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Sat, 15 Nov 2003 15:38:55 GMT |
July 24, 2003
Regulate the Right Thing!
Politicians often say that to control X they are introducing legislation which does Y, something else, rather than actually regulating X. They apparently do this either because they are trying to fool the public, or maybe because they are just inept.
For example, back in the early 70's my affluent little hometown of Piedmont, California experienced its first "hippie commune". The city council immediately passed an ordinance outlawing more than a certain number of unrelated people living in the same house.
When I interviewed the most liberal member of the city council for a local non-commercial radio station, she claimed they weren't trying to enforce their idea of morality. Instead, she said, the new law was because of complaints about noise. My suggestion that if the existing anti-noise ordinance wasn't enough they could have tightened it went right by her.
And naturally noise wasn't the problem. What they wanted to do was outlaw hippie communes without saying they were outlawing hippie communes.
Likewise, while prostitution has been legal in Sweden for decades, a couple of years ago the PC wing of the Social Democrat party pushed through legislation outlawing the buying of sexual services. The excuse was that it was to stop sex traffic, importing women from abroad and forcing them into prostitution. But that was already against the law.
The whole point of the new legislation was to crack down on prostitution without giving the appearance of reversing longheld policies.
Taxes
Now a similar misdirection has come in a proposal to reform Sweden's tax system. Vilhelm Andersson, who is identified as head of the Tax Division of the National Tax Authority (which makes one wonder what the other divisions do) wants to get rid of the wealth tax and the tax on gifts. That would cost the state more than 1 billion US dollars a year. To make up for that enormous hit to the Treasury (and give-away to the rich), Andersson wants to remove the most common income tax deduction ("other expenses").
His argument is that he says 82 percent of the 700,000 Swedes who claim such deductions on their tax returns every year make mistakes. The Tax Authority is only guessing this, of course, because they don't have enough inspectors to actually monitor every return. Andersson's conclusion is that the State loses more than 50 million dollars a year in taxes because most of the deductions are approved without any monitoring at all. His solution is to remove the deduction.
There's no direct suggestion Swedes are cheating on their taxes. In some cases there might be an error in the math. In others, people claim deductions hoping they will get them, and expecting the authorities to deny them if they are improper. Indeed, that would be the outcome in any other country. But this is another case of outlawing the wrong thing.
If there is a shortage of tax return checkers, might I point out that 50 million dollars would pay for a lot of inspectors? One million dollars ought to hire at least 30, who would certainly more than pay for their salaries in no time.
Tax Refunds
Another problem with the Swedish tax system is the way the authorities just love to hang on to other peoples' money.
It used to be that you had to file by the beginning of February, and if you got money back (which most people do) you didn't see it until December. (That compares to April 15 filing in the US, and I'm told refunds are made during June.) So money withheld from your paycheck in January of one year wouldn't be refunded for 23 months.
Recently the government changed the system, so filing isn't required until the first week of May and most, but not all, refunds arrive in mid-August. But this is still unreasonable. We don't really need extra time at the beginning of the year to file. You have to do it eventually, and the sooner people file, the sooner they ought to get their money back.
Since all the information from employers and banks is sent to taxpayers during January anyway, February or March would be fine. The last couple of years tax return forms here have simplified to the point where almost all information is provided by employers and banks, pre-printed on the return mailed out to each taxpayer, and most people just sign the form and send it back.
Assuming there are no changes to be made, the amount of refund or back taxes to be paid is already indicated. But you don't get it for another three months or more.
This year Swedes not making any extra deductions could just log onto the Internet and check off that they approve all that information. But if that is the case, then why can't their refunds be deposited immediately into their Internet bank accounts? The government already knows how much it owes to each taxpayer, it has their account numbers on file, and it takes a maximum of 24 hours to transfer money from one account into another.
That might even be a carrot to encourage people to file early.
4:02:42 PM 
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July 24, 2003
Regulate the Right Thing!
Politicians often say that to control X they are introducing legislation which does Y, something else, rather than actually regulating X. They apparently do this either because they are trying to fool the public, or maybe because they are just inept.
For example, back in the early 70's my affluent little hometown of Piedmont, California experienced its first "hippie commune". The city council immediately passed an ordinance outlawing more than a certain number of unrelated people living in the same house.
When I interviewed the most liberal member of the city council for a local non-commercial radio station, she claimed they weren't trying to enforce their idea of morality. Instead, she said, the new law was because of complaints about noise. My suggestion that if the existing anti-noise ordinance wasn't enough they could have tightened it went right by her.
And naturally noise wasn't the problem. What they wanted to do was outlaw hippie communes without saying they were outlawing hippie communes.
Likewise, while prostitution has been legal in Sweden for decades, a couple of years ago the PC wing of the Social Democrat party pushed through legislation outlawing the buying of sexual services. The excuse was that it was to stop sex traffic, importing women from abroad and forcing them into prostitution. But that was already against the law.
The whole point of the new legislation was to crack down on prostitution without giving the appearance of reversing longheld policies.
Taxes
Now a similar misdirection has come in a proposal to reform Sweden's tax system. Vilhelm Andersson, who is identified as head of the Tax Division of the National Tax Authority (which makes one wonder what the other divisions do) wants to get rid of the wealth tax and the tax on gifts. That would cost the state more than 1 billion US dollars a year. To make up for that enormous hit to the Treasury (and give-away to the rich), Andersson wants to remove the most common income tax deduction ("other expenses").
His argument is that he says 82 percent of the 700,000 Swedes who claim such deductions on their tax returns every year make mistakes. The Tax Authority is only guessing this, of course, because they don't have enough inspectors to actually monitor every return. Andersson's conclusion is that the State loses more than 50 million dollars a year in taxes because most of the deductions are approved without any monitoring at all. His solution is to remove the deduction.
There's no direct suggestion Swedes are cheating on their taxes. In some cases there might be an error in the math. In others, people claim deductions hoping they will get them, and expecting the authorities to deny them if they are improper. Indeed, that would be the outcome in any other country. But this is another case of outlawing the wrong thing.
If there is a shortage of tax return checkers, might I point out that 50 million dollars would pay for a lot of inspectors? One million dollars ought to hire at least 30, who would certainly more than pay for their salaries in no time.
Tax Refunds
Another problem with the Swedish tax system is the way the authorities just love to hang on to other peoples' money.
It used to be that you had to file by the beginning of February, and if you got money back (which most people do) you didn't see it until December. (That compares to April 15 filing in the US, and I'm told refunds are made during June.) So money withheld from your paycheck in January of one year wouldn't be refunded for 23 months.
Recently the government changed the system, so filing isn't required until the first week of May and most, but not all, refunds arrive in mid-August. But this is still unreasonable. We don't really need extra time at the beginning of the year to file. You have to do it eventually, and the sooner people file, the sooner they ought to get their money back.
Since all the information from employers and banks is sent to taxpayers during January anyway, February or March would be fine. The last couple of years tax return forms here have simplified to the point where almost all information is provided by employers and banks, pre-printed on the return mailed out to each taxpayer, and most people just sign the form and send it back.
Assuming there are no changes to be made, the amount of refund or back taxes to be paid is already indicated. But you don't get it for another three months or more.
This year Swedes not making any extra deductions could just log onto the Internet and check off that they approve all that information. But if that is the case, then why can't their refunds be deposited immediately into their Internet bank accounts? The government already knows how much it owes to each taxpayer, it has their account numbers on file, and it takes a maximum of 24 hours to transfer money from one account into another.
That might even be a carrot to encourage people to file early.
4:02:42 PM
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© Copyright 2003 GlobalWatch: Notes from the Swedish.
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| Jun Aug |
| AlterNet | | 2:02PM UTC |
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 Call Me a Bush-Hater. Sneering, jeering, bad manners, hideous diplomacy, threats, demands, lies, arrogance, bluster, tax cuts for the rich. And you wonder why we think he's a lousy president?
The Scalping Party. The Tiger Force atrocity in Vietnam was the third major war crimes revelation in the last few years to encounter apathy in the media and indifference from Washington.
A Double Standard for Heroes?. Jessica Lynch and Shoshanna Johnson underwent nearly identical ordeals in Iraq. But only the white soldier's story made the cover of Time magazine.
Indian Americans Enter the Matrix. The Bollywoodization of American popular culture has long been underway. But with the appearance of a South Asian in 'The Matrix Revolutions,' a new era has begun.
An Object Lesson in Investing. Here's what happens to your hard-earned money when it enters the giant money-skimming machine we call the stock market.
The Rev in the Race. Understanding Al Sharpton's standing as a reputed black leader requires an understanding of recent history. Understanding Sharpton the Presidential candidate requires delving a bit further into the past.
Killer Cure. Everyone wants Medicare to cover prescription drugs, right? Not so fast.
The Professor Takes the Gloves Off. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman tells how he found his voice, why Bush makes him miss Nixon, and why he insults Fox News whenever he can.
The Truth About the Green River Killer. Gary Ridgway should have been caught a long time ago. His choice of victims had everything to do with why he wasn't.
Personal Voices: Apology to the American Worker. I actually thought Nike and Adidas and Delta and Sara Lee were American companies run by American employees. I admit, I was confused.
Why Aren't We Winning the Indie Movie Race?. Just a decade ago it felt like the indie movie scene could become a haven for multiculturalism. Now it's just as white as the blandest Hollywood studio. What happened?
What's Health Insurance, Mom?. At 7, my daughter should be fretting over the well being of her favorite stuffed animals -- not the fates of her uninsured parents.
Listening to Veterans. We will soon be welcoming home the first of another generation of emotionally damaged veterans. How can we appropriately honor them without glorifying war?
Freedom and Security. The sacrifice of civil liberties for the appearance of greater security is a mistake that leaves future generations with little hope for freedom.
P. Diddy and Hip Hop's Tattered Garments. Hip-hop fashion kings need to take a hard look at the labor conditions that prevail in the factories where their clothes are made.
Billboard Politics. U.S. government propaganda doesn't convince Iraqis -- so why do Americans fall for it?
The 'Thing' Economy and the 'Care' Economy. A truly moral economy would reconcile our desire to prosper with our deepest moral and spiritual impulses.
Memo To Arnold: Educate, Don't Incarcerate. Unlike Davis, California's governor-elect is no slave to the powerful prison guard union -- so maybe he can afford to do the right thing.
Sarah Jones' American Dream. In her latest piece, the acclaimed playwright takes on the roles of 10 immigrants to weave a story of racism and xenophobia in the era of homeland security.
Shock Troops of the Right Wing. Censoring television movies, overturning court decisions, halting construction projects -- just what will conservatives do next?
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| Greenpeace | | 3:04PM UTC |
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Rainbow Warrior on Toxic Patrol in India. The Greenpeace sailing vessel the Rainbow Warrior is currently anchored off the coast of Alang, India. Alang is the site of the world's largest shipbreaking yard. Greenpeace is planning to conduct "toxic patrols" of ships which are here waiting for scrapping. A team of experts will do a survey and take samples to determine what type of toxic materials are on board before the ships are beached and the actual scrapping starts. Shipbreaking is an enormous danger for people and the environment. Greenpeace is the only organization in the world fighting for the 100,000 people working in this industry and for the environment they live in.
UK's own ghost ship found in India. There's outrage in the UK! The US is sending its "ghost fleet," complete with asbestos and toxic chemicals, for dismantling in England. The UK government has said the ships will have to go back. A British court has put a halt to any dismantling. Permits have been revoked. But meanwhile, in India, guess what Greenpeace's ghost-busting toxic patrol has found?
What would you do to save the tallest trees?. In Tasmania, Australia, they have these trees, that are... tall. OK, a lot of trees are tall, but these are the tallest hardwood trees in the world. We're talking trees taller than a 25-story building and 400 years old. Some people look at trees like this and they just think, "wow". Other people, they look at these trees and they think, "Wow, I could cut that down, chop it up, feed it through a wood chipper, and sell it to these companies in Japan!" And that is just what they are going to do, unless we can stop them.
Click here to find out how.
When scientists and policy makers meet. Before any major international meeting there are advance meetings to lay the groundwork. A lot of the decisions finalised at the main meeting are often made at these meetings - months before the big one.
Today was the start of one of the more important of these meetings, the ninth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice to the Convention on Biological Diversity. That's SBSTTA-9 and the CBD to you insiders, and it will be going on in Montreal all week.
Year one of the Prestige oil spill. The Prestige oil tanker sank on November 13th, 2002. But this Thursday marks not the one year anniversary of an accident, but year one of a decade-long disaster. Despite this, criminally little has been done to prevent the recurrence of a similar catastrophe.
Japanese whaling fleet ready to depart. Greenpeace has learned that five vessels will set forth shortly from Shimonoseki in Japan, perhaps as early as Friday, to hunt whales once again. They continue to do so despite a worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling, under the false pretence that their purpose is "research."
US Toxic 'ghost fleet' not wanted in the UK. Two former US Navy ships are now crossing the Atlantic for scrapping in the UK. Contaminated with toxic waste, the failure of the US to clean them up at home has caused outrage in Europe. But have a closer look at the issue of shipbreaking: putting toxic vessels out of sight and out of mind is the rule rather than the exception -- and the recipients are usually developing countries.
EU waters down chemicals reform. Important new laws in Europe have been announced this week to address the current flawed and inadequate rules governing chemicals harmful to health and the environment. While the new laws represent a step forward, heavy chemical industry lobbying and scare-mongering have significantly weakened the proposal already.
France reclaims toxic ship. After being caught illegally exporting ships containing hazardous waste to Turkey, the French military has seized a former french aircraft carrier they had sold for scrapping. This high seas tale exposes again the underhand tactics and cost cutting of some sections of the shipping industry at the expense of the environment and workers' health.
Hidden hazards revealed in Disney products. Tests by independent scientists have revealed that toxic 'gender bending' chemicals are found in everyday children's products like Disney pyjamas. These chemicals can damage the developing foetus and young children; they should not be found in products you put your kids into every night.
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