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Article rédigé par admin_anglais le 08 Mar 2010

France is eager for financial stability

The French minister of finance Eric Woerth is ready to consider the possibility for France to write down in the Constitution a rule for the equilibrium of public finances. He has charged the former president of the IMF Michel Camdessus to examine the feasibility of this project, with regard to the financial situation of the country and Bruxelles financial discipline criteria. France is thus following the example of Germany where a similar project has been recently approved, with the condition to be effective in 2016.



  

  

    



  	

        Article rédigé par admin_anglais le 08 Mar 2010
      

    

      
The Washington State Senate is desperately trying to fill the budget gap with new taxes

      

  
  

  

	    
The Washington state Senate approved a tax package that would raise $890 million over the next sixteen months.

The tax package includes a temporary three-tenths-of-a-cent sales tax increase plus increased taxes on services and bottled water. It also ends a sales tax break for some companies based outside Washington. On a separate vote the Senate voted to add an extra $1-per-pack tax on cigarettes.

Then leaders will have to agree on a final revenue package to close a $2.8 billion budget gap.

	    		

	

	  


    


  



  

  

    



  	

        Article rédigé par admin_anglais le 04 Mar 2010
      

    

      
The European Commission is working on a carbon tax

      

  
  

  

	    
The European Commission is working on a study of the impacts that a tax on carbon emissions would have in the European Union. The Commission is about to come up in the coming months with a proposal for a “green” tax.

Before the appointment of the new commissioners last year, the Commission was considering a proposal for minimum tax on energy products based on their carbon dioxide emissions as part of a broader plan to reform energy taxation in the Union.

	    

      

    		

	

	  


    


  



  

  

    



  	

        Article rédigé par admin_anglais le 02 Mar 2010
      

    

      
Doing Business 2010: A record in business regulation reform

      

  
  

  

	
Doing Business 2010: A record in business regulation reform
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The annual report of the World Bank is announcing a record level of the number of business regulation reforms in the world. Between June 2008 and May 2009, 287 reforms were recorded in 131 economies, 20% more than the year before.The good news are that "reformers focused on making it easier to start and operate a business, strengthening property rights and improving the efficiency of commercial dispute resolution and bankruptcy procedures", as one can read in the report. Eastern Europe was one of the more active regions. Here is the ranking of the 27 European countries:

	    

      

    		

	

	  


    


  



  

  

    



  	

        Article rédigé par admin_anglais le 25 Feb 2010
      

    
Unscrupulous governments are eager to take advantage of public apprehensions to claim more power for themselves and take away our freedoms.

      
Collecting the Wages of Fear 

      
Jean-Philippe DELSOL

  
  

  

	
Collecting the Wages of Fear 
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This article appeared in The Wall Street Journal on February 24, 2010

 

In the 20th century, we often heard the maxim, "the war is the health of the state." In the 21st, fear has become the health of the state. We are encouraged to fear all manner of things—for our finances, for our health, for the planet. But the solution—more power to the state—is always the same.