Water privatization in France

Water privatization in France ("Gestion déléguée des services publics d'eau potable") - more accurately called public-private partnerships for drinking water supply - goes back to the mid-19th century when cities signed concessions with private water companies for the supply of drinking water. As of 2010, according to the Ministry of Environment 75% of water and 50% of sanitation services in France are provided by the private sector, primarily by two firms, Veolia Water and Suez Environnement. In 1993 the "Loi Sapin" strengthened competition in the sector by limiting the duration of contracts to 20 years, among others. In 2010 the lease contracts for Paris with Suez Environnement and Veolia Water expired and the water system returned to public management.
Forms of privatization.
The typical form of delegated management (Gestion Déléguée) from the public to the private sector is through a lease contract ("Affermage") or a concession contract. A lease contract is of shorter duration (10–15 years) and the responsibility to finance most of the infrastructure remains with the municipality. A concession contract is of longer duration (20–30 years) and the Concessionnaire is in charge of mobilizing financial resources. In both cases, the municipality or the Intermunicipal utility fixes the water and sanitation tariff and remains the owner of the infrastructure. Other forms of delegated management include the "Régie intéressée" and the "Gérance", less common forms of private sector participation under which the private sector takes fewer risks.
Water companies.
There are three large private French water companies:
The private Société des Eaux de Marseille (SEM), half owned by Veolia Environnement and half owned by SUEZ, provides Marseille with water and wastewater services.
Assessment of private sector participation.
Private sector participation in water supply and sanitation has a long tradition in France and has provided many benefits to municipalities, such as lower levels of public debt. However, it is not without its critics. A comparative assessment of public and private service provision is complicated by the absence of a mandatory national performance benchmarking system. Therefore, supporters and opponents of private sector participation often find it hard to provide objective figures to back up their respective positions.
Comparison of tariff levels.
According to the Ministry of Environment, in 1992 tariffs by private providers were 22% higher than for public providers. After competition in the sector has been strengthened through the "Loi Sapin" in 1993, the difference declined to 13% in 1998, according to the Ministry of Environment. No matter how high the difference is, these assessments do not compare apples with apples. For example, public companies do not have to pay for the acquisition of public land. Also, they are not subject to corporate income tax ("taxe professionnelle") or property tax ("redevance pour occupation du domaine public"). Both factors reduce the costs of public companies compared to private companies without providing an economic benefit, since the higher costs of private companies are channeled back to the public treasury. In addition, a study by the research institute INRA showed that the municipalities with the most difficult conditions tend to delegate service provision to the private sector, thus biasing the comparison of tariff levels. Among the conditions driving municipalities to seek private sector participation are the classification in an ecologically sensitive zone implying stricter wastewater treatment standards and a lower population density implying a longer network per customer.
Competition.
A 2003 report by the French Supreme Audit Agency ("Cour des Comptes") on water and sanitation in France covering the period 1995-2002 confirms that in 1999, six years after the Loi Sapin strengthened competition, 85% of contracts were still renewed with the incumbent. The "Cour des Comptes" noted that many municipalities, including some large ones, do not have the capacity to control the private sector contracts, in particular unjustified increases of certain fees. The municipalities do not use the numerous legal instruments at their disposal to better control the lease contracts they sign. According to critics, the three large private water companies are in a stronger negotiation position than the municipalities, thus leading to a lack of meaningful competition and regulatory capture.
Transparency.
The annual financial reports submitted by the private enterprises to the municipalities are often not very transparent. For example, the "Cour des Comptes" noted that these reports cannot be compared to the financial projections submitted during contract negotiation, because they are established on different bases.
In some cases, private water companies also use accounting tricks to increase their profit margin. The "Cour des Comptes" noted that revenues from ancillary activities, such as the sale of bulk water to neighboring municipalities or electricity sales from hydropower production, are sometimes omitted from the financial reports to the municipalities. Furthermore, some operators cover fees for a “renewal guarantee” without fully reinvesting the proceeds. These revenues thus constitute a net gain for the operator at the end of the contract. Also, water companies are allowed to carry out works through their own subsidiaries without selecting them according to the local government regulations for competitive bidding. Finally, large utilities can manipulate transfer prices, thus making their finances even more intransparent to municipal regulators.
Campaign financing and corruption.
Private water utilities have been used as a vehicle for financing election campaigns and other political activities, leading to corrupt practices despite several laws passed to prevent corruption in the 1990s, such as the "Loi Sapin". Some municipal associations, such as in Grenoble, have sued private operators leading to the cancellation of contracts and to a prison sentence against the mayor of Grenoble in 1996.


Pulsant

Pulsant is a provider of datacenter services, colocation, workplace recovery, with a core focus on security, resilience and connectivity.
History.
Established in 1995 as EdNET, an ISP, the company was rebranded as Lumison in 2004. Lumison was acquired by Bridgepoint Development Capital in 2010 and Pulsant was formed in 2011, following the integration of Lumison, a managed service provider; Dedipower, a managed hosting company; and Bluesquare Data, a datacentre operator.
Pulsant acquired Scottish-based colocation company ScoLocate in 2012.
The company was refinanced by Oak Hill Capital in 2014. In 2015 Pulsant acquired the consulting arm of Spinnaker Red, and in 2016 acquired IT infrastructure services company Onyx.
Pulsant, announced in mid 2017, that it has completed the acquisition of LayerV, a specialist public cloud solution integration company, with a strong focus on compliance, security and cloud automation.
Datacentre locations.
Pulsant owns several datacentres across multiple locations throughout the UK. These include three sites in Scotland, Edinburgh, South Gyle and Newbridge, as well as six in England; Sheffield, Newcastle, Maidenhead, South London, Milton Keynes and Reading.
The company occupies space in facilities in New York, Dallas, Boston, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Frankfurt.
Pulsant’s South Gyle facility in Edinburgh hosts IXScotland, Scotland’s first dedicated internet exchange.
Royal Warrant.
Pulsant received the Royal Warrant in 2013 as a provider of hosted IT and datacentre services to the British Royal Household.
Accreditations.
Pulsant is certified to ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 across all operations and holds a level 1 PCI-DSS validation for physical security at three of its sites. The company is also a Cyber Essentials Certifying Body, licensed to certify for Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus and IASME governance standard.
In 2013 Pulsant was awarded CSA Star certification for cloud security by the British Standards Institution (BSI Group).


Richard Hu

Richard Hu Tsu Tau (, born 30 October 1926) is a former People's Action Party (PAP) politician in Singapore. He served as the Minister for Finance for 16 years from 1985 to 2001, and was also a Director of Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd. He is the son of doctor Hu Tsai Kuen.
Early life.
Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau was educated at the Anglo-Chinese School. In 1952, Hu obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of California in the United States and subsequently pursued a postgraduate diploma and a doctorate degree in Chemical Engineering, both from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.
Career.
Hu joined the Royal Dutch Shell Group of Companies in 1960 and rose to the position of Chairman and Chief Executive of this global company in Singapore between 1977 and 1983.
In 1983, Hu became the Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), holding both posts concurrently until 1984. He was chairman of Monetary Authority of Singapore from 1985 to 1997.
Hu contested as a People's Action Party candidate in the Kreta Ayer Single Member Constituency in 1984 General Elections and won the election. Following the elections, he became the Minister for Health for two years from 1985 to 1987 and the Minister of Finance for 16 years from 1985 to 2001. As the Minister for Finance, Hu is perhaps best known by his signature on the 'Ship' series of legal tender notes issued after his appointment. He also introduced the Goods and Services Tax in 1993. As part of deregulation and reform of its financial and banking sectors, Hu oversaw the privatisation of the government-run Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) and the sale of POSB to the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) in 1998.
On April 13, 2004, Hu joined the Board of Singaporean property development company CapitaLand and was elected Chairman the same day, until his retirement in 2012. He was also the Chairman of GIC Real Estate Pte Ltd and Asia Financial Holdings Pte Ltd, as well as a Director of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and a Director of Buildfolio.Com.Inc Hu also served as the Chancellor of the Singapore Management University from July 2002 to August 2010.
In 2013, Hu was appointed as senior advisor of the Fraser and Neave board.
Family.
Hu is married to Irene Tan Dee Leng, and has one son (Jeremy) and one daughter (Geraldine). He is a Hakka Chinese.


Look Sharp, Be Sharp, Go Army!


UEMOA Tournament

The UEMOA Tournament is a football (soccer) tournament held between nations who are a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). The tournament was first played in 2007. It is also called Coupe de l'intégration ouest africaine.
The teams are made up of players in national leagues of the organisation's member countries, in an effort to promote local talents.
Participating Nations.
The participating nations are:
Past winners.
The 2014 edition was cancelled because of an ebola outbreak. The next edition then was only played in 2016.


Index of Georgia (country)-related articles

For articles (arranged alphabetically) related to Georgia, see


My Summer of Love

My Summer of Love is a 2004 British drama film directed by Paweł Pawlikowski and co-written by Pawlikowski and Michael Wynne. Based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Helen Cross, the film explores the lesbian relationship between two young women from different classes and backgrounds. Working class Mona (Natalie Press), whose once-hotheaded brother Phil (Paddy Considine) became a born-again Christian in prison, meets upper middle class Tamsin (Emily Blunt, in her theatrical film debut) who suffers from a lack of love in her family. Filmed in West Yorkshire, the film went on to win a BAFTA.
Plot.
In Yorkshire, Tamsin (Emily Blunt) rides her horse and chances upon Mona (Natalie Press). Tamsin is from an upper-middle-class family and says she has been suspended from boarding school. Mona comes from a family of criminals with only her brother Phil (Paddy Considine) alive. Both of the girls seem to regard their lives as mundane.
Mona finds Phil destroying all the booze in their late mother's former pub. He has undergone a religious transformation in prison, and now plans a Christian rally. Mona meets her lover, Ricky (Dean Andrews), for sex in his car, but he breaks up with her. The next day, the girls begin to bond as they spend the day drinking, smoking and talking about their problems.
The next day, Tamsin takes Mona to the house where Tamsin claims that her father is cheating on her mother. Mona smashes a window of Tamsin's father's car.
Tamsin purchases an engine for Mona's scooter, and they drive to a small river to swim. Under a waterfall, the girls share a kiss. At Tamsin's house Mona tries on her dresses. Tamsin tearfully recounts the death from anorexia of her sister Sadie. In the garden, Tamsin plays the cello while Mona dances. Tamsin kisses Mona passionately. Later they have sex.
Phil invites the girls to his rally. They join the born-again Christians to erect a cross on a hill. Tamsin acts attracted to Phil. Later, Mona and Tamsin find a bag of magic mushrooms in Sadie's room. They eat the mushrooms and go to a dancehall where they disturb the patrons. They return to the river and declare their eternal love to each other, swearing a death oath.
Tamsin pretends to seduce Phil, but he reacts angrily. He locks Mona in her room. Mona fakes suicide and then mocks Phil's religious beliefs. Phil kicks out the born-again Christians, while Mona packs a suitcase and leaves for Tamsin.
Mona discovers that Tamsin is returning to boarding school. Mona also finds out that Tamsin lied about her parents and sister. Dejected, Mona goes to the river.
Tamsin tells Mona she should have known Tamsin was lying. Seemingly forgiving her, Mona slips into the water, enticing Tamsin to join her, and the two girls kiss again. Mona grabs Tamsin by the throat and pushes her under the water, as if to kill her. Instead, Mona releases Tamsin and walks away.
Production.
Casting the two lead actresses for the film proved difficult for Pawlikowski, and the overall casting procedure took about eight months. Pawlikowski searched in schools, universities, theatre groups and public castings. He discovered Natalie Press first, and sought her counterpart by holding workshops together with Press and Considine. During this process, he finally found Emily Blunt, and felt her to be the ideal Tamsin. The chemistry between Press and Blunt was perfect, and they first did a tryout with the "Pavlova-dancing scene", which worked out perfectly. Emily Blunt is a competent cellist, and is listed in the credits as the performer of "The Swan" by Camille Saint-Saëns. Pawlikowski already knew Paddy Considine from their earlier collaboration "Last Resort" and cast him as Phil.
The film was shot during the span of five weeks after intensive location-scouting by Pawlikowski. The script only contained 35 pages and was incomplete. Many scenes were improvised while shooting. The scene in which Mona draws a portrait of Tamsin on the wall of her room was entirely improvised—during Pawlikowski's travelling together with Press, he discovered that she used to do a lot of drawing while she was thinking, so he decided to integrate it into the movie and made a scene out of it. The whole shoot was done on location in Todmorden during the hottest summer Yorkshire had seen in 50 years.
The score of the film was written by Goldfrapp and the movie theme is a variation of the Goldfrapp song "Lovely Head", which was the first song of their 2000 album "Felt Mountain".
The performances of the leading actresses have been acclaimed, with awards from the Evening Standard British Film Awards and the London Critics Circle Film Awards. Additionally, Pawlikowski's unconventional style of directing has been rewarded with a BAFTA for Best British Film and the Michael Powell award for Best British Film at the Edinburgh Film Festival (where the film had its world premiere in 2004), along with many nominations across the British Independent Film Awards and the European Film Awards.
The novel of the same title, "My Summer of Love" by Helen Cross, only served as a blueprint for the film. Whereas the novel pays a lot of attention to the social background of England in the 1980s, Pawlikowski focused on the relationship between the girls. Most of the characters in the novel were left out in the film and the character Phil was invented and added by Pawlikowski, who had previously directed a documentary on born-again Christians in Yorkshire. In many interviews Pawlikowski said that he was not interested in portraying typical teenage life in England, but he wanted to give the movie a certain "timeless feeling".
Release.
"My Summer of Love" was first screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, being released across the UK on 5 November 2004. In the US, the film was initially screened at the Seattle International Film Festival on 20 May 2005, being eventually given a limited released across the US on 17 June 2005.
Box office.
In the US, the film grossed $90,000 on its opening weekend, in 17 theaters; and went on to be released across 63 theaters, grossing a total $1,000,915 in the 8 weeks of its release.
Worldwide, it grossed an additional $1,766,061, for a lifetime gross of $2,766,976.
Critical reception.
The film was met with acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a "Certified Fresh" approval rating of 90% based on reviews from 90 critics, with an average rating of 7.45/10. The website's critical consensus states: ""My Summer of Love" is a moody, bittersweet love story featuring outstanding performances from the leads." On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 based on 31 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times", who gave it 3/4 stars, described it as "a movie that is more about being an age, than coming-of-age", while A.O. Scott of "The New York Times" termed it "a triumph of mood and implication", and James Berardinelli of ReelViews, called it a "gem" lost in the "hype" of Hollywood blockbusters.
Not all criticism was positive. Ty Burr of "The Boston Globe", called it "a conceit on a number of levels", and described it as "confused between an 'artistic' lesbian movie and "Heavenly Creatures"", which he declared to be "superior", while Steve Schneider of "Orlando Weekly" called it "slight and predictable at its core". The unfavorable comparison to "Heavenly Creatures" was echoed by Robin Clifford of Reeling Reviews.
Autostraddle listed the film as #19 in a ranking of the 102 Best Lesbian Movies of All Time.
Awards and nominations.
"My Summer of Love" was nominated for the British Independent Film Award at the 2004 British Independent Film Awards, the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film at the 2005 BAFTAs, the Best New British Feature award at the 2004 Edinburgh Film Festival, the European Film Award at the 2005 European Film Awards, the ALFS award at the 2005 London Critics Circle Film Awards, and the 2005 Directors Guild Of Great Britain Awards. Out of these it won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film at the BAFTAs, the Directors Guild Of Great Britain Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in British Film, the Best New British Feature at the Edinburgh Film Festival, and the ALFS award at the London Critics Circle Film Awards.


Dachser

Dachser Group SE & Co. KG is a German freight company, founded by Thomas Dachser in 1930, with its headquarters in Kempten in the Allgäu region. In January 2005, Thomas Dachser's grandson, Bernhard Simon, took over as Head of the Management Board. DACHSER is involved in the European Logistics, Air & Sea Logistics and Food Logistics business segments. In contract logistics, the group provides transport, warehousing and value-added services.
History of the company.
1930 – 1938: Conventional transport
DACHSER started in 1930 during the Great Depression, transporting Allgäu cheese to the Rhineland region and opened the company's first subsidiary in Memmingen in 1934. This was followed, four years later, by the opening of a branch in Neuss in the Rhineland, at which time DACHSER had become the leading transport company in the Allgäu region.
1939 – 1950: The war and post-war years
In the Second World War, practically the entire vehicle fleet was requisitioned and the drivers enlisted by the state. All of the company's sites were destroyed during the war. Shortly after the end of the war, DACHSER started trading again and, in 1949, “Thomas Dachser Spedition” was added to the commercial registry.
1951 – 1971: Conventional transport company
Growth of the company took off in the 1950s, with a large number of new branches opening in Germany and the addition of international overland, air and sea freight services. DACHSER opened its first air-freight office at Munich Airport in 1951 and, by the end of the decade, employed more than 1,000 people, generating revenue of more than DM 70 million.
In 1969, the company was a founding member of Kombiverkehr KG, the aim of which was to integrate road and rail transport. One of the purposes of the newly established venture was to organize the rail transport of trucks and swap-bodies for their partners. This was one of the reasons behind DACHSER opting to change over its entire fleet to swap-body vehicles by 1971. The outside dimensions chosen for the interchangeable carriers were then taken up by other manufacturers and transport companies and became an industry standard.
1972 – 1989: Logistics as a core function
Following the death of the founder, Thomas Dachser, in 1979, the company was inherited by his daughters, Christa Rohde-Dachser and Annemarie Simon.
In 1982, the company started to offer its customers warehousing and transport of temperature-sensitive food products, which was handled by the newly established Fresh Produce (now Food Logistics) division.
1990 – 1999: Logistics optimizes process chains
In 1994 the company introduced the SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code) for the identification of packages. This barcode became well-established in transport logistics as a unique identification code. DACHSER acquired the French logistics provider, Graveleau, in 1999, enabling the company to expand its network in Europe and North Africa.
2000 – present: Global logistics networks
With the acquisition of the Haugstedt Group in 2005, DACHSER extended its network in northern Europe. Since then, DACHSER has been expanding in Asia, Europe, Central and South America and the United States. Further developments include establishment of the “Logimasters & DACHSER” joint venture in Brazil and strengthening of the Group's presence in the Czech Republic through the acquisition of the logistics provider, E.S.T.. In 2010, DACHSER took over J A LEACH Transport Ltd., based in Rochdale, United Kingdom and in early 2013 acquired the Spanish air and sea freight company, Transunion S. A., driving expansion in Spain, Turkey, Argentina, Peru and Mexico.
With the acquisition of Spanish logistics provider Azkar, with headquarters in Coslada near Madrid, on January 15, 2013, DACHSER's presence in Spain and Portugal grew to 91 facilities, employing 3,000 people. On October 14, 2013, the company acquired a majority of the shares of the Finnish air and sea freight company, Oy Waco Logistics Finland. Based in Vantaa in southern Finland, close to the capital, Helsinki, Oy Waco Logistics Finland operates additional offices in the economic hubs of Lahti, Oulu, Tampere and Vaasa. With a workforce of 54, the company generated EUR 24 million revenue in 2012. It announced a name change to SE & Co. KG, in February 2015, transferring the Road Logistics and Air & Sea Logistics business segments to the wholly owned subsidiary, DACHSER SE.
Network.
DACHSER has 437 locations around the world.
The European network consists of branches interacting on a daily basis through a mix of direct lines, platforms and hubs.
The logistical hubs in Europe – the Eurohubs – are situated in Überherrn, Bratislava and Clermont-Ferrand. Intercontinental connections take place through DACHSER's Air & Sea Logistics global air and sea freight network with 200 locations and local partners.
Software.
DACHSER has developed its own uniform IT to manage its global logistics processes. This is maintained at the company's headquarters in Kempten. DACHSER also uses uniform hardware and software in all its branches. DACHSER's central IT system is ISO 27001 certified.
Responsibility.
DACHSER SE is a 100% family-owned company, still headed by a member of the family, Bernhard Simon, the grandson of founder Thomas Dachser, as CEO. A shareholder agreement signed in 2007, with a supervisory board including a majority of non-family experts, ensures monitoring and transparency in terms of good corporate governance.
For several years, Bernhard Simon has been involved with the children's charity, terre des hommes.
By funding a professorship in Sustainable Logistics & Supply Chain Management at the European Business School DACHSER is investing in sustainability research with a focus on logistics.
Awards.
In 2008, Bernhard Simon was presented with the LEO (Logistics, Excellence, Optimization) Award in the “Entrepreneur of the Year” category by the Deutsche Verkehrszeitung publication. In the same year, the INTES Academy for Family Companies and Impulse magazine designated Bernhard Simon as the “Family Entrepreneur of the Year”.
The “Image ranking transport and logistics services 2014” study, conducted by the Kleffmann market research organization for the Munich-based weekly magazine, Verkehrs Rundschau, ranked DACHSER as the top performer in the “General load and piece-goods transport”, “Food and consumer goods logistics” and “Air freight and international sea container transport” categories.
In 2014, the corporate video: “Cut!”, produced by logistics service provider DACHSER, won the Intermedia-globe Gold Award at the World Media Festival in Hamburg.
In the 2014 Fox Awards, the DACHSER Magazine won the Gold award in the Customer Magazine category.
Statistics.
In 2019, DACHSER employed 30,609 people at 375 locations and generated EUR 5.66 billion revenue. The company handled 83.7 million shipments.
Literature.
Erker, Paul. "Das Logistikunternehmen Dachser: Die treibende Kraft der Familie als Erfolgsfaktor im globalen Wettbewerb". Frankfurt: Campus, 2008.


Shpikov (Hasidic dynasty)

Shpikov is a Hasidic dynasty originating in Shpykiv. The dynasty is derived from the Skver dynasty, which in turn is derived from the Chernobyl dynasty.
The first rebbe of Shpikov was Rabbi Menachem Nochum Twersky of Shpykiv.


Income tax in Australia

Income tax in Australia is imposed by the federal government on the taxable income of individuals and corporations. State governments have not imposed income taxes since World War II. On individuals, income tax is levied at progressive rates, and at one of two rates for corporations. The income of partnerships and trusts is not taxed directly, but is taxed on its distribution to the partners or beneficiaries. Income tax is the most important source of revenue for government within the Australian taxation system. Income tax is collected on behalf of the federal government by the Australian Taxation Office.
The two statutes under which income tax is calculated are the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997; the former is gradually being re-written into the latter. Taxable income is the difference between assessable income and allowable deductions. There are three main types of assessable income for individual taxpayers: "personal earnings" (such as salary and wages), "business income" and "capital gains". Taxable income of individuals is taxed at progressive rates from 0 to 45%, plus a Medicare levy of 2%, while income derived by companies is taxed at either 30% or 27.5% depending on annual turnover, but is subject to dividend imputation. Generally, capital gains are only subject to tax at the time the gain is realised and are reduced by 50% if the capital asset sold was held for more than one year.
In Australia the financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June of the following year.
History.
The first income tax in Australia was imposed in 1884 by South Australia with a general tax on income.
Federal income tax was first introduced in 1915, as a wartime measure to help fund Australia's war effort in the First World War. Between 1915 and 1942, income taxes were levied by both State governments and the federal government. In 1942, to help fund World War II, the federal government took over the raising of all income tax, to the exclusion of the States. The loss of the states' ability to raise revenue by income taxation was offset by federal government grants to the states and, later, the devolution of the power to levy payroll taxes to the states in 1971.
In 1951, the top marginal tax rate for incomes above £10,000 what is equivalent to $425,000 today, was 75 per cent. from 1955 until the mid-1980s the top marginal tax rate was 67 per cent.
Historical personal income tax rates and brackets.
The following historical personal income tax rates and brackets since 1983 are sourced from the ATO. These rates do not include the Medicare levy.
In addition, the Flood Levy, introduced by the Gillard Labor Government as a result of the 2010–11 Queensland floods, applied.
In addition, the Temporary Budget Repair Levy, introduced by the Abbott Liberal Government, was payable at a rate of 2% for taxable incomes over $180,000.
In addition, the Temporary Budget Repair Levy was payable at a rate of 2% for taxable incomes over $180,000.
In addition, the Temporary Budget Repair Levy was payable at a rate of 2% for taxable incomes over $180,000, and expired on 1 July 2017.<br>
In October 2016, the federal government passed a bracket adjustment that raised the third marginal tax rate threshold from $80,000 to $87,000. These changes took effect from 1 July 2016.
The temporary budget repair levy, which was introduced by the Liberal–National coalition Government under Prime Minister Abbott in financial year 2014/15 and payable at a rate of 2% for incomes over $180,000, ceased to apply on 1 July 2017.
Personal income tax.
Income tax on personal income is a progressive tax. The rates for resident individual taxpayers is different to non-resident taxpayers (see below). The current tax-free threshold for resident people is $18,200, and the highest marginal rate for individuals is 45%. In addition, most Australians are liable to pay the Medicare levy, of which the standard is 2% of taxable income.
As with many other countries, income tax is withheld from wages and salaries in Australia, often resulting in refunds payable to taxpayers. An employee must quote to employers their Tax File Number (TFN) so the employer can withhold tax from their pay. While it is not an offence to fail to provide an employer, a bank or financial institution with a TFN, in the absence of this number, payers are required to withhold tax at the rate of 47% (the highest marginal rate plus Medicare levy) from the first dollar. Likewise, banks must also withhold the highest marginal rate of income tax on interest earned on bank accounts if the individual does not provide them with a TFN. In the same way, corporate and business taxpayers are required to provide their TFN or Australian Business Number (ABN) to the bank, otherwise the bank is required to withhold income tax at the highest rate of tax.
Individual income tax rates (residents).
Financial year 2020/21
The rates for residents are:
The above rates do not include:
Medicare levy.
When Medicare was introduced by the Hawke Labor Government in February 1984, it was accompanied by a Medicare levy to help fund it. The levy was set at 1% of personal taxable income and applied to all but the lowest income-earning tax-payers. The levy was later increased to 1.25% in December 1986 to further cover rising medical costs. Low income earner threshold exemptions were also increased.
The Medicare levy was raised again by the Keating Labor Government in July 1993, up to 1.4% of income, again to fund additional healthcare spending outlays. The low income earner exemption thresholds were also raised. In July 1995, two years later the Keating Labor Government raised the levy to 1.5%, to offset a decline in Medicare levy receipts. The low income exemption thresholds were increased, again.
The standard Medicare levy was left at 1.5% in the following years since July 1993 until the Gillard Labor Government announced in May 2013 that it would be increased to 2% on 1 July 2014 to fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The Labor Government was not re-elected in September 2013, but the Medicare levy increase went ahead as scheduled in July 2014. In May 2017, Turnbull's Liberal–National coalition Government announced that from 1 July 2019, the Medicare levy will increase from 2% to 2.5% to fully fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme. This increase was abandoned in April 2018.
Low income tax offset.
The low income tax offset (LITO) is a tax rebate for Australian-resident individuals on lower incomes. Since 2012–13, the maximum amount of LITO is $445, and the offset cuts out when taxable income reaches $66,667. The LITO reduces an individual's tax liability but is not refundable when the liability reaches zero, and does not reduce the Medicare levy. The LITO is not used in calculating PAYG rates, but is calculated automatically by the ATO when a tax return is lodged.
The maximum LITO will be increased to $700 for the 2022–23 income year and onwards. The new LITO will also replace the temporary Low and Middle Income Tax Offset (LMITO) which is available only until the 2021–22 income year.
Low and middle income tax offset.
The low and middle income tax offset (LMITO) is a separate and temporary tax rebate introduced by the Morrison Government in July 2019 and is available for the 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21 and 2021–22 income years. The maximum amount of LMITO is $1,080, and the offset cuts out when taxable income reaches $126,000. Like the LITO, the offset is not refundable when the liability reaches zero, and does not reduce the Medicare levy. It is also not used in calculating PAYG rates, but is calculated automatically by the ATO when a tax return is lodged.
Income tax for minors.
Individuals under 18 years of age are taxed differently from adults. This rate does not apply to "excepted" income, which includes employment income and inheritances.
Individual income tax rates (non-residents).
Financial year 2018–19
The Medicare levy does not apply to non-residents, and a non-resident is not entitled to the low income tax offset.
For prior tax years, see .
Collection.
Income tax on wages is collected by means of a withholding tax system known as Pay-as-you-go (PAYG). For employees with only a single job, the level of taxation at the end of the year is close to the amount due, before deductions are applied. Discrepancies and deduction amounts are declared in the annual income tax return and will be part of the refund which follows after annual assessment, or alternatively reduce the taxation debt that may be payable after assessment.
Company tax.
The profit of Australian companies have since 2001 been taxed at a flat company tax rate of 30%.
Since 1987, dividends paid by Australian companies are subject to the Australian dividend imputation system, under which Australian-resident shareholders who receive a dividend from an Australian company that has paid Australian company tax is entitled to claim a tax credit (called a franking credit) on the company tax imputed or associated with the dividend, as declared by the company. The franking credits associated with such dividends is a tax credit against the shareholder's tax liability. Such dividends are called "franked dividends", and "unfranked dividends" are dividends which do not have any associated "imputation credits". Initially, in 1987, excess franking credits over the tax liability were lost, but since 2000, such excess credits have been refundable.
Non-resident shareholders are not entitled to claim a tax credit or refund of imputation credits. Unfranked dividends received by non-residents are subject to a withholding tax, which does not apply to franked dividends.
From 2015–2016, designated "small business entities" with an aggregated annual turnover threshold of less than $2 million were eligible for a lower tax rate of 28.5%. Since 1 July 2016, small business entities with aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million have had a reduced company tax rate of 27.5%. Additionally, the Australian Government announced that from 2017–18, corporate entities eligible for the lower tax rate will be known as "base rate entities". The small business definition will remain at $10 million from 2017–18 onwards, however the base rate entity threshold (the aggregated annual turnover threshold under which entities will be eligible to pay a lower tax rate) will continue to rise.
Capital gains tax.
Capital gains tax (CGT) in Australia is part of the income tax system rather than a separate tax. Capital gains tax was introduced by the Hawke Labor Government in September 1985 and allowed for indexation of the cost base of the capital asset to the Consumer Price Index, to account for annual price inflation.
Net capital gains (after concessions are applied) are included in a taxpayer's taxable income and are taxed at marginal rates. Capital gains applies to individuals, companies and any other entity which can legally own an asset. Trusts usually pass on their CGT liability to their beneficiaries. Partners are taxed separately on the CGT made by partnerships.
In 1999, Howard's Liberal–National coalition Government legislated to end the practice of cost base indexation (using the Consumer Price Index) on capital gains as a result of purchases made after 11.45am (by legal time in the ACT) on 21 September 1999. This simplified calculation of capital gains and losses.
The Government under Prime Minister Howard replaced cost base indexation with the allowance for a simple discount to apply to gains on capital assets held for more than twelve months (one year). The discount is 50% for individuals, and 33 ⅓% for complying superannuation funds.
Due to this change in calculation of capital gains, capital gains tax can now be owed because of inflation, even when no gain in purchasing power was achieved. However, in some cases where an indexed cost base applies (where an asset was acquired before 11.45am (by legal time in the ACT) on 21 September 1999) applying the old indexation rules gives a better tax result.
Capital gains realised by companies are not discounted. Capital gains made by trust structures are usually taxed as if they were made in the hands of the ultimate beneficiary, though there are exceptions.
The disposal of assets which have been held since before 20 September 1985 (when capital gains tax went into effect), are exempt from CGT.
Legal framework.
Income tax is payable on assessable income, which falls under two broad categories: ordinary income (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) s 6-5)(ITAA97) and statutory income. (cite references)
Ordinary income.
Ordinary income requires a benefit in money or money's worth. This can include for example the reduction in an existing liability. There must be a nexus with an income earning activity, such as income from personal exertion, from a profit making activity or from investment or property. In addition receipts that are of a capital nature, voluntary income and gifts are not classified as ordinary income.
Normal or ordinary proceeds from a business activity are classified as ordinary income. A business includes any profession, trade, employment, vocation or calling, but does not include occupation as an employee. Activities of a commercial nature that are carried on regularly and in an organised, systematic way, on a large scale or with view to profit will generally be considered to be a business activity. An activity which is not a business activity is more likely to be a hobby and income is not taxable. Other examples of business activities include illegal activities such as burglary, smuggling and illegal drug dealing and income from these activities is taxable.
Other forms of ordinary income include 'adventure or concern in the nature of trade', which is a single activity that is not part of a taxpayer's normal income earning activities however may be considered a business in itself. These can include generating a profit from a profit making scheme, and profit earned from activities that go beyond the mere realisation of an asset in an enterprising manner. Income from investment or property is also classified as ordinary income and can include: rent from a lease, interest on a loan, dividends and royalties.
When assessing the amount of ordinary income, only the profits are counted based on a notional basis.
Residency for tax purposes.
A resident for tax purposes is subject to income tax on income from all sources, whereas non-residents for tax purposes are only subject to income tax in Australia on their income from Australian sources.
There are four tests to determine whether an individual is a resident for income tax purposes:
A company will be considered an Australian resident for taxation purposes if it falls under any of the following three criteria:
There are other issues when considering residence in relation to the source of income. Personal exertion income is derived where the services are performed and for a profit making activity income is where the contract is performed. Property income is derived where the property is located, interest income where the money is lent and dividend income where the paying company is located.
If a taxpayer ceases to be an Australian resident for tax purposes, this triggers Capital Gains Tax event I1. This means that the taxpayer must choose whether to immediately pay Capital Gains Tax on all their holdings (other than those related to Australian real estate) or pay Capital Gains Tax on these holdings when they are disposed of, even if the taxpayer is no longer a resident of Australia at that time.


Julio Velarde

Julio Emilio Velarde Flores (born 1 July 1952) is a Peruvian banker who has been Chairman of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru since 7 September 2006.
Biography.
Velarde attended Universidad del Pacífico, where he gained a B.A. in economics graduating first of his class in 1974. He obtained an M.A. from Brown University in 1977 and is a Ph.D. candidate from the same university. Later, he made advanced studies of economics at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in 1990.
Between 1978 and 1983 Velarde worked as researcher and associate professor of economics at Universidad del Pacífico. In the 1980s he served successively as Manager of the Bank of Industry, Economic Advisor to the Minister of Industry and Financial Manager of the Central Mortgage Bank of Peru. In 1990 he was appointed member of the Board of Governors of the Central Reserve Bank and Advisor to the Minister of Finance and from 1993 to 1999 he held senior positions at the National Institute for the Defense of Free Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property, Financing Bank and Bank of Commerce.
Since 1986 he was a senior researcher and professor at Universidad del Pacífico. Head of the Department of Economics from 1994 to 1997, he was briefly Dean of the Faculty of Economics in 2003. Velarde was again member of the Board of Governors of the Central Reserve Bank between 2001 and 2003. This year he was named Executive President of the Latin American Reserve Fund, a post he held until 2006.
Associated with the Christian Popular Party (PPC), he was head of the government planning committee for the Lourdes Flores presidential campaign in the 2006 general election. Although his party lost the election, Velarde was nominated by the government to replace Óscar Dancourt as Governor of the Central Reserve Bank and elected by Congress on 7 September 2006. He has been ratified in office to exercise new terms after the elections of 2011 and 2016.
He has been named Central Banker of the Year 2015 by "The Banker", Central Bank Governor of the Year 2016 by "LatinFinance", Best Central Banker of 2015 and 2016 by Global Finance and Central Banker of the Year 2020 for the Americas by "The Banker". He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru on 26 July 2011.


Anthony Hammond

Anthony Hammond (1668–1738), of Somersham Place, Huntingdonshire and Lidlington, Bedfordshire, was an English official and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1708. He was also known as a poet and pamphleteer.
Early life.
Hammond was born on 1 September 1668, the eldest son of Anthony Hammond of Somersham Place, Huntingdonshire, who was the third son of Anthony Hammond (1608–1661) of St Alban's Court, Kent. His mother was Amy Browne (died 1693) daughter of Henry Browne of Hasfield House, Gloucestershire. He was educated at home under Mr Kay from 1675 to 1676, at Willingham, Cambridgeshire under Samuel Saywell from 1676 to 1683 and at St Paul's School from 1684 to 1685. He succeeded his father who died in 1680. He was admitted at Gray's Inn in 1684 and at St John's College, Cambridge in 1685. It was said that he smuggled the actress and playwright Susanna Centlivre into his college, where she was disguised as a male cousin, Jack. There she remained hidden for some months studying grammar. He made many and varied friendships with political and literary figures. He entered the company of radical Whig theorists, including Walter Moyle. Through Moyle he probably came into the circle of Tory and Whig ideologues and virtuosi who gathered at the Grecian tavern in the Strand.
When he came of age in 1689, Hammond was appointed to the Huntingdonshire lieutenancy and made a colonel in the county militia. He was probably included on the commission of the peace, and took office in the corporation of the Bedford level. In 1690, he travelled abroad in the Low Countries. From February to September 1694, he was captain of foot in Thomas Farrington's regiment. He married, Jane Clarges, daughter of Sir Walter Clarges, 1st Baronet at Tunbridge Wells, Kent, on 14 August 1694. This was a highly political family, who were leading members of the Tory party,
Parliamentary career.
At the 1695 English general election, Hammond was returned as Tory Member of Parliament for Huntingdonshire in a hard-fought contest. He voted in March 1696 against fixing the price of guineas at 22 shillings, and refused to subscribe the Association which lost him his position on the commission of peace. He was active in opposing the attainder of Sir John Fenwick. After a quarrel that arose during a debate in the committee of privileges over the Cambridgeshire election, he fought a duel with Lord William Pawlet on 27 January 1698, and was wounded in the thigh. In parliament he spoke principally on financial questions.
At the 1698 English general election, Hammond was returned as MP for the University of Cambridge, and was made M.A. as a member of St John's College. Shortly afterwards he published anonymously "Considerations upon the choice of a Speaker of the House of Commons in the approaching Session", in which he tacitly recommended Robert Harley for the office of Speaker against Sir Edward Seymour and Sir Thomas Littleton. Littleton was elected Speaker on 6 December 1698. This tract has been often reprinted. Hammond was returned again as MP for Cambridge University at the first general election of 1701, but at the second general election of 1701, he was defeated by Isaac Newton, although Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey, Lord Chamberlain, wrote to the university in his favour. He found consolation in penning some "Considerations upon Corrupt Elections of Members to serve in Parliament" in 1701. On 17 June of this year he had been appointed a commissioner for stating the public accounts. Under Godolphin's administration he was made a commissioner of the Navy in May 1702, and again entered parliament as member for Huntingdon at the
1702 English general election. At the 1708 British general election, he was returned for New Shoreham, Sussex, but on the ensuing 7 December the house decided by a majority of eighteen that as commissioner of the navy and employed in the out ports he was incapable of being elected or voting as a member of the house, and a new writ was ordered the next day.
Civil servant.
In 1711 Hammond left England to take up his appointment as deputy-paymaster or treasurer of the British forces in Spain. The Duke of Argyll, commander-in-chief, complained of him for irregularity. Paymaster Hon. James Brydges, however, upheld Hammond in a report to Lord-treasurer Dartmouth, dated 11 November 1712, justifying the payments made by him to Portuguese troops.
His affairs became hopelessly involved, and he judged it best to retire to the Fleet Prison, and saved the remains of his estate for his eldest son. He occupied himself with literary pursuits.
Death, issue and character.
Hammond died in the Fleet in 1738, but his estate was not administered until 8 April 1749. His wife died in 1749. They had two surviving sons: Thomas, who died childless about 1758; James Hammond (1710–1742), and three surviving daughters including Amy, who married first, in 1719, William Dowdeswell of Pull Court, Worcestershire; and secondly, on 7 May 1730, Noel Broxholme, M.D.
Thomas Hammond sold Somersham Place to the Duke of Manchester. Thomas Cooke, who formed Hammond's acquaintanceship in 1722, called him a flatterer of literary men. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society 30 November 1698 but had withdrawn by 1718. According to Thomas Hearne, Hammond attempted to assassinate the Old Pretender in 1715.
Works.
In 1720, Hammond edited "A New Miscellany of Original Poems, Translations, and Imitations, by the Most Eminent Hands, viz. Mr. Prior, Mr. Pope, Mr. Hughes, Mr. Harcourt, Lady M[ary] W[ortley] M[ontagu], Mrs. Manley, &c., now first published from their respective manuscripts. With some Familiar Letters, by the late Earl of Rochester, never before printed" (preface signed ‘A. H.’), London, 1720. He claimed some pieces of his own which had been ascribed to others, as the "Ode on Solitude" to Roscommon. In 1721 he permitted the publication of his "Solitudinis Munus: or, Hints for Thinking" (anon.), London, 1721. He also wrote a reasoned retrospect of the South Sea Bubble year, entitled "A Modest Apology, occasion'd by the late unhappy turn of affairs with relation to Publick Credit. By a Gentleman" 8vo, London, 1721. He says that he had made a list of 107 bubbles with a nominal stock of £93,600,000, involving a loss of £14,040,000.
Hammond prefixed to Walter Moyle's "Works" a memoir (signed ‘A. H.’). They had been intimate friends from 1690. Hammond contributed a ‘character’ of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford to "The Present State of the Republick of Letters" for October 1730, from which Robert Samber drew his information for a verse eulogy on Orford in 1731, and wrote also another financial pamphlet entitled "The National Debt as it stood at Michaelmas 1730, stated and explained" (anon.), London, 1731.
His "Collections and Extracts relating to the Affairs of the Nation, with an Autobiographical Diary", extending from 1660 to 1730, is preserved in the Bodleian Library.


International Leaders Programme

The International Leaders Programme (ILP) is an international leadership development and networking programme. The programme is organised and delivered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the Government of the United Kingdom. The ILP is not to be confused by programmes of a similar name provided by other organisations.
Background.
The ILP was established in March 2013 by former Foreign Secretary William Hague. It identifies potential global leaders of the future and brings them to the United Kingdom for high-level meetings, briefings, and diplomatic visits. The goal of the programme is to promote lasting global partnerships with emerging leaders and future decision-makers.
ILP participants have represented 100 countries, and the alumni has over 350 members to date.
Notable participants.
Participants in the programme have included:


Superior Honor Award

The Superior Honor Award is an award of the United States Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and USAID. It is presented to groups or individuals in recognition of a special act or service or sustained extraordinary performance covering a period of one year or longer.
The award consists of a certificate signed by an assistant secretary, an official of equivalent rank or the Chief of Mission. While the Foreign Affairs Manual still stipulates award of a medal set, per a 2007 ALDAC (a cable intended for distribution to all diplomatic and consular posts), medals are no longer issued.
Criteria.
The following criteria are applicable to granting a Superior Honor Award:
Nominating and Approval Procedures.
Nominations for State and USAID employees are submitted on Form JF-66, Nomination for Award, through supervisory channels to the Joint Country Awards Committee for review and recommendation to the Chief of Mission for final action.
Nominations initiated in Washington are submitted to the appropriate area awards committee for final action. For USAID, nominations initiated in Washington are reviewed by the USAID bureau/office with final approval by the appropriate assistant administrator or office head.
Military Use.
Upon authorization, members of the U.S. military may wear the medal and ribbon in the appropriate order of precedence as a U.S. non-military personal decoration.


Bancpost

Bancpost was a Romanian bank based in Bucharest and a former member of Eurobank Ergasias Group. It official merged with Banca Transilvania on January 3, 2019.


Jedlicze

Jedlicze is a town in Krosno County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 5,645 It is home to a petroleum refinery.
The settlement of Jedlicze was founded in the late 14th century, and was first mentioned in 1409. Its name comes from a Slavic word jedla, which means fir tree. In 1410, local soltys, Piotr of Jedlicze, fought in the Battle of Grunwald. Until the mid-16th century, Jedlicze belonged to the noble families of Mleczko and Baczalski. In 1657, the village was ransacked by Transilvanian soldiers (see Swedish invasion of Poland)
In the late 17th century, Jedlicze belonged to the Wielowiejski family, which unsuccessfully tried to grant town charter to the village. Finally, Jedlicze became a town in 1768, during the reign of King Stanisław August Poniatowski. On April 5, 1770, a Polish–Russian battle took place near Jedlicze, during the Bar Confederation.
Following the first partition of Poland (1772), Jedlicze was annexed by the Habsburg Empire, and remained in Austrian Galicia until 1918. In 1884, the village, as Austrian authorities stripped it of the town charter, received rail connection with Stróże and Zagórz, and in 1899–1902, a large oil refinery was built here. The village remained in private hands until the 1920s, its last owner was Walerian Stawiarski.
During World War II, local Jewish population was decimated in The Holocaust. On February 25, 1942, the Gestapo arrested a number of Polish underground movement activists, who gathered at the Stawiarski Palace. In 1944, 22 men were shot as a reprisal for killing a police officer. Jedlicze had a Home Army post; its local unit in April 1943 attacked a Ukrainian pro-Nazi training school.
Jedlicze regained its town charter in 1967. Among interesting places, it has a neo-Gothic church (1925), the Stawiarski Palace with a park, neo-Gothic cemetery chapel (1864). Two daughters of Maria Konopnicka are buried here – Laura Pytlinska (died 1935) and Zofia Mickiewiczowa (died 1956). In nearby village of Zarnowiec there is an 18th-century manor house, which belonged to Maria Konopnicka. Currently, it houses the Biographical Museum of Maria Konopnicka.


Daman Singh

Daman Singh is an Indian writer and daughter of Former Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh.
Personal life.
She is married to Ashok Patnaik (IPS Officer of 1983 batch) who was the CEO of the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) of India.


United Nations Security Council Resolution 344

United Nations Security Council Resolution 344, adopted on December 15, 1973, on the eve of the peace conference arranged for in resolution 338, the Council expressed the hope that speedy progress would be made toward the establishment of the just and durable peace in the Middle East. The Council also expressed its confidence that the Secretary-General would play a full and effective role at the conference and requested that he keep the Council informed on the developments in negotiations.
The resolution was adopted with 10 votes to none; with 4 abstentions from France, the Soviet Union, United Kingdom and United States.


Eastern Shore Railroad

The Eastern Shore Railroad, Inc. was a Class III short-line railroad that began operations in October 1981 on the former Virginia and Maryland Railroad line on the Delmarva Peninsula. The line ran between Pocomoke City, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia, interchanging with the Norfolk Southern Railway at both ends.
Delmarva had been previously served by the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Company (NYP&N) led by William Lawrence Scott which ran south down the peninsula to a freight depot, terminal and harbor at the headland point at Cape Charles, Virginia, a town which it founded and laid out in 1883–84. A ferry barge system then operated crossing the lower Chesapeake Bay to the Norfolk piers. The NYP&N was later absorbed by the Pennsylvania Railroad, which dominated the eastern U.S. along with the New York Central Railroad and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the first half of the 20th century.
A rail ferry service was used to span the water route across the Chesapeake Bay between Cape Charles and Norfolk. The ferry service used two barges (car floats) of 25 and 15 car capacity, moved by contracted tug boats. This car float operation has been in continuous service since April 1885, and is one of only two remaining in the United States (the other being New York New Jersey Rail, LLC).
The Eastern Shore Railroad was taken over in February 2006 by Cassatt Management, LLC., and was operated and renamed as the Bay Coast Railroad. The Bay Coast Railroad operated the line until May 18, 2018. In June 2018, the Delmarva Central Railroad took over the portion between Pocomoke City and Hallwood, Virginia where the remaining customers were located. Service on the Norfolk side was taken over by the Buckingham Branch Railroad.


Iran Insurance Company

Iran Insurance Joint-stock Company (; "Shirkat-e Sihami-ye Bimih Iran") is an Iranian government-owned corporation providing a wide range of insurances. Established in 1935, the company is regarded as "Iran's largest insurance corporation" and holds over 50% of the national market share. All of insurance services will offer in individual and legal agencies such as Etemad Gostar Hakim agency company or in legal intermediaries


Indonesian nationality law

Indonesian nationality law is regulated by the 1945 Constitution, as amended; various statutes on nationality, as revised over time; as well as international agreements to which Indonesia has been a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Indonesia. The legal means to acquire nationality and formal membership in a nation differ from the relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Indonesian nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Indonesia; or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to at least one parent with Indonesian nationality. It can also be granted to a permanent resident who has lived in Indonesia for a given period of time through naturalization.
Acquiring Indonesian nationality.
Nationality can be acquired in Indonesia through adoption, birth, marriage, or naturalization.
By adoption.
Children under five years old who have been adopted by at least one parent who is an Indonesian national are eligible for Indonesian nationality. Indonesian children adopted by foreign parents are also considered to be Indonesian until they reach legal majority and choose a nationality.
By birth.
Individuals who are eligible to be considered Indonesian by birth include:
By marriage.
Foreign spouses of Indonesian nationals are eligible to choose Indonesian nationality by declaration before the authorities. Five continuous, or ten cumulative years residence in the country is required and the spouse must renounce their nationality of origin or obtain a permit to stay in Indonesia with dual nationality.
By naturalization.
There are two types of naturalization in Indonesia. Ordinary naturalization requires that an applicant be of legal majority and full capacity. Application fees and documentation are submitted to the Minister of Law and Human Rights. Establishment of a five-year residency, or ten years of intermittent cumulative residence, prior to application is required. Applicants must be in good physical and mental health; be financially self-sufficient; and prove that they have no criminal record which resulted in a jail sentence of one or more years. They must also confirm that they can speak the Indonesian language and provide proof of a basic knowledge of Indonesian civics. Applications are approved at the discretion of the President of Indonesia and if approved, require the applicant to renounce other nationality.
The other type of naturalization is for exceptional merit, including contributions to culture, the environment, humanity, science, sport, or technology, which have enhanced the nation. Public or private organizations can propose a candidate to the Minister of Law and Human Rights for their extraordinary contributions. Parliament must consider the application and final approval rests with the President of Indonesia.
Loss of Indonesian nationality.
Indonesians may voluntarily renounce their nationality if they have reached legal majority, have full capacity and will not be rendered stateless by such renunciation. Those who have lost their nationality may generally reaquire it through Ministerial approval or applying for naturalization. Persons may be denaturalized for:
Dual nationality.
Dual nationality is not typically allowed in Indonesia. However, after lobbying from women's rights groups, in 2006, the nationality law was revised to allow children to retain dual nationality until they reach legal majority of eighteen. By that age those who have not chosen their nationality are required to obtain an affidavit for a Limited Indonesian Dual Nationality Passport () to retain dual status. After reaching the age of twenty-one, they must choose a single nationality.
History.
The written history of Indonesia encompasses 800 years, spanning some 400 now autonomous regions and including in the boundaries of the archipelagic country around 18,000 islands. For centuries before European colonization, the various islands were linked either by trade or familial ties and at various times shared rulers.
Early monarchies and sultanates (400–1511).
From the 2nd and 3rd centuries of the Common Era, Indian cultural practices slowly expanded into Southeast Asia. Art, governance structures, and religion were absorbed and modified by the early inhabitants of the islands, Austronesian peoples, who lived in scattered tribal settlements, which were united by kinship ties. Physical isolation and limited communications created difficulties in maintaining centralized authority over vast distances, thus typically governance existed in a system of limited kingship with autonomous regional leaders to direct affairs in their territories. In exchange for their allegiance, local populations received protection, prestige, and a share of wealth from their leaders. As states emerged, from the 6th to 9th centuries, their rulers followed imported religions like Hinduism and Buddhism. Though they did not follow India's caste system, the early kingdoms used the terminology of Indian courts to delineate the power divisions within their territory. These kingdoms were founded on trade relationships and some established tributary relationships with China to facilitate both commerce and protection ties. Trade routes between China and the Middle East were maintained primarily by use of the sea routes through the waters of the archipelago and Arabic envoys stationed with the Chinese court acted as emissaries to the kingdoms in the archipelago. By the 11th century Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms began to decline and slowly be replaced by rulers from the growing Islamic movement from the 12th century. Between the 13th and 16th centuries, Islamic sultanates had spread from northern Sumatra to the eastern part of the archipelago.
Portuguese period (1511–1605).
Portuguese merchants, eager to sever the monopoly Muslim merchants and their Venetian commerce-brokers held over the spice trade, were encouraged by Prince Henry the Navigator to use naval war to gain control of the archipelago. Afonso de Albuquerque sailed to India in 1503 and conquered Goa in 1510, establishing a trading base for the Portuguese. From Goa, Albuquerque sailed to Malacca with over a dozen ships and conquered the sultans there in 1511. Immediately, Francisco Serrão launched an exploration from Malacca to find the spice islands to the east, but was shipwrecked in 1512. The survivors made their way to Ambon Island and endeared themselves to the local ruler by attacking a rival. Hearing of the incident, the sultans of the neighboring islands, Tĕrnate and Tidore, sought to build alliances with the Portuguese. With the Portuguese came Christian missionaries, notably Francis Xavier, one of the founders of the Jesuit Order, who introduced and spread Christianity to the archipelago.
In 1521, the () of 1446 were replaced by the (). Under the ordinances, courts were granted the ability to interpret common law, statues, and custom creating opinion for newly arisen situations. In areas of the kingdom without established High Courts, common law and local custom prevailed. Nationals were those born in the territory and leaving the territory without permission of the sovereign was grounds for denaturalization.
In 1603, the () established that Portuguese nationals were children born on the Iberian Peninsula or adjacent islands, Brazil, or to an official in service to the crown in the Portuguese possessions of Africa or Asia, whose father was a native of Portugal, or whose mother was a native of Portugal and was married to a foreigner who had established domicile in Portugal for a minimum of ten years. Those who were not in service to the crown in the colonies (except Brazil) were not considered to be Portuguese.
The Portuguese period on the archipelago fundamentally changed the Asian trading system. The Portuguese dismantled the system of policing the Straits of Malacca to protect commercial vessels and dispersed the trade centers to various ports. The period was characterized by conflict between various sultans and the Portuguese. Islanders quickly mastered navigational and military technology the Portuguese had brought, and the Portuguese were never able to successfully dominate trade. Dutch merchants had acted as middlemen in selling Portuguese spices to Europe, but during the Dutch Revolt (1566–1648) against Spain, their access to spices was curtailed by the Iberian Union of Spain and Portugal. Recognizing the weak position of the Portuguese in the archipelago, Cornelis de Houtman led an expedition in 1595 to Java. Though he lost most of his ships, the profit gained from the spices gathered during the trip spurred other Dutch voyages. In 1598, the Dutch parliament proposed a merger of Dutch trading agents and in 1602, the Dutch East India Company was formed. In 1600 the Dutch won a naval battle at Ambon and joined the Muslim Hituese in an alliance against Portugal. The Portuguese regrouped but in a second battle in 1605, surrendered to the alliance.
Dutch period (1605–1949).
From 1610 to 1619 the Dutch East India Company centered on Ambon. In 1619, Jan Pieterszoon Coen became the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies and embarked on a plan to establish Dutch power through force and gain the spice monopoly in the region. He attacked Banten troops, capturing Batavia moved the headquarters there. Outside of the base in Java, the Dutch established outposts throughout the islands, but their impact was minimal until the latter half of the 18th century. Because the Dutch colonies were founded as commercial enterprises, nationality did not play a large role in the governance. Roman-Dutch law served as the legal code of the colony, and there was no national civil law defining the rights and obligations of inhabitants. In 1809, King Louis Napoleon ordered that the Netherlands adopt a modification of the Civil Code of France, which was replaced two years later with the French Code. Attempts to draft a new code, after the Netherlands regained independence in 1813, were unsuccessful until 1838. The Civil Code of 1838 provided that persons born in the Netherlands or its colonies were Dutch nationals. Under the variations of the civil code, married women were legally incapacitated, dependent upon their husbands, and automatically derived the nationality of their husbands.
The Nationality Act of 1850 made distinctions between who were entitled to rights, differentiating between those born in the Netherlands or descended of Dutch citizens, who had political rights, and those who were native inhabitants in Dutch colonies, who were excluded from rights. A revised Nationality Act in 1892 changed acquisition of nationality from place of birth to descent from a Dutch father and became effective in 1893, stripping the majority of the inhabitants of the archipelago of any nationality. Foreigners who had lived in the Netherlands or one of the colonies for five years were able to naturalize after reaching legal adulthood and renouncing their prior nationality. Naturalization of a male automatically changed the nationality of his wife and minor children. Changes were made in 1910 to the nationality scheme which rendered individuals living in the archipelago as "Dutch subject, non-Dutch citizens", a status that would remain until Indonesia gained independence in 1949.
In 1925, the Constitution of the Dutch East Indies () solidified the racial segregation of the population by granting the European, Arab, and Asian population higher socio-political status than native inhabitants of the peninsula, despite the fact that around 97% of the population were indigenous. The Chinese Nationality Act of 1929 created a never-resolved issue between Dutch and Chinese authorities, as Chinese policy was to record every person of Chinese descent, regardless of their place of birth, as a Chinese national. Under the Dutch legal system, Europeans were granted rights and family law matters were controlled by customary or religious law. In 1945, Indonesia declared independence and drafted a constitution which provided in Chapter X Article 27, "without any exception, all citizens shall have equal position in Law and Government". Custom dictated that women and children were subordinated to men and in general women's roles in ethnic groups, families, and religious communities were deemed more important than becoming part of the polity. In 1946, Law No. 3, the first Indonesian nationality law was promulgated. It based nationality upon birth in the territory and required that a married woman have the same nationality as her husband. Wives were prohibited from individually obtaining nationality and derivative nationality for children was through their paternal relationship. Ordinary naturalization of foreigners required persons of legal majority to speak the Indonesian language and to have lived in the territory for a minimum of five years. The Netherlands did not recognize Indonesian independence until 1949.
Post-independence (1949–present).
On 27 December 1949, a conference was held in The Hague to draft an agreement under which the Dutch officially recognized Indonesian sovereignty. Under the terms of the Charter Approving the Distribution of Citizens (), Dutch nationals were granted a two-year window to choose between retaining their status as Dutch or becoming Indonesian nationals if they had lived in the country for six months. Those who were classified as "Dutch subjects, non-Dutch citizens" automatically became nationals of Indonesia and lost their Dutch nationality. Chinese people living in Indonesia were also given the option of becoming Indonesian nationals, though only 60% of them chose to be Indonesian. The Constitution of 1950, which changed the government from a federation to a unitary state, called for the propagation of a new nationality law, maintaining the provisions of the Charter until the law was drafted. In 1953, drafting began and that same year negotiations were opened with China to resolve the matter of dual nationality. The Sino-Indonesian Dual Nationality Treaty was signed in 1955, providing a two-year period in which dual nationals of China and Indonesia were to choose a single nationality and renounce their other status. The two-year period applied from 1960 to those who had already reached legal majority, or to those who were minors upon reaching majority. Failure to make a declaration resulted in the automatic acquisition of the nationality of the father.
Law No. 62 of 1958 changed the nationality scheme from birth in the territory to a system based on descent, but had exceptions for foundlings and stateless children to be recognized as Indonesian through birth in the territory. Because Law No. 62 did not recognize dual nationality, women who were married to foreigners continued to derive nationality from their husbands; however, children of divorceés or those born illegitimately could renounce any existing nationality and apply to the Minister of Justice for derivative nationality through their mothers. In 1967, the People's Republic of China and Indonesia severed diplomatic relations ending the Dual Nationality Treaty's terms in 1969. From the 1965 attempted coup d'etat and development of the New Order in Indonesia, discriminatory policies against ethnic Chinese escalated. In 1974, women's groups pressured the government to revise the marriage laws. Under the terms of Marriage Law No. 1, the colonial system which had four different schemes — European Civil Code, Ordinance for Christian Indonesians, Islamic law, and the Regulation for Mixed Marriages — was replaced by a single code. Under the statute, previous laws concerning marriage were voided and replaced by explicit provisions that marriage did not effect nationality, that parties to a marriage were equal, and that each partner had legal capacity. The 1945 Constitution was not amended under President Suharto, but when he stepped down from office in 1998, amendments were adopted in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002. Most of the changes dealt with limitations and decentralization of authority.
Women's groups, including the Alliansi Pelangi Antar Bangsa (Rainbow Alliance Between Nations, APAB), Jaringan Kerja Prolegnas Pro Perempuan (Network for Pro-Women National Legislation Programme, JKP3), and Keluarga Perkawinan Campuran Melati (Jasmine Flower Community of Mixed Marriages, KPC Melati) began pushing from the return of democracy for legal changes on the nationality of women. Many of the activists were in trans-national marriages and were effected by the laws which in cases of divorce granted custody of the children to the father or did not allow mothers married to foreigners to pass their nationality on to their children. In 2006, these groups were successful in amending the Nationality Law No. 12 to allow children to derive nationality from their mothers and if their parents have different nationality, to hold dual nationality until they reach the age of eighteen at which time they must choose a single nationality. The modification also allowed an Indonesian woman the right to sponsor her foreign spouse for naturalization.


Jordan Institute of Diplomacy

The Jordan Institute of Diplomacy (JID) was established in 1994 in response to the need for upgrading diplomatic performance to cope with new developments in diplomacy and in means of communication and data transmission. The JID aims to serve society and develop human resources through training and research in the areas of diplomacy, strategy, and International studies, and to highlight the role of Arab Islamic civilization in developing international relations


Benno Ndulu

Benno Ndulu (23 January 1950 – 22 February 2021) was the governor of the Bank of Tanzania, the country's central bank, from 2008 to 2018. He died on 22 February 2021 from COVID-19.
Career.
As a professor at the University of Dar es Salaam in the early 1980s, he led a series of seminars on the economic crisis Tanzania was facing. This work made important contributions to the economic reforms that were implemented in the second half of the 1980s by the second phase government. After this, he worked as a Lead Economist with the Macroeconomic Division of the World Bank for Eastern Africa from the Tanzania Country Office. In that assignment he was directly involved with President Benjamin Mkapa's reform program - a program that has contributed to over a decade of sustained economic growth in Tanzania. He is best known for his involvement in setting up and developing one of the most effective research and training networks in Africa, the African Economic Research Consortium.
He served first as its research director and later as its executive director. He received an honorary doctorate from the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague in 1997, recognition of his contributions to Capacity Building and Research on Africa. Following his Ph.D. degree in economics from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, he taught economics and published widely on growth, adjustment, governance and trade.
Ndulu was a Visiting Professor at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford from 2018 until his death in 2021. He first became involved at the University of Oxford in late 2017 with the inception of the Pathways for Prosperity Commission on Technology and Inclusive Development, of which he was academic co-director along with Professor Stefan Dercon. In 2020, the Commission concluded its work and developed into the Digital Pathways at Oxford programme, of which Ndulu was a senior advisor.


List of governors of the Bangladesh Bank

The central bank of Bangladesh is known as Bangladesh Bank. Under the Bangladesh Bank Order, 1972, Bangladesh is established on 16 December 1971. The chief executive of the bank is described as Governor. The 11th and current Governor is Fazle Kabir, appointed 17 March 2017


John Petty, 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne

John Henry Petty, 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne (6 December 1765 – 15 November 1809) was a British peer and politician. He was the eldest son of Lady Sophia Carteret and British Prime Minister William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, known to history as the Earl of Shelburne. The Earl concluded the Peace of Paris recognising American independence, by his first wife,
Lansdowne travelled widely despite his ill health, which in turn was not helped by the burden of the debts he inherited from his father. To repay them, he sold almost all of his father's collections, leaving Bowood House, the family seat, temporarily uninhabitable.
He served in the House of Commons for Wycombe, his father's old seat, from 1786 to 1802, but due to his weak constitution he only survived his father by four years. He died childless and was succeeded in the marquessate by his half brother, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice.
He married Mary Arabella Maddox (died 24 April 1833), the daughter of Rev. Hinton Maddox and the widow of Duke Gifford, on 27 May 1805.


Iipumbu Shiimi

Iipumbu Wendelinus Shiimi is a Namibian economist who has been the Minister of Finance since 2020. Before that he served as governor of the Bank of Namibia from 2010 until 2020.
Early life and education.
Shiimi holds a Master of Science degree in Financial Economics (1998), and a Postgraduate Diploma in Economics (Economic Principles) from the University of London. He also holds a Diploma in Foreign Trade and Management from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands, an Honours degree in Economics and from the University of Western Cape in South Africa and a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Economics and Accounting from the University of Western Cape. He underwent specialised training in Management from University of Stellenbosch and Wits Business School as well as other specialised training in economics and finance in Tanzania and USA, as well as at the Bank of England and Reserve Bank of South Africa.
Career.
Shiimi started working at the Namibia Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU) in 1994. He joined the Bank of Namibia as a Senior Researcher in the Research Department and became a Manager of the Economics Division in the same department in 1997. In 1999, he became Manager of the Modelling and Forecasting Division in the Research Department. In 2000, he took over as Manager of Statistics Division in the Research Department. In 2001, he became the Deputy Head of Research Department and in 2002 he became Chief Economist and Head of Research Department. In June 2006, Shiimi became a Senior Manager in the Banking Supervision Department until his appointment in November 2006 as Assistant Governor. In this role he was responsible for providing strategic direction to the operations of the Bank which included managing foreign exchange reserves, banking supervision, economic stability and financial monitoring.
Shiimi was appointed as a new central bank chief on March 25, 2010, by President Hifikepunye Pohamba. He took over from Tom Alweendo, who was appointed Director-General of the Namibian National Planning Commission and later Minister of Mines and Energy. President Hage Geingob re-appointed him to a second term in December 2016.


Beckham law

The "Beckham Law" (Royal Decree 687/2005) is a Spanish Tax Decree passed in June 2005. The law gained its nickname after the footballer David Beckham became one of the first foreigners to take advantage of it. However the law is aimed at all foreign workers (particularly the wealthier ones) living in Spain. Upon application and acceptance by authorities, such individuals become liable for Spanish taxes based on their Spanish income and assets but avoid such taxes on their non-Spanish income and assets.
Background.
Under Spanish tax law, individuals who spend 183 days or more during a tax year in Spain are normally deemed tax resident. Temporary absences are ignored when determining residency unless a person can prove that he is habitually resident in another country. Thus, footballers coming to Spain would automatically become Spanish tax resident on the day count rule (over 183 days) and, as Spanish residents, would have been liable to Spanish tax on their worldwide income and assets.
However, the Royal Decree 687/2005 modifies this law with respect to wealthy foreign workers. To ease the tax burden and to attract the likes of Beckham and top executives, the government introduced amendments to the definition of tax residency.
On June 10th, 2005, the Spanish government approved Royal Decree 687/2005 implementing the Personal Income Tax regulations in relation to article 9.5 of the Spanish PIT Law. The "Beckham law", as it is commonly known, regulates the procedure that applies to the new Spanish tax regime for expatriates in force since January 1, 2004.
The change of legislation allows an individual who has relocated from another country to Spain the choice of being taxed as a Spanish resident or as a non-Spanish resident. The choice applies in the year of arrival in Spain and continues for the following five years. By electing to be non resident, an individual can limit their liabilities to Spanish taxation to apply to Spanish income and assets only and hence exclude their worldwide income and assets. Thus under the Spanish Non-Resident Income Tax rules they may avoid tax on their worldwide income for a period of up to six tax years provided certain conditions are met.
Should such an election be made, the expatriate will be subject to Spanish taxes on their Spanish source income and on their assets located or exercisable in Spanish territory, calculated at a flat 24.75% tax rate on their salary income (the tax rate was increased from 24% to 24.75% in January 2012). This is instead of being taxed on the progressive tax scale for resident individuals (ranging from 24% up to 43%) during the year of becoming tax resident in Spain and for the following five consecutive years. Note that under this option the taxpayer gets no personal allowances or other deductions from gross income (e.g. for mortgage costs) and thus for lower earners it does not always result in a lower tax burden.
In November 2009 it was reported that the law was under review, and foreigners entering Spain after 1 Jan 2010 would not be able to benefit in the same way as previously.
Conditions.
A person cannot invoke the Beckham law if he resided in Spain in the previous 10 years prior to settling in Spain.
He must have relocated to Spain to take up employment under a contract.
Employment duties must be carried out in Spain, although working outside of Spain up to 15% of the time is permitted.
The employer must either be a Spanish company or Spanish entity or if not Spanish resident then the employer must operate through a permanent establishment in Spain.
The income derived from the employment is not deemed exempt under Spanish income tax law.
Sources.
http://www.cuatrecasas.com/web/es-ESN/PDF/tax_notes_governmen_considering.pdf


Banco BPM

Banco BPM S.p.A. is an Italian bank that started to operate on 1 January 2017, by the merger of Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano (BPM) (approved by the board of directors on 24 May 2016). The bank is the third largest retail and corporate banking conglomerate in Italy (in terms of total assets in 2016), behind Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit. The bank had dual headquarters in Verona and Milan respectively.
The shares of the bank is a constituent of Italian blue chip index FTSE MIB; in 2018 "Forbes Global 2000", Banco BPM was ranked the 831st.
History.
, the date of formation, Banco BPM is the third largest retail and commercial banking conglomerate by "pro forma" total assets in Italy, behind UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, and surpassing the former third largest bank Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (€164.385 billion at mid-2016). Although the Bank of Italy, the central bank, and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), the national investment bank, technically have larger total assets than Banco BPM, they operate in a different line of business.
, Banco Popolare had total assets of €123.699 billion and net assets of €8.876 billion in a consolidated basis, while Banca Popolare di Milano (BPM) had a total assets of €49.698 billion and a net assets of €4.571 billion. However, they had a similar size in terms of market capitalization, both already suppressed Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena.
The shareholders of Banco BPM are the former shareholders of Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano in a proposed ratio of 54.626%:45.374%. After the capital increase of Banco Popolare in mid-2016, the final exchange ratio for the merger was 1 share of Banco Popolare to 1 share of Banco BPM, as well as 6.386 shares of Banca Popolare di Milano to 1 share of Banco BPM.
Banco Popolare and BPM themselves were both originated as Popular Banks (), a kind of co-operative bank in Italy, based in cities such as Bergamo, Verona, Modena, Novara and Lodi (Banco Popolare) and Milan, Rome (BPM) respectively. They merged and acquired many "banca popolare" and "cassa di risparmio" (savings bank) to become the 4th and 9th largest retail and commercial banking conglomerate (excluding CDP) as of 31 December 2015, in terms of total assets, according to a study of Mediobanca. Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano were about to demutualize in 2016, due to Italian Law No.3 of 2015, but the two banking group forming a new public "società per azioni" directly, instead of demutualize themselves. A new subsidiary, Banca Popolare di Milano S.p.A., would be establish to run the brand of BPM for a few years. Eventually BPM's subsidiary Banca Popolare di Mantova S.p.A. became the new Banca Popolare di Milano S.p.A..
On 10 February 2017, the "year zero" financial results was announced. Due to 2016 capital increase of Banco Popolare, the new banking group had a "pro forma" CET1 capital ratio of 12.30% at 31 December 2016.
In the first year of establishment, the bank sold its asset management subsidiary Aletti Gestielle SGR to Anima Holding for €700 million. In the next year, the bank securitized a bad loans portfolio of €5.1 billion gross book value, credited it as "Project Exodus" and sold the securities to the market. The bank also applied for Garanzia sulla Cartolarizzazione delle Sofferenze (GACS), a state guarantee scheme for the senior tranche of the securities.
Controversies.
The current Banco BPM CEO Giuseppe Castagna has been investigated because he gave bank fundings for millions Euro towards his Communion and Liberation personal friends facing several conflicts of interest, receiving business favors from them in 2012; but the accusation has been archived in 2016.
He was later investigated to be involved with insider trading practices for Banca Popolare di Milano (Banco BPM branch) in 2017 but the accusation has been archived in May 2018.


Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (; ;) is the Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office and the Chairman of the Executive Committee in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He was involved in the launching and growth of multiple projects in the United Arab Emirates. This includes 60,000 square metres of retail, entertainment, and leisure space Saadiyat Grove in Abu Dhabi, inaugurating new spaces within the Cultural Foundation, Jebel Hafit Desert Park and 'Abu Dhabi Moments' initiative as part of Ghadan 21.
He believes that the youth is the main factor for continuing the path of sustainable development and along with his belief Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has supported the launching of “Youth for Sustainability” platform by one of the world's leading companies in the field of clean energy, Masdar. He further provides the Programmes of Arabic Language and Poetry in order for development.
Early life.
Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the son of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, members of Abu Dhabi's ruling Al Nahyan family.
Political career.
Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the Member of the Executive Council, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office and Chairman of the Executive Committee.
Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office.
He currently holds the title for Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office and has focused on multiple projects in the United Arab Emirates.
Member of the Executive Council.
Presently a Member of the Executive Council with the titles of Member of the Executive Council, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office and Chairman of the Executive Committee.
Jebel Hafit Desert Park.
On 12 February 2020, Sheikh Khalid inaugurated Jebel Hafit Desert Park a new tourist attraction in Al Ain located about 20 km south of Al Ain on the eastern flank of Jebel Hafit mountain, featuring archaeological remains as well as outdoor adventure activities and representing Historical remains
Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and contains numerous unique archaeological discoveries it is the first site in the UAE, some dating back to 8,000 years. It features outdoor activities, including guided hiking tours, bike riding, and powered carts guided tours. Exploration of the scenery in the Park at their own leisure using the self-guided trails and signs was made available.
Hub71.
On 25 March 2019, Sheikh Khalid launched 'Hub71' a platform to support high tech startups has launched in Abu Dhabi, a key initiative of Ghadan 21, the Government's economic accelerator programme announced in September 2018 by his father Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Jassim Mohammed Buatabh Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, on the launch highlighted that "Abu Dhabi has proven itself as a place where innovation can succeed and inspire. Through the Abu Dhabi Government’s economic programs and plans, we’re doubling down on our efforts to make Abu Dhabi a global beacon for technology and innovation". The Hub71 launch was attended by members of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, officials, and representatives of strategic partners and project supporters from leading international companies.
An AED535 million fund was administered by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, to invest in startups and venture capitalists, VCs, at Hub71 for the initiative. Abu Dhabi's Hub 71 offers seed-stage tech startups with fully subsidised housing, office space and health insurance.
The emirate of Abu Dhabi believes the hub will "underpin" its status as an innovative digital destination for entrepreneurs as it a part of the 50 billion dirham stimulus programme announced in September 2018.
Arabic Language and Poetry Programmes.
On 29 August 2019, Sheikh Khalid provided directives in order to enable directives to develop Arabic Language and Poetry Programmes. As the member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Executive Committee, he gave the committee direction during the meeting to create and elaborate new programmes and extensive initiatives in order to enhance the Arabic language and cultivate the forte of storytelling through poetry, encouraging and engaging the community with this unique facet of local heritage.
Interests, activities and philanthropic work.
Inaugurates new spaces at the Cultural Foundation.
New spaces within the Cultural Foundation were inaugurated by Sheikh Khalid, at one of Abu Dhabi's most prominent cultural landmarks. The Cultural Foundation's new spaces include a 900-seat theatre and the all-new Abu Dhabi Children's Library is situated in historic Al Hosn, in the heart of the capital. He has then highlighted that “"Abu Dhabi’s strength as a cultural hub is the deep link between our history and future aspirations. Investment in immersive learning spaces like this will develop the young leaders of the future".
The mission was to empower youth through cultural education structured in line with Abu Dhabi Government, an advanced and immersive library for the youth in the UAE inspiring youth to read, learn, develop, discover for the future with an intention of conceptualisation.
Waiving Dh246m in penalties to support private companies.
On 16 March 2019 Sheikh Khalid, member of the Abu Dhabi executive council and chairman of the Abu Dhabi executive office stressed that "The Ghadan 21 initiatives implemented last year have expanded the ways we support companies in Abu Dhabi. And today, the Abu Dhabi government is fast-tracking new initiatives that tackle current economic challenges and accelerate development at the same time”.
Combating coronavirus.
Sheikh Khalid visited and viewed field hospitals that spans 29,000 square metres in the development of the field hospital in Emirates Humanitarian City. Along which 3 field hospitals to open in Abu Dhabi, Dubai. He evaluated readiness and medical equipment in the facilities' to ensure the UAE community has access to high calibre quality healthcare services during the issue and situation.


Migrant levy

A migrant levy is a fee imposed on an immigrant by their receiving country.
There are pros and cons of having a migrant levy. It generates revenue for the government of the host country. However, it serves as a burden to immigrants. It serves as a barrier on immigration.
The International Labour Organization describes migrant levies in the following way:
"Some governments of labour-receiving countries earn sizeable revenues through levies on firms employing foreign workers, the burden of which may partly or fully be passed on to the workers themselves. Malaysia and Singapore are examples of countries using selective levies."


China Minsheng Trust

China Minsheng Trust Co., Ltd. is a Chinese trust and investment management company. The company formerly known as China Tourism International Trust Investment Co., Ltd. founded in 1994.
History.
China Tourism International Trust Investment Co., Ltd. () was founded in 1994. In 1999, the stake (30.85%) held by China National Tourism Administration was transferred to Beijing Tourism Group.
In 2003, most of the assets and branches were acquired by Century Securities. However, China Tourism Trust was allowed to keep the license. In 2004, a scandal was exposed, which the Tianjin branch of China Tourism Trust stole the fund entrusted by .
On 16 April 2013, the company was re-established as China Minsheng Trust Co., Ltd.. China Oceanwide Holdings Group was the largest shareholder for 69.3%, Beijing Tourism Group for 30%, CYTS Group (the parent company of China CYTS Tours Holding) for 0.4%, China Railway Travel Service for 0.2% stake and China Comfort Travel Group for 0.1% stake.
In 2014, China Oceanwide Holdings Group and its subsidiary, listed company Oceanwide Holdings () subscribed the capital increase of ( in share capital and in share premium).
In 2016, Oceanwide Holdings subscribed nominal value of stock of the company (plus share premium ), as well as acquired the stake held by the parent company China Oceanwide Holdings Group.
In September the company acquired the license to manage foreign assets. In December the trust acquired the license to enter futures market.