Dutch minister says survival of Air France-KLM 'not a given'

Yahoo – AFP, September 13, 2020

Many Air France-KLM planes have been grounded for months because of
the coronavirus

The survival of the Air France-KLM group is not guaranteed if the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic continues, Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra warned Sunday.

France and the Netherlands, each with a 14-percent share of the group, have poured out billions of euros in aid to help national carriers that virtually came to a standstill in the first half of 2020.

"It's not a given," Hoekstra said in an interview with Dutch public television NPO, stressing the need to cut costs.

In the spring, Paris gave Air France seven billion euros ($8.3 billion) in loans, and The Hague granted KLM similar aid worth 3.4 billion euros.

The bailout for KLM must be accompanied by "a comprehensive restructuring plan" as well as commitments to reestablish performance and competitiveness.

Hoekstra said he had insisted in talks with KLM on the importance of changing direction.

Dutch press agency ANP said KLM has to develop a restructuring plan by October 1.

Air France-KLM suffered a loss of 2.6 billion euros in the second quarter as air traffic virtually shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

This followed a loss of 1.8 billion euros in the first quarter.

Air France said it would cut almost 7,600 jobs by the end of 2022 and KLM up to 5,000 jobs.

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Shoveled: Garuda Boss Fired for Smuggling Harley Davidson Bike and Brompton Bicycles

Jakarta Globe, NUR YASMIN, December 5, 2019

The disassembled parts of a smuggled Harley Davidson Shovelhead are shown 

by customs officials in Jakarta on Thursday. (B1 TV Photo)

Jakarta. Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia's president director I Gusti Ngurah Ashkara is soon to be fired for allegedly smuggling a Harley Davidson motorcycle and two Brompton bicycles, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir said on Thursday.

The items were smuggled inside Garuda's brand new Airbus A330-900 Neo being delivered from its factory in Toulouse, France, in mid-November.

There were 22 passengers on the plane and four of them were Garuda directors: the president director, better known as Ari Ashkara, technical and services director Iwan Joeniarto, cargo and business development director Mohammas Iqbal and human resources director Heri Akhyar.

"As the SOE Minister, I will dismiss the Garuda president director. We will not stop there; we will look for other people who might have been involved in this case as well," Erick told a press conference in Jakarta.

The used Harley Davidson motorcycle had been disassembled prior to delivery and smuggled as parts. Customs officials found them wrapped in 15 boxes inside the plane's cargo area.

The Brompton bikes and accessories were found in three other boxes.

Erick said an audit by the customs office showed the smuggled items belonged to the president director, despite the baggage claim tags carrying different names.

Ari had instructed his subordinates to find him a classic Harley Davidson Shovelhead from the 1970s.

The used motorcycle was purchased in April 2019 with the help of a Garuda finance manager in Amsterdam.

"It's really sad that this [personal] transaction had to drag down an SOE," Erick said.

The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhur Binsar Pandjaitan said during a visit to Tongxiang, China, on Thursday that he fully supported Erick's decision.

"[An act like] this will hurt our investment climate," he said.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati meanwhile said smuggling the Harley and the Bromptons had cost the country up to Rp 1.5 billion ($107,000) in unpaid taxes.

"The Harley bike is valued at Rp 800 million and the Brompton bicycles cost Rp 50-60 million each," Sri Mulyani said.

"Everyone should always obey existing regulations," she told reporters.

Ticket tax won’t hit airlines, will cut CO2, says leaked Brussels report

DutchNews, May 13, 2019 

A plane landing at dusk. Photo: Depositphotos.com 

The introduction of a flight tax of €7.50 per ticket will not have a negative effect on the Dutch economy but will cut carbon dioxide emissions, according to a leaked report by the European Commission. 

The Dutch government plans to introduce a tax on flying in 2021. The Netherlands is one of 20 EU countries which levies little or no tax on airline tickets, apart from 21% value added tax on domestic flights. 

The report has been leaked by green campaign group Transport & Environment and shows that a tax on tickets similar to that which operates in Germany would lead to a 4% increase in ticket prices and a 4% drop in passenger numbers and flights. 

But the impact of this on the aviation sector will be ‘compensated by an almost equal increase in jobs in other sectors of the economy, so the net effect on employment is close to zero’, the report said. 

In addition, the  introduction of a tax on tickets would generate €324m for the treasury, cut CO2 emissions by 4% and the number of people affected by noise by 3%. 

The report, which has not been published by the commission, also shows that taxing kerosene in Europe would cut aviation emissions by 11% and have no net impact on jobs or the economy as a whole.

‘Aviation’s decades-long kerosene tax holiday needs to end now,’ said Bill Hemmings, aviation director of Transport & Environment. ‘This is essential to fight climate change and will help the millions afflicted by unbearable aircraft noise. Europe’s unique and deplorable status as a kerosene tax haven is indefensible.’

Despite shortage of space and staff, no stop to distribution centre growth

DutchNews, March 26, 2018

Photo: Depositphotos.com

New distribution centres covering a record of nearly two million m2 – the equivalent of 400 football fields – were built in the Netherlands in 2017 and still more are planned along the country’s motorways, according to research by broadcaster NOS. 

Many large international companies are queuing up to distribute their products through the Netherlands despite the shortage of land and people to staff them, NOS said.There are currently 53,000 unfilled distribution centre jobs available. 

NOS contacted commercial brokers association NVM Business as well as a number of leading commercial property firms for its report. ‘We are seeing for the first time that  developers are building distribution centres on spec before they have any tenant or buyer in mind,’ said Liesbeth Kramer of NVM Business. ‘Demand is enormous.’ 

Total space covered by distribution centres in the Netherlands has increased by 40% to more than 30 million m2 in the past 10 years. The most are located in Noord-Brabant province, followed by Limburg. 

‘All major high streets from London to Paris  and Germany’s Ruhr region are stocked by warehouses in the southern part of the Netherlands,’ said Joost Uwents, CEO of Belgo-Dutch developer WDP, which is the largest in the Netherlands. 

Uwents, who is a Belgian national, is full of praise for the Dutch government which has supported the logistics sector in a big way. He cites major improvements to the road infrastructure around Rotterdam and Eindhoven as will as upgrades in the rail and inland waterway structures. 

Tax 

The Dutch tax regime – unlike that in in other countries  – also benefits distribution activities as VAT is added only on final delivery of goods, said Richard Elich of property developer David Hart Group. 

And even though the southern part of the country is generally preferred for distribution centres, the parent of Spanish fashion group Zara opted for Lelystad for its new distribution centre.  ‘Quite simply, they settled there because the could get both space and staff,’ Uwents said.

Norway seeks 'Tesla tax' on electric cars

Yahoo – AFP, 12 October 2017

Abolishing Norway's tax exemptions for electric cars would slap thousands on the
purchase price of a Tesla

Norway, a world leader of zero-emission vehicles, on Thursday proposed a "Tesla tax" aimed at cutting a tax advantage granted to large electric cars in a heavily criticised move.

Electric cars, which have hitherto been exempted from heavy taxes imposed on other vehicles, accounted for 20 percent of new registrations in the Nordic country since the beginning of this year, an unprecedented market share in the world.

In a 2018 finance bill presented to the parliament on Thursday, the right-wing minority government suggested removing a one-off tax exemption for new electric cars weighing more than two tonnes.

The proposal was immediately dubbed the "Tesla tax" because it primarily affects the high-end models made by the American manufacturer. Buying a new Tesla X would cost about 70,000 kroner (7,500 euros, $8,800) more.

Justifying the proposed tax measures, Finance Minister Siv Jensen argued that these heavy sedans exhaust the roads as much as gasoline and diesel cars, and that the owners should therefore contribute.

The proposal has sparked a heated debate.

"It's a tax bomb," Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association Secretary General Christina Bu told AFP.

"This was unexpected by both the drivers and by the car industry and it sends a bad signal to the Norwegians and the world" for which the nation is often a model in this matter, Bu added.

She underlined that Norway has set an ambitious target of ending the sales of new cars with combustion engines as early as 2025.

The largest oil producer in western Europe, Norway has introduced many incentives to purchase electric cars.

In addition to generous tax exemptions, which critics say allow the richest to buy Tesla vehicles at a good price, Norway's electric car drivers benefit from free city tolls, free parking and the possibility of travelling in the bus corridors.

The government needs the support of other parties in the parliament to get its budget approved.

Its traditional centre-right allies have already spoken out against the "Tesla tax", noting a 2015 agreement has granted tax advantages for electric cars until 2020. 

Beijing to scrap purchase tax on new-energy vehicles

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-07-11

A Tesla electric car on show in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, May 5, 2014.
(File photo/Xinhua)

A State Council meeting on Wednesday decided that purchase taxes should be waived on new-energy cars that are allowed to be sold in China.

Starting from September this year through the end of 2017, electric cars, plug-in hybrid electric cars and fuel cell electric vehicles will be exempt from taxes on purchase.

The State Council has requested related government agencies to publish the catalogue for the models that can enjoy the tax-free measure. In the meantime, the government will speed up its schedule for launching supporting measures, Shanghai's National Business Daily reported.

Dong Yang, secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), said he is positive about the rapid development of the new-energy vehicle sector.

However, Zhang Zhiyong, a senior market analyst in the auto sector, said the new measure is unlikely to substantially boost the development of new-energy cars because the current major obstacles are related to infrastructure in the sector, technology, security, customer service and quality. The new policies are intended to show the government's plan to develop the industry, Zhang said.

Some market observers stated that the measure will benefit development of not only car models, but also of their charging stations and batteries.

At present, the tax levied on the purchase of cars of all kinds is 8.5%. The large tax waiver for buying new energy vehicles will effectively reduce the cost for buyers, Dong said, adding however that the construction of charging equipment for electric vehicles should be the top priority.

CAAM statistics showed that China produced 20,692 new-energy cars during the first half of 2014 and sold 20,477, figures 2.3 and 2.2 times higher, respectively, compared with the same period a year ago.