Steuern, Bürokratie, Strafen: Betriebe in der Gunst der Regierung

Andreas Schnauder, 6. März 2018, 19:04 derstandard.at

Mit einem neuen Paket will die Regierung Unternehmen das Leben erleichtern. Einige Punkte sind aber noch vage

Wien – Eine Art Wunschkonzert der Wirtschaft wird am Mittwoch im Ministerrat gegeben. Mehrere langjährige Forderungen wie geringere Strafen für Betriebe, leichtere Genehmigungen und Steuersenkungen werden angegangen. Begründet wird das Maßnahmenpaket damit, dass das Land bei den wirtschaftspolitischen Rahmenbedingungen „den Anschluss an die Spitze Europas verloren“ habe. Zum Teil sind die Neuerungen allerdings noch ziemlich vage.

Ein Überblick: Abgabensenkung

Großes Vorhaben mit (noch) kleinem Inhalt: Die Regierung legt sich nur fest, dass die Körperschaftsteuer und die Lohnnebenkosten gesenkt werden sollen. Umfang und Details bleiben offen, nur das Inkrafttreten mit 2020 wird festgeschrieben. Es handle sich um eine Art Startschuss für die Arbeit an den Projekten, heißt es aus Regierungskreisen. Bundeskanzler Sebastian Kurz will ja die Abgabenquote unter die Marke von 40 Prozent des BIP senken, was rund zwölf Milliarden Euro Entlastung bedeuten würde. Die Unternehmen sollen bei der Körperschaftsteuer, insbesondere auf nicht entnommene Gewinne, bessergestellt werden. Für Personengesellschaften soll es ein Äquivalent geben, geht aus der Ministerratsvorlage hervor. Begründet wird die Besserstellung mit der schlechten Position Österreichs in internationalen Wettbewerbsrankings. Im IMD-Bericht befindet sich das Land im Bereich Steuerpolitik nur auf Rang 61, heißt es begründend.

Staatszielbestimmung

Girokonto bei Amazon? Onlinegigant will ins Bankengeschäft einsteigen

Dann wird’s ernst! (hfk)

Angefangen hat alles mit Büchern. Jetzt will Amazon eine Bank werden – und redet laut „Wall Street Journal“ mit JPMorgan über eine Partnerschaft. Amazon will offenbar ein Girokonto anbieten.

06.03.2018 um 13:04, diepresse.com

Der US-Internetgigant Amazon könnte Medienberichten zufolge stärker ins Bankgeschäft einsteigen. Derzeit sondiere der Onlinekonzern unter anderem mit der US-Bank JPMorgan eine Partnerschaft, wie das „Wall Street Journal“ und andere US-Medien berichteten. Amazon schwebe eine Art Girokonto vor, hieß es. Damit ziele der Konzern vor allem auf jüngere Kunden ab, die kein eigenes Bankkonto haben.

Von dem Schritt erhoffe sich Amazon nicht nur weitere Daten über das Ausgabeverhalten und die Einkommen seiner Kunden, sondern auch niedrigere Gebühren für Finanztransaktionen. Die Gespräche befinden sich den Berichten zufolge aber noch in einem frühen Stadium und könnten beispielsweise durch regulatorische Anforderungen verkompliziert werden.

The End of Little Germany?

Sophia Besch is a research fellow at the Center for European Reform.

Mar 5, 2018 Sophia Besch, Project Syndicate

Germany has long enjoyed the luxury of pretending to be something it is not: a small country. Now that a new government has finally been formed, Germany must start thinking of itself as the major economic player it is, and behave accordingly – preferably before new ministers settle into old routines.

LONDON – At long last, Germany is ready to swear in a new government. After five months of political wrangling, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Christian Democratic Union – together with the CDU’s Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union – have formed a government coalition. But in the process of reaching that agreement, something has shifted in German political debate.

Germany has long enjoyed the luxury of pretending to be something it is not: a small country. At the time of the election last year, there was hardly any public debate about the European Union and Germany’s role in it. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s then-comfortable lead in opinion polls confirmed her instinct that German voters did not want to be bothered with discussions about Europe’s future. And, despite being the former president of the European Parliament, then-SPD leader Martin Schulz also focused almost entirely on domestic issues.

Will China Out-Innovate the West?

Edmund S. Phelps, the 2006 Nobel laureate in Economics, is Director of the Center on Capitalism and Society at Columbia University and the author of Mass Flourishing.

Mar 5, 2018 Edmund S. Phelps, Project Syndicate

For decades, Western governments have offered protections for incumbent firms at the expense of new market entrants, and of productivity growth generally. With China quickly realizing the value of fair and free competition, the West urgently needs to change course, or risk being left behind.

NEW YORK – From the early nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, Western countries attributed their economic growth to the discoveries of “scientists and navigators.” A country needed only the “zeal” to develop “obvious” commercial applications, and build the facilities to meet demand for new products.

Until recently, the Chinese believed the same thing. But now, Chinese businesspeople and entrepreneurs are increasingly showing not only the entrepreneurial drive to adapt to new opportunities, but also the desire and capacity to innovate for themselves, rather than simply copying what’s already out there.

The Blockchain Pipe Dream

Nouriel Roubini, a professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business and CEO of Roubini Macro Associates, was Senior Economist for International Affairs in the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton Administration. He has worked for the International Monetary Fund, the US Federal Reserve, and the World Bank.

Preston Byrne is a Fellow of the Adam Smith Institute and Sole Member at Tomram Consulting.

Mar 5, 2018 Nouriel Roubini ,  Preston Byrne, Project Syndicate

Even after a sharp correction earlier this year, the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has remained unsustainably high, and techno-libertarians have continued to insist that blockchain technologies will revolutionize the way business is done. In fact, blockchain might just be the most over-hyped technology of all time.

NEW YORK – Predictions that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will fail typically elicit a broader defense of the underlying blockchain technology. Yes, the argument goes, over half of all “initial coin offerings” to date have already failed, and most of the 1,500-plus cryptocurrencies also will fail, but “blockchain” will nonetheless revolutionize finance and human interactions generally.

In reality, blockchain is one of the most overhyped technologies ever. For starters, blockchains are less efficient than existing databases. When someone says they are running something “on a blockchain,” what they usually mean is that they are running one instance of a software application that is replicated across many other devices.

China’s Financial Reach Leaves Eight Countries Vulnerable, Study Finds

Date: 05-03-2018
Source: The Wall Street Journal

China is financing as much as $8 trillion deals in 68 countries across Asia, Africa and Europe

China is emerging as a massive creditor to its economic allies taking up projects to upgrade roads, harbors and airports, making it an increasingly important financial influence on the world stage.

China is financing as much as $8 trillion in deals as part of its “Belt and Road Initiative” in 68 countries winding through Asia, Africa and Europe.

New data from the Center for Global Development, an international think tank, estimate the program has left eight countries financially vulnerable: Djibouti, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, the Maldives, Mongolia, Montenegro, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

From the factory floor to the OR, robots can make great teammates

Date: 05-03-2018
Source: Technology Review

Julie Shah is figuring out the best ways for us to interact with our future robotic colleagues.

Julie Shah is all about robotic augmentation.

Robot coworkers and AI assistants are coming to an office near you.

And instead of worrying about a robotic takeover, Julie Shah is embracing it. An associate professor at MIT and one of our 2014 Innovators Under 35, Shah works on ways to make humans and machines into safe, efficient teammates. Her work has taken her to factory floors and bustling hospitals, where she tries to figure out how automation can make humans more productive. We sat down to talk to her about what we can expect to encounter when we begin working alongside robots—something many of us are already doing

Erin: What do you think is the most common misconception about robots in the workplace?

Julie: People often think artificial intelligence is one very general and powerful capability moving its way through all these different jobs. But AI does not work like that today. Currently each AI system needs to be designed to perform a very specific task. It takes a lot of engineering. The sets of tasks are expanding, but we don’t have this “general AI” that will take over large swaths of human work. As it becomes more capable, it is able to do many small tasks across many different fields.