Motivated by a Tax, Irish Spurn Plastic Bags
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The Irish have embraced the use of cloth bags to carry their groceries, encouraged by a 33-cent tax on each plastic bag grabbed at the register.
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The New York City Council overwhelmingly passed a bill requiring large stores and retail chains to collect and recycle the plastic bags they give to shoppers.
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Strategies to limit tax bills for Americans living overseas.
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A recent financial filing from Sandisk in Ireland illustrates the sometimes controversial nature of the corporate tax regime in the country.
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Gordon Brown says he will push for lower taxes on environmentally friendly products across the EU.
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(InfoWorld) - A recent financial filing from Sandisk in Ireland illustrates the sometimes controversial nature of the corporate tax regime in the country. While Sandisk has joined scores of other companies attracted to Ireland for its low corporate tax rate, the company appears to represent an extreme example of benefiting from the tax environment. In a financial statement filed in Ireland earlier this month, Sandisk Manufacturing, the Irish subsidiary of Sandisk Corp., reported four employees and revenue of $955 million between the period when the company first opened up in Ireland, April 2005, and the end of 2005. Sandisk Corp. had 1,083 employees at the end of 2005 and reported revenue for the year of $2.3 billion. Other U.S. technology companies with offices in Ireland, such as Google and Microsoft, have also had their Irish financial reports scrutinized for generating revenues that appear out of proportion to the number of employees in the country. Google and Microsoft each employ hundreds of workers in the country. "The fact that [Sandisk has] only four people and a billion dollars makes them stick out a bit more," said John Gilsenan, an independent analyst who sometimes consults for IDC Ireland. In the Sandisk example, just four employees in Ireland out of 1,083 around the world appeared to generate nearly half of the company's revenue. The tax regime benefits the Irish government but could become a sore point for other countries. "I certainly don't think that there's any impetus from the Irish government for this to change," said Gilsenan. While the Irish government is likely pleased to earn the tax from companies like Sandisk, the governments where the companies are based might start looking for ways to ensure they can collect their fair share of taxes from the companies, he said. Ireland's low corporate tax rate dates back to the 1950s and its current 12.5 percent rate was set in the 1990s. The tax rate, far lower than in most other countries, has attracted many companies to open operations in Ireland, spurring the current economic boom in the country. In April last year, Sandisk announced plans to transfer its Europe, Middle East and Africa headquarters to Dublin and employ 50 people by the end of this year. In a statement announcing the move, it said it already had 12 people working in Dublin managing supply chain and sales support functions for Sandisk. A Sandisk spokesperson was not available to comment on its financial statement or Dublin operations.
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Irelandâs relatively new emphasis on entrepreneurs is the culmination of four decades of policies that have lifted the economy from centuries of poverty to modern prosperity.
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We want cheaper petrol Green taxes are being used by the government to raise revenues, rather than tackle climate change, and are socially unjust and bad news for consumers . These are the conclusions of the Taxpayers Alliance (TPA), a right-wing lobby group dedicated to a low-tax society.â¦
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Electronics manufacturers railed   against a European tax on recordable discs and music players   like iPods on Friday, even as a Dutch industry group was   getting ready to impose new local levies on recordable media.
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Plan to have domestic rubbish weighed by microchips in bins in order to encourage recycling.
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By Bill Dolan, The Times, Munster, Ind.  Feb. 1--CROWN POINT -- The People's Republic of China is willing to help  Lake County save tax dollars by reducing the cost of garbage recycling.
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EDMONTON - Albertans have told the provincial government they&#39;d rather see the province spend money protecting the environment than have their taxes reduced.
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Starting next week, IKEA will charge customers five cents for every plastic bag they take home and encourage a third option to the old 'paper or plastic' conundrum: bring your own.
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A City Council bill would compel supermarkets to collect, transport and recycle plastic bags. Supermarkets would also be required to place "easily accessible" bins for customers to drop off their bags and would also be required to sell reusable bags that customers can use in lieu of plastic and paper bags.
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BURLINGTON -- For two weeks Governor Deval L. Patrick has been talking tough about cracking down on companies exploiting what he calls corporate tax loopholes to save over $300 million a year in state taxes.
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OSLO, Norway - Arild Tofte and Kaare Heggdal know that recycling pays, but they weren't quite prepared for the jackpot that a scrapped cash machine contained.  It was still full of cash. Enough to buy a house and take a luxury vacation.
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Because of tight regulations enacted by the European Union in 1994, proper waste disposal  has become prohibitively expensive. Enter the black-market trash brokers, who have taken to "port hopping" - moving toxic rubbish along the line of least resistance to underregulated areas in Africa or Asia.