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UK airlines call for the tax break to help boost demand

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airplane travel

Every industry sector has taken a massive hit from the ugly Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. The coronavirus has affected everything for as far as you can see, and even beyond that. Of course, some industries have taken a more severe hit than others- the airline industry being one of them.

One of the essential preventive measures that we have learned to take during this Covid-19 pandemic is social distancing and home isolation. Since the coronavirus is a global pandemic, affecting every country, there is hardly any safe place left for us to retreat to. Being in closed spaces for some time with others is also forbidden, which makes travel and tourism, primarily via air travel, completely closed off as an option.

In the UK, it has been noted that the airlines, ground handling, and even airports have received some amount of relief from the government. This has come in the form of loans as well as government employment support schemes. However, there has still not been any specific package from the government for the industry. Taking this into account, several UK airlines have requested a tax break, which can help the industry boost their demand and, thus, stand up on their feet once again.

 A group which represented some UK airlines such as British Airways, Ryanair and EasyJethave called on the government to allow a suspension of tax on their flights. The airlines feel that this will help them to boost their demand, after having faced a severe fall due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

What exactly do the UK airlines have in mind?

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the airline industry in a whole and harsh way. Although the airlines and airports have received great help, the industry itself is still suffering. Keeping this in mind, the UK airlines have asked the government to waive Air Passenger Duty for at least one year. This will help to save up to 8,000 jobs and also save routes in this industry, which has faced immense loss due to the coronavirus. By now, there have already been up to 30,000 job cuts, and there could still be many more to come.

 A sharp contrast is noticed in other European countries, where the government has stepped up to help quite instantly. Countries like France have granted their airline industry Air France around 7 billion Euros in the way of state-backed loans and other air. This aid has been immensely advantageous to the industry, helping them survive in these dire times.

Are tougher times coming up?

Several UK airlines have voiced their concerns over the upcoming winter season. They have stated that this season is particularly hard on the airline industry, as fewer people prefer to travel. With the winter creeping up steadily, the UK airline industry needs some form of aid at the earliest possible from their government to stay on their feet.

Tim Alderslade, the Airlines UK CEO, expressed concern that without adequate Government support for the airline sector, the UK airports run a genuine risk of losing some valuable routes, and of course, suffering enormous financial losses. An emergency APD waiver can help the airline industry get through the harsh wintertime and also go along the road of recovery.

This APD waiver could necessarily help in boosting the passenger demand in their industry by at least 12% in the coming 12 months.

What is APD tax?

APD tax, or Air Passenger Duty tax, is a tax that is added by the government on passenger flights in the UK. The tax adds about 13 more pounds to their airfares for passengers, for just an economy flight between the United Kingdom and Europe. However, when this APD tax is added to other kinds of flights, such as long haul flights in business class, then the additional price may amount to 170 pounds more.

How can reducing or removing APD tax be beneficial?

Heathrow has held a long-standing position that APD tax is unnecessary and a burden on competitiveness, investment, and tourism. The policy change would necessarily not impact transfer passengers flying on domestic routes.

The total cost savings that could be made by UK passengers could cause a potential increase in demands. Along with that, it could also stimulate up to an 8% increase in point-to-point demand on domestic routes (Heathrow) under a 100% reduction scenario. This could, potentially, equate to around 75,000 more round trips per annum. In the case of a 50% reduction scenario, the increase in demand could be seen up to 4%, which is equivalent to around 37,000 round trips.

By reducing the APD tax, not only do the domestic passengers get immense benefits, but passengers flying on local routes in the UK could also enjoy several benefits.

The reduction of APD tax can also reduce the cost of air travel expenses to and fro from other UK regions. Under the 100% reduction scenario, this could reduce the price up to 225 million euros per year. Under the 50% reduction scenario, it could see a reduction of 112 million Euro per annum.

What other benefits could be seen by reducing or wavering APD?

If the government were to waiver the APD taxes for at least a year, it could also enable several IT businesses as well as financial service sectors in Northern Ireland and Scotland’s main cities to retain their strong links with London, and even beyond. It could foster the trading of knowledge with the cost-efficient flights.

Not just that, this APD tax break could also improve the viability of newer domestic connections, as the cost of air travel for passengers would significantly reduce.

The proposal has been set in front of the UK Government, who will review it and inform the airline industry of their decision. Of course, it can be seen how this tax break can help in boosting passenger demand for domestic flights, and help out the airlines industry to overcome this unforeseen disaster. Although the Government aid provided to airports and airlines is being applauded, this move could be a lifesaver for the UK airline industry.

If your business is facing hardship or you are worried about debt or taxes, then we urge you to act as soon as possible.

Claims and disputes involving taxes are highly technical. Contact one of our proactive and professional commercial law solicitors now for expert legal advice.

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Common statistics homework problems and how to solve them

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Statistics is a branch of mathematics that deals with collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. Statistics homework problems can be challenging for many students, especially if they lack the necessary skills and concepts. That is the reason why many choose to get statistics help for students. It seems like a more effective way of dealing with an issue at hand. However, there are some common types of statistics problems that can be solved using some basic steps and strategies.

Statistic help for students: examples of problems and solutions

Example 1: Finding the mean and median of a data set

The mean and median are two measures of central tendency that describe the average or typical value of a data set. The mean is calculated by adding up all the values in the data set and dividing by the number of values. The median is the middle value of the data set when it is arranged in ascending or descending order. If there is an even number of values, the median is the average of the middle two values.

To find the mean and median of a data set, we can follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Arrange the data in ascending or descending order (optional for finding the mean, but necessary for finding the median).
  • Step 2: Add up all the values in the data set and divide by the number of values to get the mean.
  • Step 3: Find the middle position of the data set by dividing the number of values by 2. If the result is a whole number, then that position is the median. If the result is a fraction, then round it up to the next whole number and find the value at that position. This is the median if there is an odd number of values. If there is an even number of values, then find the average of the values at that position and the previous position. This is the median.

For example, suppose we have the following data set:

139 143 128 138 149 131 143 133

To find the mean and median, we can do the following:

  • Step 1: Arrange the data in ascending order:

128 131 133 138 139 143 143 149

  • Step 2: Add up all the values and divide by 8 (the number of values) to get the mean:

(128 + 131 + 133 + 138 + 139 + 143 + 143 + 149) / 8 = 138.25

The mean is 138.25.

  • Step 3: Find the middle position of the data set by dividing 8 by 2:

8 / 2 = 4

Since this is a whole number, we look at the value at position 4 and position 5 (the next position) in the ordered data set:

128 131 133 (138) (139) 143 143 149

The values at these positions are 138 and 139. To find the median, we take their average:

(138 + 139) / 2 = 138.5

The median is 138.5.

Example 2: Constructing a frequency table

A frequency table is a table that shows how often each value or category occurs in a data set. It can be used to summarize and display categorical or numerical data. To construct a frequency table, we can follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Identify the possible values or categories in the data set.
  • Step 2: Count how many times each value or category occurs in the data set.
  • Step 3: Record the counts in a table with two columns: one for the values or categories and one for their frequencies.

For example, suppose we have the following data on the GPA of six students:

3.0 3.3 3.1 3.0 3.1 3.1

To construct a frequency table, we can do the following:

  • Step 1: Identify the possible values in the data set. In this case, they are 3.0, 3.1, and 3.3.
  • Step 2: Count how many times each value occurs in the data set. In this case, 3.0 occurs twice, 3.1 occurs three times, and 3.3 occurs once.
  • Step 3: Record the counts in a table with two columns:
GPAFrequency
3.02
3.13
3.31

This is our frequency table.

These are just two examples of common statistics homework problems and how to solve them. There are many other types of problems that require different methods and techniques, such as finding standard deviation, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, correlation, regression, and more. To learn more about these topics and how to solve them, you can check out some online resources such as Mathway, The Princeton Review, or Math-Drills. You can also consult your textbook, your instructor, or your classmates for more help and practice. Statistics can be a challenging but rewarding subject, and with some effort and guidance, you can master it.

How to find competent statistics help for students

When you are overwhelmed with your assignment and don’t feel like working on it, qualified statistic help for students is the best solution to your problem. However, you should find out a bit about the service before you place your order on its website. To specify, you need to know how long its team has been providing statistics assistance for students. What is more, you should check out what their pricing policy is like, as well as what other customers think about the agency in question.

Apart from that, don’t forget about the guarantees which a reliable service should provide. The more guarantees a service offers, the more secure you will feel placing your order on the website. All in all, finding a service that provides competent statistics assistance will not take you long as there are many companies you can trust. Yet, you need to pay special attention to a number of factors to choose the best service on the market. A company that provides competent assistance with statistics assignments is right on hand. You just need to learn more about what it has to offer.

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U.S. companies are barreling towards a $1.8 trillion corporate debt

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US firms are barreling towards a giant wall of corporate debt that’s about to mature over the next few years, Goldman Sachs strategists said in a note.

There’s $1.8 trillion of corporate debt maturing over the next two years, Goldman Sachs estimated. Firms could be slammed with higher debt servicing costs as interest rates stay elevated. That could eat into corporate revenue and weigh on the US job market.

The investment bank estimated that $790 billion of corporate debt was set to mature in 2024, followed by $1.07 trillion of debt maturing in 2025. That amounts to $1.8 trillion of debt reaching maturity within the next two years, in addition to another $230 billion that will reach maturity by the end of this year, Goldman strategists said.

The wave of debt that will need to be refinanced could spell trouble for companies, as interest rates have been raised aggressively by the Fed over the last year. The Fed funds rate is now targeted between 5.25%-5.5%, the highest range since 2001.

For every extra dollar spent to service their debt, firms will likely pull back on capital expenditures spending by 10 cents and labor spending by 20 cents, the strategists estimated, a reduction that could weigh down the job market by 5,000 payrolls a month in 2024 and 10,000 payrolls a month in 2025.

Experts have warned of trouble for US corporations as credit conditions tighten. Already, the tally of corporate debt defaults in 2023 has surpassed the total number of defaults recorded last year. As much of $1 trillion in corporate debt could be at risk for default if the US faces a full-blown recession, Bank of America warned, though strategists at the bank no longer see a downturn as likely in 2023.

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Russian response to sanctions: billions in dollar terms are stuck in Russia

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“Tens of billions in dollar terms are stuck in Russia,” the chief executive of one large company domiciled in a country told ‘The Financial Times’. “And there is no way to get them out.”

Western companies that have continued to operate in Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine have generated billions of dollars in profits, but the Kremlin has blocked them from accessing the cash in an effort to turn the screw on “unfriendly” nations.

Groups from such countries accounted for $18 billion (€16.8 billion) of the $20 billion in Russian profits that overseas companies reported for 2022 alone, and $199 billion of their $217 billion in Russian gross revenue.

Many foreign businesses have been trying to sell their Russian subsidiaries but any deal requires Moscow’s approval and is subject to steep price discounts. In recent days British American Tobacco and Swedish truck maker Volvo have announced agreements to transfer their assets in the country to local owners.

Local earnings of companies from BP to Citigroup have been locked in Russia since the imposition last year of a dividend payout ban on businesses from “unfriendly” countries including the US, UK and all EU members. While such transactions can be approved under exceptional circumstances, few withdrawal permits have been issued.

US groups Philip Morris and PepsiCo earned $775 million and $718 million, respectively. Swedish truck maker Scania’s $621 million Russian profit in 2022 made it the top earner among companies that have since withdrawn from the country. Philip Morris declined to comment. PepsiCo and Scania did not respond to requests for comment.

Among companies of “unfriendly” origin that remain active in Russia, Austrian bank Raiffeisen reported the biggest 2022 earnings in the country at $2 billion, according to the KSE data.

US-based businesses generated the largest total profit of $4.9 billion, the KSE numbers show, followed by German, Austrian and Swiss companies with $2.4 billion, $1.9 billion and $1 billion, respectively.

‘The Financial Times’ reported last month that European companies had reported writedowns and losses worth at least €100 billion from their operations in Russia since last year’s full-scale invasion.

German energy group Wintershall, which this year recorded a €7 billion non-cash impairment after the Kremlin expropriated its Russian business, has “about €2 billion in working interest cash… locked in due to dividend restrictions”, investors were told on a conference.

“The vast majority of the cash that was generated within our Russian joint ventures since 2022 has dissipated,” Wintershall said last month, adding that no dividends had been paid from Russia for 2022.

Russian officials are yet to outline “a clear strategy for dealing with frozen assets”, said Aleksandra Prokopenko, a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre. “However, considering the strong desire of foreign entities to regain their dividends, they are likely to explore using them as leverage – for example to urge western authorities to unfreeze Russian assets.”

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