changi Airport’s passenger traffic by Channel NewsAsia, “The air hub’s busiest routes cover Jakarta, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Manila.” More people are traveling between Singapore and neighboring countries for work, MICE and holidays.
GoingPlaces.sg collaborated with Zuji Singapore to provide travelers with a comprehensive range of airfares, hotels and tour packages. With Zuji’s deep understanding of travellers in Asia Pacific region, it is able to offer attractive travel deals which include both air tickets and hotel accommodation to business travelers to the region’s capitals such as Bangkok, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and holidaymakers to popular getaway destinations e.g. Bali and Siem Reap(Angkor Wat).
Traveling with Peace of Mind
Travel insurance has become an essential item in travel planning. With the growing number of travellers which resulted in busier airports, flight delays and missing luggage, more people are buying travel insurance to protect themselves from the unexpected events.
“As with air ticketing and hotel booking, travelers want the convenience of buying the travel insurance online,” said Lim Phing Phing. “GoingPlaces.sg has partnered with ACE Insurance Singapore to offer travel insurance that is simple, easy and quick to buy online.”
For more information on your favorite destinations and the latest travel deals, please visit http://www.goingplaces.sg/travel-deals/
About GoingPlaces.sg:
A travel website based in Singapore, http://www.goingplaces.sg features travel articles, hotel reviews and travel deals to avid travelers seeking for travel ideas and planning getaway holidays out of Singapore to destinations in Asia and beyond.
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GoingPlaces.sg Revamps Website to Offer Online Hotel Booking and Travel Deals
Inter fined for fans" racist chants about Balotelli
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Mark Carney, who will soon become the head of the central bank in football-mad Britain, revealed on Tuesday he is a supporter of English Premier League football club Everton. Carney, currently governor of the Bank of Canada, disclosed his allegiance to the club – known as the Toffees – when asked at a Canadian parliamentary committee whether he followed traditional heavyweights Manchester United or Chelsea. Everton, based in the northwest city of Liverpool, is sixth in the Premier …
Inter fined for fans" racist chants about Balotelli