Category Archives: Fiscal Freedom

Despite being in a global pandemic, essential low-wage workers, healthcare providers, knowledge workers and many others have continued to work. However, since the start of lockdowns in March, some 42 percent of the U.S. workforce has been from working home full-time.

The continued progression of COVID-19 has required many businesses to postpone their back-to-the-office dates to protect their workers and assuage their health concerns. Of the 42 percent of the workforce able to work remotely, some 73 percent would prefer not to go back due to fears over the disease's spread.

From Twitter to Amazon, major urban businesses have rolled out a variety of commuting policies as they contemplate going "back to the office." Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and Shopify have shifted to permanent work from home arrangements for some, and Google will be working remotely until at least summer 2021.

Environmental researchers have warned that the unprecedented low-carbon levels due to stay-at-home orders could be followed by a surge in car usage as white-collar workers in densely populated urban areas attempt to evade public transportation. Climate scientists expect private vehicle usage to surpass pre-pandemic levels.

In May, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) issued an outright ban on public transportation, telling employees they had to take private cars to work. It was an appalling proposal, based on the false impression that public transit spreads coronavirus, and overturned just three weeks later. NYSE is still providing employees with reduced prices on parking, but the stock exchange hasnt conducted any studies or investigations of what increased car usage might have on Lower Manhattan.

Assuming the COVID vaccine eventually becomes widely available this spring or at least distributed at a pace more in line with global standards, employers and employees could have more freedom to set the terms of their return.

Elsewhere, Bloomberg Media offers large reimbursements for commuting into work up to $75 per day, or up to $1,500 in a given month. Its a perk likely meant to encourage the use of private cars. Policies that favor driving to work over mass transit show a disregard for congestion, air qualityand cities' overall livability. If every New Yorker consistently used private cars to commute to work, the city would be unlivable.

An expanding number of businesses, seeing no harm to their profitability from remote work, have arranged to switch to permanent work from home.

Lilac Nachum, a professor of international business at Baruch College, told me in an interview that the knowledge and innovation-based industries actually have the least to gain from working from home permanently. While many components of these jobs are the most straightforward to do online and could remain remote, a significant amount of creativity and innovation is lost without face-to-face interaction.

As Nachum notes, "What we've seen is that the knowledge economy has given a huge boom to the growth of cities. This interaction of people creates the necessary conditions for innovation, exchange of ideasand creativity. So for those kinds of industries, I think that it is extremely important to get back to work."

Considering that even the knowledge-based industries that work remotely need to bring people together, few industries can do well working entirely remotely. "I think we're left with a small number of jobs that can effectively be implemented remotely, which means companies basically have to prepare, should prepare for returning to the office. Fortunately, the vaccine is just around the corner," Nachum said.

Indeed, the knowledge industry has long been aware of the benefits of sustained in-person collaboration. Pre-pandemic, tech companies, including Google and Facebook, developed plans to create onsite housing at their campuses. Merging offices and housing has been hailed by some as the ultimate perk, a new type of "factory town," and a green solution to urban transportation problems by alleviating the burden of commuting.

However, these new company towns have led to new issues and exacerbated inequality. Under the current status quo, large tech companies have a habit of taking over their immediate areas by driving housing up, spurring gentrification, driving out long-time residents and increasing homelessness rates. This was the case in Seattle when Amazon moved its headquarters to the city with many of their workers living in close proximity and local businesses reliant on their more affluent workers patronage.

Regardless of whether such company towns benefit the environment by cutting back on commutes, although fraught with other political problems, the issue is relatively moot because creating a company town is not an option for the vast majority of firms.

By fall, most workers could be returning to traditional offices. Assuming the COVID vaccine eventually becomes widely available this spring or at least distributed at a pace more in line with global standards, employers and employees could have more freedom to set the terms of their return.

This year, public transit use in New York City has dipped as low as 80 percent. Many of us are less than enthusiastic about resuming our old commutes by bus and subway. Even though mass transit creates far fewer emissions per individual per kilometer than cars, people think subways and buses are major carriers for the disease even though no evidence supports this. Cars cause congestion, increase commute times for all and lead to urban sprawl.

Companies concerned with climate change could increase the appeal of transportation alternatives by developing new initiatives to discourage private vehicle use. Under this scenario, our badly under-used public transit might begin to come back from our fiscal deficit. Public, mass forms of high-density transportation are the future our climate relies on. Now more than ever, we need free, comfortable, easily accessible public transit to help us recover from both this health crisis and the climate crisis.

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What's in store for the future of commuting? | Greenbiz - GreenBiz

Douglas Clark|Amarillo Globe-News

On Tuesdayevening, the Refugee Language Project presented the inaugural Amarillo Refugee State of the Union event via a webinar.Organizers said the effort provided local partners with an opportunity to learn about Amarillos refugees in a comprehensive and empowering manner.

"I'm so excited to celebrate with you about the refugees communities of this city," saidRyan Pennington,Refugee Language Project executive director, during thewebinar, extending gratitude to Amarillo College, local churches, volunteers and varied donors. "It is complex. It is interesting and I have a lot to share with you."

The webinar, which lasted just more than anhour, offered an outline focusing on an introduction; definitions and statistics; the refugees of Amarillo; what organizations are already doing; what Refugee Communities are saying; and recommendations and methods of getting involved.

Pennington said the Refugee Language Project was founded in 2017 and from 2009 to 2016 he worked as a Field Linguist in New Guinea noting the organization's Mission Statement is removing language barriers, building leaders and cultivating community among refugees in the Texas Panhandle.

"Tonight is not about Refugee Language Project," Pennington said during the session. "Tonight is about the refugees of Amarillo, celebrating what all of us are doing together and informing you all so you can be empowered to be agents for change. Today's goals are to equip leaders to effectively engage the complex network of refugee communities in the city. And to amplify the voices of those refugees who shared with us at those meetings."

Pennington said when a person flees across an international border, they must seek official sanctuary by applying for asylum,which, he said,is the right to be recognized as a refugee,receive legal protection and material assistance.He said a refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality or political opinion. Per Pennington, war, as well as ethnic, tribal or religious violence are the leading causes of refugees today.

"Crucially, someone cannot just raise their hand and say 'I'm a refugee'," Pennington said. "It's a legal status. It must be registered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. People who cross the southern border of Texas, for example, are not refugees unless they have sought asylum and had their case vetted."

After resettlement, refugees are accorded freedom of movement around the country, just like citizens, Pennington said. When they relocate, he said this is called secondary migration, noting relocation is often for the purpose of finding a job or reconnecting with family.

"The Texas Panhandle's low cost of living, job availability and stabilized population of refugee communities already here will continue to draw secondary migrants from around the USA," he said. "Even if Amarillo settled no refugees, you'd still have incoming refugees or former refugees in the form of secondary migration."

During the webinar, Pennington produced a chart depicting the trend of Amarillo refugees since 2010with a high of 767 in 2010, and in the fiscal year 2020, 113 refugees were settled in the city. He said the resettlementscome from two local agencies Refugee Services of Texas and Catholic Charities of the Texas Panhandle.

Pennington said more than 50% of Amarillo's refugees come from the continent of Asia and with regard to nationalities that have been resettled here, more than half since 2015 are from the nation of Burma, followed by Congo, Iran, Somalia and Afghanistan. Others include Rwanda, Brunei, Dominican Republic and Ethiopia.He said since 2018, Congolese have taken the lead over the last few years, with more than 50% of the resettlements, 214 individuals have been from the nation of Congo.Burma was represented with 135 individuals.

"I use the term refugee community to refer to specific immigrant communities composed primarily of people who initially came as refugees," Pennington said. "So anexample, locally, would be the Lao community. Even though a majority of the Lao people became citizens long ago and are therefore no longer refugees, their community experiences many of the same language and cultural barriers and social stigmas that current refugees do. So we use refugee community to communicate about those groups of people."

Pennington said resettlement agencies such as Refugee Services of Texas and Catholic Charities of the Texas Panhandle provide support services that include case management, career counseling, English education and many other social services during the initial five years after resettlement.He also noted the work of Mission Amarillo, Speiro Legacies and Square Mile for mentoring endeavors, as well as individuals making significant contributions.

The following recommendations were offered duringthe webinar:

Local leaders and local partners collaborate to establish a Refugee Community Leadership Council where leaders can address their own overlapping needs; share their specific needs with city leaders; hear from local leaders about programs, initiatives and concerns and raise youth as future leaders.

Local partners collaborate to open a community center where cultures can be celebrated; community gatherings can be held; classes and tutoring can be offered and a handicraft market can be operated to help foster some of the needs of the refugee communities.

New partners rise up to engage refugee communities by forming a business development program where new businesses are incubated; business mentorships are fostered; business English can be taught and new farming initiatives can be explored.

Organizations in Amarillo offer English as a Second Language instruction.

Mother tongue education be promoted wherever possible by providing literacy materials in heritage languages.

Supporting grassroots educational initiatives such as Chin language classes.

Refugee Language Project officials said a recording of the webinar can be access via the organization'swebsite athttps://refugeelanguage.org/state-of-the-union/ or on its Facebook page athttps://www.facebook.com/RefugeeLanguageProject/

Read more here:

Amarillo Refugee State of the Union event presented - Amarillo.com

Logistics unicorn Delhivery has announced the opening of two new tech offices in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, in addition to its existing centres in Gurgaon, Goa, and Hyderabad, and Seattle in the US. Currently, at a team size of more than 350 people, Delhivery is also expanding its team to over 500 employees with new recruitments across technology, product, and data science functions by the next fiscal.

The latest expansion drive will build on Delhivery's technological leadership in the supply chain domain and further augment its tech and data science capabilities, the company said.

Kapil Bharati,Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer,Delhivery, said the fast spread of COVID-19 and the initial nationwide lockdowns posed serious challenges and uncertainties to its supply chain network.

"The current expansion ensures we stay ahead of the curve with tech and data science being the core business differentiators. Bengaluru has a great talent pool, and we want to tap into that. With Ahmedabad, we are further expanding into non-metro cities and will continue to add more in the future. In the crucible of the pandemic lockdown, our teams have displayed remarkable resilience in adapting to the remote working paradigm. This is a working model that we will continue to emulate in the months to come as well."

Delhivery also said alongside opening new offices, its technology teams will have absolute freedom to work remotely from any location and flexibly shuttle between in-office and remote environments as the country continues to emerge from the pandemic.

The expansion announcement comes after a month of Delhivery's announcement that global fund Steadview Capital has bought $25 million worth of secondary shares from an early investor in logistics startup Delhivery.

At that time the logistics major had said that Delhivery was well positioned to become the largest logistics company in India and is poised for a strong growth trajectory in the years to come.

At present, Delhivery boasts of a nationwide network that touches over 17,500 pincodes and 2,300 cities. It offers a full suite of logistics services such as express parcel transportation, LTL and FTL freight, reverse logistics, cross-border, B2B and B2C warehousing, and technology services.

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Delhivery opens offices in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, plans to grow to 500 employees by next fiscal - YourStory

LAKE FOREST, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA), a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of implantable lenses and companion delivery systems for the eye, today provided preliminary results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 1, 2021. The Company expects total net sales for the fourth quarter to be approximately $46 million and full year sales to be approximately $163 million. GAAP earnings per share is expected to be approximately $0.06 for the fourth quarter and approximately $0.12 for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2021. The Company expects cash and cash equivalents to be approximately $152 million at January 1, 2021.

STAARs preliminary fourth quarter and fiscal 2020 results further illustrate the global demand for our lenses by surgeons and patients and our continued ability to capture market share in the midst of a global pandemic. ICL units in the fourth quarter were up 17% in China, up 52% in Japan, up 16% in South Korea, up 28% in Germany, up 18% in European distributor markets and up 71% in the rest of APAC as compared to the prior year. In December, an independent research firm highlighted STAAR as the fastest growing company in Ophthalmology, confirming the ongoing paradigm shift from cornea-based to lens-based refractive procedures.1 We also exceeded our 2020 year-end goal of achieving 20% market share in China, which is the largest market in the world for refractive procedures, said Caren Mason, President and CEO of STAAR Surgical.

As we enter 2021, we remain on track to advance the commercialization of our two most significant product initiatives, our EVO Viva presbyopia lens in Europe and our EVO family of myopia lenses in the U.S. We begin the year excited about our accomplishments in 2020 and our continuing momentum in 2021 mindful of the unpredictability of the pandemic and the reliance on government and public health managements ability to facilitate a global return to a more normal business environment. At this time, we expect our first quarter 2021 revenue to be slightly down from our fourth quarter 2020 preliminary results which is consistent with our historic seasonality. We remain committed to our previously announced growth targets of 25% compound annual revenue and 35% compound annual ICL unit growth over the three-year planning cycle with accelerating growth in 2022 benefitting from the building momentum of our significant product initiatives and our expectations for a more normal business environment, concluded Ms. Mason.

STAAR expects to report complete fourth quarter and fiscal year results on or about February 24, 2021 and provided todays information due to investor meetings taking place January 11-12, 2021. The financial information in this release is unaudited and subject to adjustment in the final audited financial statements to be filed with the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K.

1 Market Scope, Ophthalmic Market Perspectives, Volume 24, Issue 12, December 21, 2020.

About STAAR Surgical

STAAR, which has been dedicated solely to ophthalmic surgery for over 30 years, designs, develops, manufactures and markets implantable lenses for the eye with companion delivery systems. These lenses are intended to provide visual freedom for patients, lessening or eliminating the reliance on glasses or contact lenses. All of these lenses are foldable, which permits the surgeon to insert them through a small incision. STAARs lens used in refractive surgery is called an Implantable Collamer Lens or ICL, which includes the EVO Visian ICL product line. More than 1,000,000 Visian ICLs have been implanted to date and STAAR markets these lenses in over 75 countries. To learn more about the ICL go to: http://www.discovericl.com. Headquartered in Lake Forest, CA, the company operates manufacturing and packaging facilities in Aliso Viejo, CA, Monrovia, CA and Nidau, Switzerland. For more information, please visit the Companys website at http://www.staar.com.

Safe Harbor

All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements about any of the following: any financial projections, plans, strategies, and objectives of management for 2020, 2021 and beyond or prospects for achieving such plans, expectations for sales, revenue, margin, expenses or earnings, the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures (including but not limited to its impact on sales, operations or clinical trials globally), product safety or effectiveness, the status of our pipeline of ICL products with regulators, including our EVO family of lenses in the U.S., and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing, including those relating to our product pipeline and market expansion activities. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures, as well as the factors set forth in the Companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 3, 2020, and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 3, 2020 under the caption Risk Factors, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available in the Investor Information section of the companys website under the heading SEC Filings. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any financial projections or forward-looking statement due to new information or events. These statements are based on expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties include the following: global economic conditions; the discretion of regulatory agencies to approve or reject existing, new or improved products, or to require additional actions before approval, or to take enforcement action; international trade disputes; and the willingness of surgeons and patients to adopt a new or improved product and procedure. The EVO version of our ICL lens is not yet approved for sale in the United States.

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STAAR Surgical Announces Preliminary Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Results - Business Wire

French international banking group BNP Paribas has published a research note analysing South Africas outlook for 2021 and the major events to look out for.

Following a record slump in growth and activity in 2020, the group said that it expects the key focus in 2021 to be on the strength and sustainability of South Africas recovery. However, it does not expect this to be a bumper year for the country.

We have long held the view that South Africas recovery in 2021 would disappoint most expectations.

Fundamental to our thinking is that many of the structural weaknesses that pushed the economy into recession before the pandemic, in particular lack of stable electricity supply, will scupper the pace of recovery.

A successful vaccine rollout to the broad population already seems to be hitting some snags at the same time as the country faces a severe second wave and a new strain of infections, risking a return to stricter lockdown regulations in Q1.

Below the group provided a calendar of the events that South Africans should keep an eye on.

Another hard lockdown

The country re-entered a level 3 lockdown from 29 December, and as widely expected, this was extended in an update given on 11 January.

To keep the economy as open as possible, this level 3 is a watered-down version of that introduced in March, BNP Paribas said.

However, regulations again ban the sale and public consumption of alcohol, and are stricter in terms of a curfew (21h00 05h00) and international travel restrictions. So activity looks to be getting off to a rather poor start this year.

Our base-case forecasts do not assume that a hard lockdown will be implemented because we think that economic considerations will be given more weight than in the initial wave.

Should infections be seen to be spiralling out of control, however, we cannot rule out harder regulations with a greater economic impact. it said.

Load shedding

BNP Paribas said that the largest fiscal drag on South Africas economy will likely come from another year of unstable electricity supply, with load shedding seen as one of the key reasons for a tepid rebound.

Despite collapsing domestic demand and drastically curtailed supply-side activity, Eskom implemented record load shedding in 2020, with more than 1,600GWh of power generation taken offline.

Energy supply estimates from the CSIR suggest that the supply gap could be more than 60% larger this year.

Large swathes of load shedding, therefore, seem unavoidable this year, in the absence of marked improvement in Eskoms energy availability factor, which fell to just 55% in the early weeks of January, BNP Paribas said.

Rate changes

The analysts believe that the South African Reserve Bank will largely keep the policy rates at 3.5% for the entirety of 2021, with little reason to begin normalising them again this year.

We think that the SARB will prefer to keep its foot steady on the accommodation pedal, though we do not rule out the potential for additional modest interest rates cuts early this year, particularly if a more severe second wave brings with it renewed lengthy hard lockdown measures.

Strike action

BNP Paribas says that the governments public sector wage deal is likely to remain a major point of contention in 2021, and could lead to further strike action.

We see a good chance of widespread strike action as early as February, possibly tempered by Covid-19 restrictions and existing high levels of unemployment, it said.

The deal could also impact the tripartite alliance between the ANC, Cosatu and the South African Communist Party.

BNP Paribas said that trade federation Cosatu has lost a large number of members in recent years, however, it said that the wage deal is likely to dominate the agenda.

Elections

BNP Paribas said that the ANC has historically performed worse in the local government elections than in the national elections and its performance in local elections has been declining.

However, it is cautious about predicting this as a continuing trend in 2021 primarily because of the ongoing turmoil in the Democratic Alliance, but also due to the apparent popularity of president Cyril ramaphosa.

The group also expects little economic or political innovation from the Economic Freedom Fighters.

We think the ANC might see this years elections as a chance to recover or solidify its position, especially in politically and economically important metropolitan municipalities.

In areas where the ANC cannot achieve a majority in the local elections, we think the ANC might be able to govern in alliance with smaller parties.

Read: Data shows quieter roads in South Africas cities

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Calendar of major events expected in South Africa in 2021 including elections, load shedding, and strikes - BusinessTech

The covid-19 pandemic has exposed existing faultlines and inequities in the economy, but is the way out spending more on social security programmes or cutting back on the fiscal deficit? Would an urban employment guarantee scheme help job creation and spur short-term demand as well as long-term economic growth? These are the questions our panel of experts debated in an hour-long session titled, Pandemic, unemployment, inequality: The way forward as part of Mints Road to Recovery series in the run-up to the Union Budget in February 2021.

Leading the hour-long conversation on Monday evening were Manish Sabharwal, Chairman and Co-Founder of Teamlease Services Ltd; Dr. Jyotsna Jha, Director of the Bengaluru-based Centre for Budget and Policy Studies; Rosa Abraham, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Sustainable Employment, Azim Premji University; and Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, LinkedIn with journalist Mitali Mukherjee as moderator.

While the panellists werent entirely in accord on the way forward, one thing all four agreed upon was that covid-19 has not created but only reminded us of the socio-economic problems and inequality gaps that India faces. While Sabharwal focused on the need for structural reform to spur growth, Dr. Jha and Abraham emphasised that government spending on health, education and social security was essential for overall economic growth. Gupta, meanwhile, explained why reskilling needed priority in the Budget to take the country forward. The road to recovery lies in reskilling, especially for those in sectors such as education, healthcare and hospitality, which employ large numbers of women and have been hardest hit by the virus effect," said Gupta.

Though employment has recovered in the last few months, incomes have fallen. People have returned to work [after the lockdown], but our research has found that fewer women are back in the workforce and even among the men, 80% have come back to jobs that pay less or are now self-employed," said Abraham. People have come back to employment but in more precarious ways." In this context, an urban jobs guarantee scheme could provide the kind of social safety net that less privileged sections of society require.

This kind of spending would benefit the economy at large, said Jha, pointing out that secure employment and income would create demand for private goods, spark consumption and have a multiplier effect on helping small businesses and, in turn, economic growth. Public spending on social security does not have to be detrimental to the economy. Governance reforms can be socially responsible and yet push economic growth," she said.

Sabharwal made pitch for fiscal prudence, saying, Spending money wont create jobs. Schemes like MNREGA are not an employment but a poverty solution. Find the money is not a solution; there is a shortage of it in a year like this one where the pandemic has exhausted resources." Instead, he said, the Budgets focus should be on boosting investment and putting more money in the hands of employees by removing mandatory contributions to Provident Fund and ESI, labour reform, and regulatory changes. I can think of many non-fiscal ways to create freedom for entrepreneurs," he said.

Jha made the point that signalling is very important for a government. In addition to gender, caste, urban-rural and other inequalities, this pandemic has also worsened interstate inequalities," said Jha. States that were in a better position before will recover faster so the role of the Union government and the Budget is very important in terms of signalling what is important so that states will follow."

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Can India spend its way out of its unemployment crisis? - Mint

Im going to miss him I really am, declared James Pitts, former Buffalo Common Council president, friend of George Arthurs.

WKBW

The Queen City is mourning the loss of a legendary politician. Former Buffalo Common Council president George Arthur died Christmas morning at the age of 87.

Arthur is remembered for his political and community work and being a great friend and mentor.

George was my big brother he was a brother that was a true believer, remarked Pitts.

Pitts followed in Arthur's Ellicott District Council seat and later as council president.

Pitts called Arthur a true friend but a man who had a feisty political edge hidden by kindness.

Eileen Buckley

He was a fierce competitor you would never know that because he always had a kind demeanor, reflected Pitts.

Arthur spent more than two decades on the common council. But even after retiring in 1995, Arthur never stopped contributing to the community.

He served on the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority even into 2020.

One of a kind, brilliant and exceptional politician, Pitts stated.

Arthur also helped to recreate the Colored Musicians Club on Broadway in Buffalo.

WKBW

He shepherded restoration of the Nash House in the Michigan Street corridor.

Pitts said Arthur loved the Nash Museum.

But it was also like walking into Georges mind he knew everything, Pitts recalled.

In 2017, Arthur's portrait was painted among the 28 here on the Buffalos Freedom Wall at Michigan Avenue and East Ferry Street for his contributions to equity and unity in the Queen City.

Arthur played a role as a plaintiff in desegregating the Buffalo Public School District.

Buffalo Mayor Brown Brown said he was very sadden to learn of Arthurs death.

He was one of the most prominent government, political and civic leaders in this community for more than 50 years, Brown told reporters Sunday.

The Mayor says Arthur was a mentor to him.

My first job in government was working for George K. Arthur, and before that I was an intern in his office when he was council member-at-large, noted Brown.

Eileen Buckley

Mayor Brown called Arthur a gentleman who loved Buffalo with great passion.

Casimiro Rodriguez, president of the Hispanic Heritage Council of Western New York, sent a private Facebook message to 7 Eyewitness News stating Arthur was an admired leader in our Hispanic Community.

I had the opportunity to sit with him on the former Buffalo Columbus Hospital board of directors, Rodriguez wrote

I don't care if it was south Buffalo, north Buffalo, the west side, the east side, George would always know somebody there," Pitts remembered.

Photo provided by James Pitts

Pitts had trouble holding back his emotions as he reflected on Arthur's legacy hoping new generations of Buffalo will see the path Arthur carved.

He was extraordinary individual extremely bright he was my big brother, my mentor and I hated to see him go I really did, cried Pitts.

Read more here:

The legacy of George Arthur - WKBW-TV

On 14 October 2020, the Luxembourg government submitted to the Parliament the budget bill for fiscal year 2021. It was approved by the Parliament on 17 December 2020 and published in the Official Journal on 23 December 2020 (the Law).

This e-alert provides an overview of the key tax changes as from 2021.

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS TAXATION

Introduction of a new special 20% tax on all income derived by tax opaque Luxembourg funds from domestic real estate assets

As from 1 January 2021, a new 20% real estate tax ("prlvement immobilier") will be due by certain investment vehicles which receive income from real estate located in Luxembourg. Investment vehicles holding real estate located outside of Luxembourg will not be affected by this tax.

Entities within the scope of the prlvement immobilier

The Luxembourg entities covered by this measure are the following investment funds to the extent they have a legal personality (except for the SCS which is expressly excluded) (i) undertakings for collective investment (UCIs) subject to Part II of the Luxembourg law of 17 December 2010, (ii) specialised investment funds (SIFs) subject to the Luxembourg law of 13 February 2007 and (iii) reserved alternative investment funds (RAIFs) subject to the Luxembourg law of 23 July 2016.

Tax transparent investment vehicles, such as the limited partnership (socit en commandite simple), the special limited partnership (socit en commandite spciale) or fund under a contractual form (fond commun de placement), are excluded from the scope of the real estate tax.

Income subject to the real estate tax

Real estate tax is levied on income derived by the Luxembourg investment vehicle from Luxembourg real estate. Income includes rental income (excluding VAT) and capital gains realized directly or through tax transparent vehicles (including the disposal of interest in a transparent body which holds a real estate property located in Luxembourg).

The real estate tax applies at a rate of 20% as from 1 January 2021.

Non deductibility of the real estate tax

The real estate tax is not deductible when determining the amount of income from property and is neither creditable nor deductible by any investor.

Declaration and reporting

The relevant investment vehicles must declare said income to the Luxembourg Tax Authorities (LTA) by 31 May and pay the tax to the LTA by 10 June of the calendar year following the year in which the income is received or realised. First declaration will take place no later than 31 May 2022. An auditor report, to be attached to the return, must certify that the declared income has been computed in accordance with relevant legal provisions and provide details of the computation.

Investment vehicles within the scope of the real estate tax, must inform the LTA by 31 May 2022 at the latest whether or not they have held (directly or indirectly) Luxembourg real estate at any time during the calendar years 2020 and 2021. Such reporting must be filed even if no income was generated from the Luxembourg real estate. Investment vehicles filing a return for 2021 will be deemed compliant with this reporting obligation.

The same reporting applies to investment vehicles having changed, during calendar years 2020 and 2021, their legal form from an entity within the scope of the real estate tax to a tax transparent entity while holding directly or indirectly Luxembourg real estate.

A lump sum fine of EUR 10,000 may apply in the event of failure to declare the aforementioned information.

Lower subscription tax rate for UCIs investing in sustainable economic activities

As from 1 January 2021, under specific conditions, lower subscription tax rates will be available for investment funds covered by the Luxembourg law of 17 December 2010 relating to the undertakings for collective investments (Part I and Part II of the 2010 UCI regime) that invest in sustainable economic activities as defined by EU Regulation 2020/852.

In a nutshell, if the portion of net assets of the UCI, or of the compartment, invested in sustainable economic activities is at least respectively 5%, 20%, 35% and 50% of the total net assets of the UCI or the compartment, then the subscription tax rate will be respectively 0.04%, 0.03%, 0.02% and 0.01 % for that portion of assets. An auditor report must certify the relevant percentage and shall be attached to the subscription tax return.

Updated depreciation rate for rented real estate assets

As from fiscal year 2021, accelerated depreciation rate applicable to rented real estate is decreased from 6% to 4% and will apply to real estate assets whose construction has been completed since less than five years (currently 6 years) at the beginning of the fiscal year.

The same rate will apply for investment expenditures engaged for an older housing to the extent it exceeds 20% of the assets acquisition price and at the beginning of the fiscal year renovation work has been completed since less than five years.

A novelty has been introduced with a 6% depreciation rate granted for certain sustainable energy renovation investment expenditure for rented housing. Such depreciation rate is granted if as at 1st January of the fiscal year renovation work has been completed since less than nine years and a financial assistance has been granted for these expenditures under article 4 of the amended law of 23 December 2016 establishing an aid scheme for the promotion of sustainability, rational use of energy and renewable energies in the field of housing.

Existing 6% depreciation rate will continue to apply if existing requirements are met and the building has been built or acquired before 1st January 2021, or if the renovation of an old dwelling has been completed before 1st January 2021.

Special allowance for taxpayers benefiting from the accelerated depreciation rate

As from fiscal year 2021, taxpayers making use of the above-mentioned accelerated depreciation rate may, under certain conditions, claim an additional tax deduction up to EUR 10,000 (doubled in case of joint taxation).

Private wealth management companies (SPF) and real estate investments

Prohibition as from 1 July 2021 for SPF (socits de gestion de patrimoine familial) to hold via Luxembourg or foreign partnerships or FCPs (fonds communs de placement) real estate assets. Indirect detention though joint-stock companies will however remain allowed. This measure complements the existing prohibition contained in the SPF law of 11 May 2007 to directly hold real estate or grant interest bearing loans.

Increase of registration duty for capital contribution of real estate

If the proposal is accepted as it currently stands, capital contributions of immovable property to a civil or commercial (Luxembourg or non-Luxembourg) company will become subject to the common registration duty rules. In case of contribution in kind (apport pur et simple), registration duties would therefore be increased from 0.5% + 2/10 to 2% +2/10 and the transcription tax would be increased from 0.5% to 1 %. Furthermore, the delay according to which the property may be subsequently transferred to a shareholder (other than the one who contributed it) after liquidation, wind-up or capital reduction without duty to apply is extended from 5 to 10 years.

EMPLOYEES TAXATION

Impatriates regime

The impatriate regime will be codified in Luxembourg law as from 2021 onwards whereas it is now based on administrative guidance (i.e., Circular 95/2 dated 27 January 2014 which will be abolished as from 1 January 2021). Some conditions and effects of the regime will change, for instance the new regime will only apply to impatriate employees earning at least EUR 100,000 per year (currently EUR 50,000 per year) and it will apply for a period of up to 9 years (currently up to 5 years following the year of the employees arrival). One of the main differences is that the lump-sum compensation for specific recurring expenses will be changed by a 50% exemption of the impatriation premium not exceeding 30% of the beneficiarys annual basic salary.

Introduction of a new employee participation mechanism and abolition of the current stock option regime

The current tax regime for stock option and warrant plans governed by circular letter L.I.R. 104/2 issued by the Luxembourg tax authorities on 29 November 2017 will be abolished end of 2020. Instead, the Law introduces in the Luxembourg income tax law a new regime for employees participation under which employees can be granted a participative premium connected to the financial result of the employer.

At the level of the employee the participative premium will benefit from a 50% tax exemption and the payment would remain tax deductible at the level of the employer provided certain requirements are met.

The beneficiary of the participative premium must be an employee affiliated to the Luxembourg social security, or to a foreign social security scheme covered by a bi - or multilateral social security instrument and the payment cannot exceed 25% of the beneficiarys gross annual remuneration received the same year (excluding any benefits in cash and/or in-kind, bonuses, the premium itself).

Several conditions shall also be met at the level of the of the employer in order for the participative premium exemption to apply:

An employer deciding to pay such a premium to his employees will be required to inform the Luxembourg tax authorities (tax office in charge of withholding tax on wages).

Introduction of electronic withholding tax cards

Electronic withholding tax cards will be progressively introduced in 2021 by the Luxembourg tax authorities and access will be granted to employers directly. As from 1st January 2022, the withholding tax cards will be accessible only electronically and the employers will be obliged to use the new platform to access said cards.

OTHER MEASURES

Changes to the fiscal unity regime

The Luxembourg fiscal unity regime will be amended in line with EU Law following a recent case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) (C-749/18). The ECJ ruled in this case that the Luxembourg fiscal unity regime constitutes an infringement of the freedom of establishment considering that a parent company in a Member State other than Luxembourg is obliged to dissolve the vertical fiscal unity between its direct and indirect Luxembourg subsidiaries (potentially resulting in adverse Luxembourg tax consequences) in order to enable its direct subsidiary to establish a horizontal fiscal unity albeit this is not required if the parent company is tax resident in Luxembourg.

Article 7 of the Law temporarily remedies this infringement by allowing a group to change from a vertical fiscal unity to a horizontal fiscal unity tax neutrally provided the following conditions are met:

Groups have until the end of the tax year 2022 to tax neutrally change from a vertical fiscal unity to a horizontal fiscal unity. The commentary to the draft law explains that this period should be sufficient for groups to verify if they should expand their current vertical fiscal unity into a horizontal one.

The changes to the fiscal unity regime will enter into force as from tax year 2020.

Small Business Scheme threshold increased

Under the Law, the threshold for the VAT small business scheme to apply is brought from currently EUR 30,000 to EUR 35,000 per year. By way of reminder, taxpayers whose turnover does not exceed the small business scheme threshold are not obliged to pay VAT on their income.

Tax credit for the self-employed, employees and pensioners

As from 2021, existing tax credit for the self-employed, employees and pensioners will be increased. The minimum amount is increased from EUR 300 to EUR 396 and the maximum amount is increased from EUR 600 to EUR 696. Formulas for calculating the credit tax are adjusted accordingly.

Certificate for inheritances free of inheritance tax

In the case of tax-free inheritances, the indirect tax authorities (Administration de lEnregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA) issue a certificate of fiscal value. As from 2021, this certificate will have a civil value with the objective to ease the access to movable property dependent on such inheritance. Any third-party holder of property (e.g., credit institution) will be required to accept this certificate as proof that the holder of the certificate is an heir.

Introduction of a CO2 tax

An autonomous excise duty on most gas and hydrocarbon is introduced. By way of example, the new tax is expected to lead to a EUR 0.05/L increase for petrol and diesel.

Insurance tax Electronic filing

Compulsory electronic filing of insurance tax returns with the indirect tax authorities (Administration de lEnregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA) is introduced.

Abolition of the venture capital investment certificates

The tax regime for venture capital investment certificates will be repealed due to the limited use of this regime.

Continued here:

Luxembourg 2021 Budget Law: Overview of the key changes - Lexology

The tree is up. The hall is decorated. The presents are wrapped (sort of). There are eight boxes of crackers. I have just taken delivery of a 4.6kg turkey. We are ready. But for what exactly? Turns out no one is coming this year. And we arent going anywhere either. This is not the end of year we expected when we sent out 2020s first issue in January. Then we were worrying about stockmarket valuations and shifting cash into commodities, which we thought might be at the end of their vicious ten-year bear market.

The future turned out to be as unco-operative as usual. There was no way to know in January that a pandemic would close the world; that democracy would be effectively suspended across the West; that markets would hit new highs amid both a supply and demand crunch; that fiscal and monetary policy would merge into one great stimulus machine, rendering valuations irrelevant; that the main press topic in Christmas week would be the great festive lettuce shortage; and that I would hit 26 December with 3kg of excess turkey to fricassee.

So whats this years shock? Obviously, after the events of 2020, any forecasts must be read more for entertainment value than anything else. But in this week's magazine, Matthew Lynn offers a few of his expectations of the unexpected. Im hoping his last (the FTSE 100 to 10,000) comes true. It has underperformed horribly, but it is cheap and has to be a better bet than some of the capital-destroying businesses Bill Bonner rails against. Max King lists the investment trusts that have disappointed and thrilled him this year;David Stevenson reiterates our view on commodities (definitely a buy);and in our Roundtable weve lined up some of our favourite stockpickers and forced them to give us their best recommendations.

My own thoughts on 2021 will be familiar to regular readers. I think it will be pretty good. Vaccine roll out is faster than I expected (we are heading for one million a week), which should see the economy open faster than expected (when rising cases no longer equate to rising deaths, lockdown has to end). We are likely to see a wave of productivity as firms integrate all the technological lessons of 2020. All this will happen amid an ongoing wave of stimulus. Perhaps most importantly of all, the UK savings rate is still high households have cash to burn. Where will it go?

Here is where I think the miseries of the investment world might be surprised. Think about what you most want to do right now. Ill tell you what I want to do:drive and fly. And as soon as I can, that is what I will do. I will drive all over the UK seeing my family. I will take planes to all the places I want to go Greece, Florida, Iceland and perhaps even to Japan for the Olympics (Japan last hosted the Olympics in 1964, a year that marked its shift from enemy country to global economy see this week's magazine for why 2021 could be another good year in Japan). I wont be alone. We often talk about the pent-up demand for goods created by the pandemic. But dont underestimate the pent-up demand for physical freedom and the oil, airlines, restaurant seats and cars that will be needed to fuel it. Heres looking forward to the renewal of our commitment to that freedom in 2021 and to the investment opportunities that come with it. A very happy Christmas and New Year to all our readers.

Our first issue of 2021 will be with you on 8 January.

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Here's looking forward to freedom in 2021 - MoneyWeek

The year in review: 2020 was a rollercoaster 2020 for miners, as gold and commodities caught the virus dip and then the stimulus wave.

The beginning of 2020 was a world in which Donald Trump was inching his way through a trade war of his own making with China, sparking thoughts of economic autarky in the minds of policymakers of the kind not seen since the 1930s.

Then came the China virus as the 45th American President quickly daubed it, and the world changed for miners, as for everyone else.

Initially, it was a mixed picture. Lockdowns spread across the world sporadically, a bit like the virus, and so there was a period that began mid-way through the first quarter, when companies operating in jurisdictions as diverse as Chile and Canada, South Africa and Sweden, and Australia and China, were all obliged to come up with bespoke responses to the virus.

Mines in some parts of the world, like West Africa where companies like Perseus Mining Limited () () () have a major presence, continued to operate throughout the period while adhering to COVID-19 guidelines.

Elsewhere, in more established mining jurisdictions in South Africa, where welfare needs are backed up by a strong union culture, there were brief lockdowns, and companies like Pan African Gold () and Bushveld Minerals (), shut their respective gold and vanadium operations for a few weeks.

But, just as the welfare of the workforce needed to be put front and centre, in countries where bond markets and credit ratings couldnt support furlough schemes there was a need to put miners back to work fast, to allow them to generate income for their families.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, partly perhaps because several jurisdictions have had experience with ebola in the recent past, the impact of the virus hasnt been as deep as it has been in Europe and North America. So, although there are some restrictions in place, most companies are able to operate as close to normal as could have been hoped.

In North America, the ability to operate has been somewhat more constrained, as freedom of movement has been curtailed and some companies have struggled to access properties. Only in exceptional circumstances will any UK or Irish-based company have been allowed to send executives into the US or Canada to oversee work programs. Most programs still went ahead, but with lighter oversight, and in some cases, lighter budgets too.

On the whole, though, the industry was keen to press on and get on with things. Share prices crashed in Marchwhen the panic was at its height, but quickly recovered thereafter.

Not for the mining sector this time round that same hunker-down mentality which so characterised the last major crisis it faced the global financial crisis of 2008.

Back in 2008 money, and specifically, new capital was scarce.

Not so, in this new kind of crisis, where economies are stopped voluntarily rather than as a result of some kind of external shock or systemic malfunction.

In this crisis, money has been everywhere. Indeed, governments were keen to make sure there was more money in the world than there ever has been before, and printing presses to use the euphemistic term have been running hotter and hotter.

That in itself has raised some alarm bells amongst economists, and it was interesting to see Mervyn King, the former governor of the commenting that Modern Monetary Theory is neither modern, nor monetary (since it is broadly fiscal in implication), and on the basis of the last contradiction, not much of a theory either.

Nevertheless, he didnt come down wholly against the money printing bonanza. To paraphrase, he said that the jury is still out.

But for the miners, it isnt.

Stimulus money creates demand, particularly for infrastructure, which is particularly intensive in its use of metals. It also reiterates that fiat money has no intrinsic value, and hence stimulates demand for gold.

That double win, an environment where base and precious metals are both in demand, has broadly characterised the second half of 2020 for the mining sector as a whole.

Even Rio Tinto () which, experienced the worst public relations disaster of any company in the sector after it detonated huge amounts of explosives across a sacred aboriginal site, experienced its highest share price since 2008.

Thats right, Rios shares are at their highest since level since the early onset of the worlds last major financial crisis more than 12 years ago. Anglo Americans () arent doing quite as well they are only at an eight-year high. Glencore (), which doesnt have the exposure of Rio and Anglo to iron ore, one of the key ingredients in the now re-activated Chinese infrastructure boom, has done less well.

But the big gold companies, like Barrick Gold Corp ()and Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) have also been hitting multi-year highs, as gold has repeatedly tested, and on occasion gone through the US$1,900 mark while Australias Newcrest Mining Ltd () (OTCMKTS:NCMGY) has traded up to A$38.15.

At the junior end of the market, () was one of the standout success stories, as it consolidated an Australian discovery that saw share prices rise from A$0.05 in January to A$1.60 in September and today has been up to A$1.02 while market cap has risen to approximately $1.285 billion.

Some supply still remains constrained as a result of the coronavirus, of course, especially from South America, where VALEs iron ore output suffered badly and some of the major copper mines had to curtail production significantly. But for the rest of the sector, which is able to produce, these supply constraints only add to the upward pressure on price.

And so, it was no wonder the capital markets flung their doors open to junior miners: while everyone else was sitting at home, the miners were still able to go out and make money.

And, as things stand, 2021 should see more of the same.

Originally posted here:

Miners ride 2020 rollercoaster and come off in strong position - Proactive Investors USA & Canada