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Peas corp: how a UK co-op gets peas from field to freezer in 150 minutes 2023-07-30 - Peas are bouncing with abandon, creating an effect like bright green lava despite being frozen – as they begin the final part of their journey from field to fork. There are 35,000 hectares (86,000 acres) of peas grown in the UK each year, mostly along the east coast from Dundee to Norfolk, producing about 160,000 tonnes of peas, equivalent to roughly 2bn portions. During the annual harvest, farmers and processors work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over the course of eight weeks in order to feed each person in Britain an average of 9,000 peas a year. About 42,000 tonnes of peas grown in the UK go to the frozen food company Birds Eye, for which supplies are grown within 40 miles (64km) of Hull, where the mild, damp, maritime climate and chalk bedrock create the perfect growing conditions. At the Green Pea Company, a co-operative of about 250 farmers who collectively supply Birds Eye, there are only about 80 people working on the harvest across more than 900 fields. Unlike many other crops grown in the UK, as much as 90% of the pea harvesting workforce is British – many of them the offspring of the farm owners, or students – as the relatively short harvest and skilled jobs attract local interest. An army of students at Birds Eye’s processing base helps to plan and monitor operations, with lorries taking peas to the plant tracked along their route as part of a system planned to meet the brand’s promise of getting peas from the field to the freezer in 150 minutes. Gary Creaser, the operations manager at Green Pea, said it had been a difficult year. Photograph: Richard Saker/The Guardian The timescale is calculated to ensure that the peas remain as sweet as possible. Richard Wilson, Birds Eye’s UK agricultural manager, said: “After that, they start to develop starch.” Pea growing is one of the UK’s most hi-tech farming operations, using GPS-guided “viners”, which collect and pop the pods in the field. Drivers step in only to turn the giant vehicles at the end of each row, while other skilled drivers in small tipper lorries wait to catch the pea avalanches that intermittently pour from the viners. The peas are then placed into larger road vehicles, with two hoppers filled within set time limits to ensure freshness. Monitors keep track of capacity in the factory, ensuring that peas do not arrive until there is room to process them. If one of the lorries – many of which have a number plate featuring the letters P-E-A – gets caught in a traffic jam, harvesting can be slowed or brought to a stop, or operations moved around, to ensure that peas are not left to shrivel while they wait for transport. Such systems could be the future for a plethora of other crops, as robotic picking and packing systems are gradually developed for more tricky to handle fruit and vegetables such as berries and tomatoes. However, the elements still have a key role to play. It has been a slow start to the pea harvest this year and there will be fewer pods to pick after a soggy March held back planting for several weeks. Rain and even hail lashed crops just before they were ready to be picked. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Green Pea produces all the peas for Birds Eye’s freezing operation in Hull. Photograph: Richard Saker/The Guardian Stephen Francis, the chair of the Processor and Growers Research Organisation, said: “Peas, like all plants, require decent sunlight to get them to produce to their full potential. The peas, like us humans, are just wondering what the hell is going on with our weather. Historically, we can expect at some stage a wet spring or a wet summer, but never both in the same year.” While there are likely to be fewer peas this year, they will be good quality, he said. Gary Creaser, operations manager at the Green Pea Company, said: “It’s been difficult with the wet spring and harvest this year. There’s the price of fuel and then the cost of machinery has gone up.” The disappointing harvest follows after a tough year in 2022, when the harvest was affected by extreme hot weather, while the rise in the price of fuel, labour and machinery has forced up costs by about a quarter. Wholesale prices for producers have risen to reflect the increase, suggesting that there could be more price rises to come for shoppers after the price of a pack of peas in the shops rose by about 11.5% over the past year, according to analysts at Kantar. The price increase, coupled with the return of workers to the office, plus the increased ease of ordering takeaways, has prompted shoppers to cut back despite high demand for frozen food. When the peas bound for Birds Eye arrive at the processing plant, they are tipped from the lorry into a hopper, after which they are taken on a series of conveyor belts to be washed, sieved and blown to remove impurities. They are then blanched with steam before entering the freezer, where more air keeps them dancing to prevent them from turning into an unpackable block. They are then placed into a one-tonne box, ready for packing and the final journey to customers’ freezers.
Lush paid managers £5m in bonuses after taking £5m in state support 2023-07-30 - The cosmetics chain Lush paid its managers £5m in bonuses last year while taking £5.1m in government support and recording a 90% drop in profits. The bonuses were paid on top of salaries in 2022 to directors including the co-founder, Mark Constantine, and his wife, Mo, who are shareholders, and six staff at Lush Cosmetics, the brand’s main operating company, which runs its manufacturing site in Poole and 886 shops worldwide, including about 100 in the UK. The company is currently embroiled in a row with its former boss, Andrew Gerrie, over his attempts to sell his shares in Lush, which is known for taking a stand on environmental and social justice. Gerrie, a former chair of the luxury confectioner Hotel Chocolat, was chief executive at Lush for 20 years before leaving in 2015. He says his stake in Lush is now held via an investment firm that he co-owns, called Silverwood Brands. Had Lush decided to distribute its profits via a dividend rather than a bonus, it would have had to pay a share of them to Gerrie or Silverwood. Gerrie is not a staff member and so did not receive a share of the 2022 bonus paid by Lush Cosmetics. Gerrie first said he would like to sell his shares several years ago. Lush has fought Gerrie’s attempts to sell and on Thursday it emerged that the company had launched a new action in the high court in an attempt to prove that the transfer of the shares to Silverwood Brands did not comply with Lush’s company rules. In 2022, ordinary employees across Lush and its related company Cosmetic Warriors received £1.8m in bonuses. Lush said staff members, not including the directors and management, received an additional £14m in bonuses last year. Sales at Lush Cosmetics rose 5% to almost £431m in the year to 30 June 2022, not including a North American acquisition, despite the closure of 33 stores. However, like-for-like pre-tax profits slumped to £1.7m, from £29m the previous year. Sales in the UK were more than 10% down on 2019, the last year before the pandemic, but are expected to rise by at least 5% this year. Most of the government financial support the company received came in the form of business rates relief, which is a reduction in a company’s business rates bill. The company said it had faced disruption from Covid at its manufacturing operations in the UK and Australia, and some of its retail markets had been hit by the Omicron variant of the virus and by the war in Ukraine. Lush said Brexit could be the cause of poor sales in EU countries, which were 28% below pre-pandemic levels last year, compared with a 10% deficit in the UK. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion “Our popularity in Europe has certainly waned since Brexit, and we need to rebuild the love of our UK-owned brand across Europe,” the annual report said. It said a factory in Germany in which it had invested after the referendum in 2016 had lost money partly because of lower sales on the continent, where it still faced additional “administrative burdens” as a result of the UK’s exit from the EU. Lush said its sales may also have been affected by a decision in 2021 to step back from social media. The directors said they remained “proud of and committed to our stance and until we are convinced that proper actions have been taken to protect young people on these platforms we will not be returning to them”.
Tory decision to drop social energy tariff ‘betrays most vulnerable’ 2023-07-30 - The UK government has been accused of betraying the most vulnerable in society by seemingly abandoning support for a social tariff that would help households pay for their gas and electricity. Fuel poverty campaigners were left angry after ministers failed to include plans for a social tariff from next spring in energy market reforms, despite commitments in two budget statements. Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, promised to consider a social tariff for energy bills in the autumn statement as part of a pledge to help vulnerable people. In the spring statement earlier this year, the Treasury confirmed the government was “developing a new approach” to protect households from increasing energy costs from April 2024, including consideration of a social tariff. Ministers appeared to abandon the plans by failing to raise the option of a social tariff – which would set the price of gas and electricity well below the cap on energy prices – in a wide-ranging set of reforms designed to strengthen the retail energy market after scores of suppliers went bust. A spokesperson for the Labour party said: “This is typical of a government that makes promises and breaks them. They are more interested in protecting fossil fuel windfall profits than vulnerable households.” Almost 100 charities and non-profit organisations have written to ministers calling on the government to move quickly to legislate a social energy tariff that would offer vulnerable households discounts on their bills. The plans also have the support of the energy industry and the sector’s regulator. Peter Smith, a policy director at National Energy Action (NEA), a fuel poverty campaign group, said: “Failure to even consult on [a social tariff] would be a betrayal of the most vulnerable in our society and create further distrust in the energy market.” The NEA was one of 95 groups that signed a letter to the government earlier this year calling for a discounted, targeted tariff to be made available to people on existing means-tested and disability benefits, and the carer’s allowance, alongside “those still struggling with their bills but missing out on support from the welfare system”. There is widespread concern over low-income, elderly and disabled people being cut off from energy supplies after being forced on to prepayment meters that they cannot afford to top up. Earlier this year, Jonathan Brearley, the chief executive of Ofgem, said there was a case for urgently examining a social tariff that would limit the impact of extremely high prices for a defined set of vulnerable groups. Social tariffs are common in the telecoms industry, and are also offered by many regional water companies – leading to calls for all energy suppliers to offer them, too. Gillian Cooper, the head of energy policy at Citizens Advice, said: “A social tariff would protect millions of people from excessive energy bills and provide crucial certainty for people who need it most in a new era of high energy costs.” “The government promised to introduce better targeted support by April 2024 but, with parliament now in recess time is running out. Without the introduction of more long-term targeted support, we’ll see the same crisis repeat every winter. The government must deliver on its commitment,” she added. A government spokesperson said the outlook for energy prices had improved significantly, and it would continue to monitor the situation while keeping options under review, including with respect to the most vulnerable households. Smith said that the recent fall in energy prices was “no grounds for complacency”. “The energy crisis has dragged millions of people into fuel poverty and, despite July’s [price cap] fall, energy bills continue to be totally unaffordable, leading to an epidemic of negative household budgets,” he said. A spokesperson for Energy UK, which represents the UK’s largest energy suppliers, warned that targeted energy bill support could not be pushed back further. They urged the government to put in place a “more permanent, long-term solution, such as a social tariff, to ensure all customers can afford their bills”. The Labour spokesperson added: “Labour is determined to take action to cut bills for all households, particularly the most vulnerable ... We are clear the retail market is not working for those most in need.”
HS2 is officially ‘unachievable’ after being given red rating 2023-07-30 - The HS2 rail project, which has been beset by severe delays and soaring costs, has been branded as “unachievable” by the government’s infrastructure watchdog. Having analysed plans for the construction of the first two phases of the high-speed line, from London to Birmingham and then on to Crewe, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority said the project was not, in its view, deliverable in its current form. The IPA sits at the heart of government, reporting to the Cabinet Office and the Treasury, and its finding will be seized on by campaigners. Many wildlife groups and people living in the areas affected have been opposed to the scheme from the start. Huge swathes of the countryside have been destroyed by its construction. A “red” rating was assigned to the plans for the construction of the first two phases. This means that “successful delivery of the project appears to be unachievable”, the IPA said in its annual report on big projects. It added: “There are major issues with project definition, schedule, budget, quality and/or benefits delivery, which at this stage do not appear to be manageable or resolvable. The project may need rescoping and/or its overall viability reassessed.” The Labour peer Tony Berkeley, who has been a vocal critic of HS2, said on Sunday: “It should be cancelled tomorrow. This is the Treasury’s own report telling them that the scheme is unachievable. What more evidence do they need?” He added: “Everyone knows the money would be so much better spent on improving the existing rail infrastructure – particularly Northern Rail. Someone just needs to take the decision.” Christian Wolmar, the transport writer and broadcaster, said the most worrying aspect of the report was that it suggested the government had no idea how to resolve the scheme’s problems. Joe Rukin, the founder of the Stop HS2 campaign group, has described the project as an “unmitigated disaster from start to finish”. “It is massively environmentally damaging, prohibitively expensive, unwanted, unloved and unneeded,” he said before the IPA report came out. “It only exists because of hard lobbying from the construction industry, who wanted to build the most expensive railway in world history.” HS2 was initially scheduled to open in 2026 but is now projected to open between 2029 and 2033 because of construction difficulties and rising costs. A budget of £55.7bn for the whole project was set in 2015 and the target cost, excluding the eastern leg from the West Midlands to the east Midlands, has risen to between £53bn and £61bn at 2019 prices. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion The transport secretary, Mark Harper, announced in March that work at Euston would be paused for two years as costs had ballooned to £4.8bn, compared with an initial budget of £2.6bn. This month, HS2’s chief executive, Mark Thurston, announced his resignation after six and a half years of leading the government-owned company. The announcement came as phase 1 of the project between London and Birmingham was at peak construction, with major work taking place at more than 350 sites. The Department for Transport has been under pressure to find cost savings on the project as soaring inflation means the cost of raw materials has increased significantly. A DfT spokesperson said: “Spades are already in the ground on HS2, with 350 construction sites, over £20bn invested to date and supporting over 28,500 jobs. We remain committed to delivering HS2 in the most cost-effective way for taxpayers. “HS2 will bring transformational benefits for generations to come, improving connections and helping grow the economy.”
We bailed out the banks but we’re not prepared to bail out the planet 2023-07-30 - Like many other politicians, Joe Biden talks a good game about the need to tackle global heating. Climate change is an “existential threat”, the US president said last week, as America sizzled amid record-breaking temperatures. Biden had to do something in response to what António Guterres, the UN secretary general, described as the boiling of the planet. The White House announced a series of measures – such as improved access to drinking water and planting more trees – in response to what has been the hottest month on record. To Biden’s critics, this is fiddling while Rome burns. They say he should be declaring a climate emergency, which would allow him to block new fossil fuel projects without congressional approval. As it is, Biden has showed a marked reluctance to take this step. There are clearly limits to what the US government is prepared to do to counter this “existential threat”. It is a similar picture in the UK, where the Conservative party’s surprise victory in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection was in large part due to the plans by London’s Labour mayor, Sadiq Khan, to expand the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to the capital’s outer boroughs. Put simply, the Ulez seeks to improve London’s air quality by placing a charge on the use of older petrol and diesel vehicles, which tend to be not just the most polluting but also the most likely to be owned by poorer households already struggling with Britain’s cost of living crisis. The byelection defeat clearly rattled the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer. “We are doing something very wrong if policies put forward by the Labour party end up on each and every Tory leaflet,” he said. “We’ve got to face up to that and learn the lessons.” In their different ways, recent events in the US and the UK show just how difficult it will be to put the global economy on a saner and more sustainable course. Problem number one is that politicians struggle to think beyond the next election. Biden is running for re-election next year, and Starmer wants to end a run of four successive defeats for Labour. The temptation to put off tough decisions to another day is powerful. That’s because of problem number two: the lack of consensus about what needs to be done and over what time period change needs to happen. What’s needed is for Democrats and Republicans in the US and Labour and the Conservatives in the UK to announce that they are jointly signed up to a course of action that will extend well beyond one presidential or parliamentary term. The failure to forge a bi-partisan approach provides an incentive for parties to look for short-term political gain, even when doing so risks longer-term harm. There’s a reason for that, namely that some of the policies required have upfront costs that make them unpopular for those that find them hard to bear. Telling a key worker who can only afford an ageing diesel car that they will have to pay £12.50 a day to drive to their job is never going to be easy, especially in a period when living standards are being squeezed. There is no getting away from the fact that the Ulez expansion is a regressive tax and, as Khan has found, changes that make hard-up people even worse off breed anger, and that anger will inevitably find a political outlet. So problem number three is that there are a lot of poor people in the UK and the US. And problem number four is that not nearly enough is being done to help these people make the green transition. For that to happen, there would need not just to be a recognition of the link between global heating and grotesque levels of inequality, but a willingness to do something about it. In the developed west, this means using the financial firepower of the state to reduce the number of losers from the green transition. In developing countries, it means transfers of both money and technical knowhow, so that countries that need growth as part of their anti-poverty programmes minimise the use of fossil fuels. Meeting the “existential” threat that Biden talks about requires action not just in the UK or the US but in China, India and other emerging countries, too. Climate action on a global scale will be costly. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion That brings us to problem number five. The change from one economic paradigm to another – the creative destruction that the political economist Joseph Schumpeter talked about – is hard because it requires those who have invested in existing industries to recognise that the game is up. This transition can be prolonged if those wedded to the status quo have invested huge sums and wield enormous power, as is the case with the fossil fuel industry. The solution to these problems lies ultimately in the hands of politicians such as Biden, because they alone have the power to remove barriers to change. As the rapid responses to the global financial crisis of 2007-09 and the Covid pandemic proved, governments can act speedily, collectively and decisively if the crisis is deemed big enough. When the banks were facing their existential crisis in 2008, money was created to bail them out and prevent a second Great Depression. In 2020, economies were effectively put on a war footing. Should the same approach be adopted in the fight against climate change? Yes. Is there any sign of this happening? Not on the scale required. Effectively, this is like the 1930s, when there was resistance to meeting the threat of fascism. Then, as now, what was needed was rapid rearmament. Then, as now, what we’re getting is a failure to do what needs to be done.
Longtime Democratic Rep. John Dingell, who helped make the NRA's lobbying arm into a political force, privately sought to repeal the 1994 assault weapons ban that he voted for: report 2023-07-30 - The late Rep. John Dingell played a major role in the rise of the NRA's lobbying operation in DC. In the 1970s, Dingell advocated for the NRA, in an era where many Democrats backed the group. The New York Times examined a trove of documents which outlined Dingell's relationship with the NRA. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy The late Democrat Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, an institution in US politics who served in Congress from 1955 to 2015, played a significant role in enacting countless pieces of legislation over the course of generations, with his eye always on the constituents that he represented in his Detroit-area district. But a trove of documents recently examined by The New York Times also reveals the role that Dingell played in the rise of the National Rife Association's political influence beginning in the 1970s, with the congressman's efforts playing a major role in the development of the organization's lobbying outfit. "An organization with as many members, and as many potential resources, both financial and influential within its ranks, should not have to go 2d or 3d Class in a fight for survival," Dingell wrote in a 1975 memo obtained by The Times, where he outlined how the NRA could become a force on Capitol Hill. "It should go First Class." In addition to his congressional work, Dingell for years also served on the board of the NRA, stepping down in 1994 after supporting that year's highly consequential crime bill — which included the landmark assault weapons ban that was overwhelmingly supported by most Democrats and vehemently opposed by Republicans. Although Dingell voted for the crime bill after intense lobbying from then-President Bill Clinton, the congressman almost immediately sought out ways to repeal the assault weapons provision after the larger bill was signed into law, according to The Times. In that year's midterm elections, Republicans flipped both houses of Congress fueled in part by intense opposition to gun control in a slew of rural districts anchored in the Midwest and South. As Dingell's staff pondered a potential repeal push in a 1995 memo, they also realized that "a solid explanation will have to be made to the majority of our voters who favor gun control." Rep. Debbie Dingell, who succeeded her husband in Congress in 2015, told The Times that the congressman needed police protection for several months after the assault weapons ban went on the books. (The ban expired in September 2004 and has yet to be renewed.) "We had people scream and yell at us. It was the first time I had seen that real hate," she told the newspaper. John Dingell continued to have talks with the NRA over gun policy throughout the rest of the career — notably after the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, and the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. But according to Debbie Dingell, her late husband's views on the NRA and guns had shifted during his nearly 60-year political career. "I can't tell you how many nights I heard him talking to people about how the NRA was going too far, how they didn't understand the times," the congresswoman told The Times. "He was a deep believer in the Second Amendment, and at the end he still deeply believed, but he also saw the world was changing." John Dingell died in February 2019. He was 92 years old.
Texas police held a Black family at gunpoint and handcuffed their son after an officer mistyped while running their license plate 2023-07-30 - Texas officers pulled over a Black family after mistyping while running their license plate. The officers pointed their guns at the couple as they commanded them to leave the car and even handcuffed their son. "We made a mistake," the Frisco Police Chief said in a statement following the July 23 event. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy Police in Frisco, Texas held a Black couple at gunpoint and handcuffed their son earlier this month after mistyping their car's license plate into their system, leading them to falsely believe the car the family was driving was stolen. The incident occurred on July 23 on the Dallas North Tollway as the family drove to a basketball tournament. While running the car's license plate, officers mistakenly told their system the plate was from Arizona. In reality, the family's car had an Arkansas license plate, leading the system to tell the officers the car was stolen, the Frisco Police Department said in a statement. Body cam footage shows an officer holding the family at gunpoint. Officers ordered the family to show their hands, and commanded the driver to exit the car, face away from the officers, lift up her shirt while spinning to reveal her waistband, and walk backwards. The woman repeatedly told officers the car belonged to her and even clarified she's from Arkansas, not Arizona, body cam footage from another office shows. The woman became increasingly concerned after seeing officers handcuff her son. "Please don't let them do that to my baby, this is very traumatizing," she cried. "Why is my baby in cuffs? What are you all doing? Do not treat my baby this way." After officers realized their mistake, they acknowledged it to the family. "This was an honest mistake," an officer told one of the boys in the car. Another took responsibility while speaking to the parents: "That's on me." "We made a mistake," Frisco Police Chief David Shilson said in the department's later statement. "Our department will not hide from its mistakes. "Instead, we will learn from them." Civil rights attorney David Henderson told The Dallas Morning News he believes officers profiled the family and violated their constitutional rights. "In cases I've seen involving people of color who have a license to carry, as soon as they alert the police to the fact that they have a weapon, the police change drastically in terms of how they deal with them," he said.
Pittsburgh's major airport is opening a child care center in a terminal to retain airport employees 2023-07-30 - Airports are providing child care for airport employees to keep them in the business. Pittsburgh's airport will be the first to offer a childcare center in a terminal, NBC News reported. It comes as an airline and airport labor shortage complicates an increasing travel demand post-pandemic. Morning Brew Insider recommends waking up with, a daily newsletter. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking “Sign Up,” you also agree to marketing emails from both Insider and Morning Brew; and you accept Insider’s Terms and Privacy Policy Click here for Morning Brew’s privacy policy. As airports try to retain employees, they've turned to providing child care for workers to entice them to stay in the business. Pittsburgh International Airport joins a growing list of airports working to provide childcare to its employees. Uniquely, PIT is the first to offer childcare services in one of its terminals, NBC News reported. "This will be so convenient. With the facility right here, we'll be able pop in and check on him, which will give us peace of mind," Trudi Shertzer, an operations duty manager at the airport, told NBC News. Shertzer's husband also works in the airport as a wildlife manager, according to the outlet. The child care center, which is due to open in August, has 61 spaces available, NBC reported. It's available to the 6,000 employees at the airport, though the 475 airport authority employees will get first dibs, the outlet reported. Childcare is becoming an increasingly important benefit for airports to offer employees, who often work extended hours. The industry has tried to spruce up benefits as travel demand remains high but airlines continue to struggle with a labor shortage. "If you want people to work crazy shifts, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the day, you need to be able to accommodate their family life too," Thomas Romig, vice president at airport trade group Airports Council International, previously told Reuters on the topic. Childcare centers have popped up in California and Arizona airports, according to NBC. Denver International Airport and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport are considering following suit, the outlet reported.
A trucking giant that's been on America's roads for almost a century is on the brink of collapse with 30,000 jobs at risk, report says 2023-07-30 - A trucking giant is in danger of shutting down for good, leaving 30,000 unemployed, WSJ reports. Yellow Corp. has serviced retail giants for nearly a century. The Trump administration approved a $700 million CARES Act loan to the company in 2020. Morning Brew Insider recommends waking up with, a daily newsletter. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking “Sign Up,” you also agree to marketing emails from both Insider and Morning Brew; and you accept Insider’s Terms and Privacy Policy Click here for Morning Brew’s privacy policy. After 99 years in business, a titan in the trucking industry is reportedly days away from shutting down. Yellow Corporation, a company that services Walmart, Home Depot, and more, is preparing to file for bankruptcy, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company laid off hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday, and 30,000 more are in danger of losing their jobs. The Nashville-based company received a $700 million CARES Act loan from the Trump administration in 2020 – a decision that garnered scrutiny amid objections from the Defense Department. Its potential shutdown would put 22,000 Teamsters out of work. "Teamsters have kept this company afloat for more than a decade through billions of dollars in wage, pension and work-rule concessions," a union spokesman told The Journal. "Yellow couldn't manage itself, and it wasn't up to Teamsters to do it for them." The Teamsters told union members that the "likelihood that Yellow will survive is increasingly bleak" in a memo on Friday, per The Journal. Customers have reportedly been leaving the company for its competitors amid talks to sell parts of the business. The average income of truckers today is half the $110,000 per year they earned in 1980 due in part to the Motor Carrier Act passed the same year. The act deregulated the trucking industry by letting trucking companies to set their own rates. Representatives for Yellow didn't return Insider's request for comment by deadline.
Maryland police are using drones from a Chinese company that were banned in four states 2023-07-30 - Police agencies across Maryland are using drones from DJI, a Chinese technology company. DJI was added to a US investment blacklist after officials say they sold drones to Chinese police for Uyghur surveillance. Officials with the manufacturer say they have never turned over data from a US product to the Chinese government. Morning Brew Insider recommends waking up with, a daily newsletter. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking “Sign Up,” you also agree to marketing emails from both Insider and Morning Brew; and you accept Insider’s Terms and Privacy Policy Click here for Morning Brew’s privacy policy. Several law enforcement agencies across Maryland are using drones made by a Chinese company that was added to a US investment blacklist in 2020 and is banned in four states. Maryland police are using drones from DJI, a Chinese technology company that dominates the global drone market, local station WBAL TV reported. The US Treasury Department added DJI to a US investment blacklist in December 2021. The move came after US officials said the company sold drones to Xinjiang police for use in surveilling Uyghur residents, the Washington Post reported. The Uyghurs have faced systematic persecution from the Chinese government. Last August, the United Nations issued a report concluding the Chinese government's abuses against Uyghurs could constitute crimes against humanity. US officials have also raised concerns about data privacy, with four states and several US agencies banning the use of DJI drones, WBAL TV reported. Earlier this year, Arkansas became the latest state to enact the ban. Adam Welsh — the head of global policy for DJI — told WBAL TV the company had never given US data to the Chinese government. Furthermore, officials with Maryland state police say they have not found another supplier that lives up to the quality of DJI drones. "There are drones that are made here in the United States, but they do not come up, in our opinion, to the level that the DJI drones that we are using come to," Senior Deputy Michael Wilsinski told WBAL TV.
A Florida Republican running for Congress says DeSantis may have tanked his own political career in the state by running against Trump 2023-07-30 - Republican Alan Pincus told WaPo that DeSantis may have tanked his political future in Florida over his 2024 bid. DeSantis once led Trump in earlier Florida surveys of the Republican presidential primary. But Trump has continued to dominate the GOP race and DeSantis has had to reboot his campaign. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is at a major crossroads in the 2024 presidential race. He entered the race in May as the top challenger to former President Donald Trump, hoping to carve out a lane among Republicans who wanted to see a nominee who was laser-focused on conservative policies and had the results to back it up. But his campaign has stalled in recent weeks, forcing him to lay off staffers and recalibrate his message as he faces an emerging threat from the candidacy of Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. But at DeSantis' core is his political appeal in Florida, where he won reelection last November by 19 points over former Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist, winning nearly every county in the state. With DeSantis continuing to lag behind Trump in the state, some Republicans are also rethinking the governor's continued strength in the state which launched him to national conservative stardom. And many of those same Republicans have also stated that a bloc of voters are turned off by DeSantis' decision to challenge Trump in the first place. Republican Alan Pincus — who backed DeSantis for governor in 2022 and is running for Congress next year — told The Washington Post that if DeSantis loses the GOP presidential primary, his political future in Florida may fizzle as well. "DeSantis has no chance of winning," Pincus told the newspaper. "He really hurt himself, maybe permanently." DeSantis once led in early Florida polling among the GOP presidential contenders. But even in the Sunshine State, he's fallen behind Trump — in a head-to-head contest, the latest Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet Research survey had Trump leading DeSantis 54%-37%. In the FiveThirtyEight average of national Republican presidential polls, Trump currently sits at 52.4%, well ahead of the second- and third-place contenders — DeSantis (averaging 15.5% support) and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (averaging 6.8% of GOP primary support).
GOP Gov. Sununu slams Trump, saying he 'doesn't have the energy' and is 'droning on for 90 minutes' during events 2023-07-30 - GOP Gov. Chris Sununu said Trump doesn't have the energy from past campaigns. Trump's latest speeches have been "droning" and unfocused, Sununu told ABC News. Sununu said Trump's incumbent advantage balances his lack of favor among Republican politicians. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy Donald Trump may be leading the GOP polls, but he's not the same person he was during his last two campaigns. "This is not the Donald Trump of 2016. Don't fool yourself," said New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who says he's doing everything he can to keep Trump from becoming the 2024 GOP presidential nominee. On Sunday's "This Week" on ABC News, Sununu said Trump lacks energy and enthusiasm at some events, like at the GOP's Lincoln Day Dinner in Iowa on Friday. Trump and several other GOP candidates took turns addressing the audience, making a pitch for themselves. The Iowa caucuses, the first in the national succession of GOP presidential caucuses, will take place on January 15, 2024. "It was the worst speech. It was the worst 10 minutes," Sununu said on ABC News. "He read from a binder. He didn't look up. He didn't smile. It was absolutely dead speech." Sununu was considered a GOP presidential contender until he announced in June that he would not to run, saying he wanted to make "sure this is about the Republican Party, not just about the former president," according to The New York Times. "He doesn't have the energy. He doesn't have the fastball," Sununu told ABC News on Sunday. "He basically is droning on for 90 minutes on his long-form speeches about his legal battles as opposed to talking about the future of this country, solving the problems of this country, which is what all the other candidates are doing." Sununu said Trump brings "a lot of drama to the table," comparing the former president's presidential run to a rerun of a soap opera. Just a day before the GOP dinner, additional charges were filed against Trump in the federal government's classified documents case. Trump's support remains a complex question amid his ongoing legal woes. While less than 10% of his former cabinet members have openly supported his re-election run, he still leads by miles in the polls. Sununu said that advantage comes from being the incumbent. "Of course, he was going to be at the top. He's got the name ID, the recognition, all of that," Sununu said. "The fact that the majority of Republicans clear don't want him, that's an opportunity."
‘X’ on Twitter’s Headquarters Faces Investigation Over Permit Violations 2023-07-30 - Inspectors with the city attempted to gain access to the roof a second time on Saturday, but “upon arrival access was denied again by tenant,” the complaint said. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday. Matt Dorsey, the District 6 supervisor who represents the part of the city where Twitter has its headquarters, said the company seemed to be in an “adversarial posture” when it refused to let building inspectors in. He said he hoped that it would change its stance. “I would like to sort of extend an olive branch,” Mr. Dorsey said. “I think there’s a lot of people in city government who would welcome the opportunity to work with a large employer like X, and let’s figure out what we’re going to do with the sign, but we can have a good productive partnership with a city employer.” This is not the first time the social media company has run into an issue over signage. The San Francisco police stopped workers on Monday from removing the brand’s iconic bird logo from the side of the building, saying that the workers had not taped off the sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe if anything fell, The Associated Press reported. A complaint about that sign’s removal was also filed with the city. The “X” was installed shortly after the original sign was removed, The A.P. reported.
US offices are sitting empty – business owners will have to adapt 2023-07-30 - You’d have to be asleep not to notice the generational change that’s happening in just about every US city. A significant swath of our downtown office space is sitting empty. New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Denver, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas and other big cities are experiencing record-high office vacancies as workers keep working from home and companies keep letting them. Let’s face it: the downtown office market has changed significantly and permanently. Companies – such as Comcast in my home town of Philadelphia – can demand that their employees come back to the office, but they’re fighting against the tide. Work attitudes have changed. Technology is better. Remote working is accepted. Some face-time is necessary but we’re never going to go back to a 100% in-the-office policy, and companies that attempt this will lose talent to those that adapt to the shift. All this means that a substantial amount of square feet in all those tall office buildings in our major metropolitan areas are going to remain empty. The owners of these properties are already feeling the pressure of meeting higher debt maintenance with lower lease revenue, with many facing default. Countless small businesses in downtown areas facing significantly less traffic are closing their doors. And unless something is done, those empty buildings – after the banks have repossessed them from bankrupt borrowers – will become derelict, inviting even more crime and homelessness. It’s already happening. So what to do? The good news is that there are many opportunities for the entrepreneurial. For example, existing office floors can be turned into less expensive single units for startups and incubators who want to boast a downtown address. Some buildings in cities with a vibrant and residential downtown – like Philadelphia – could be turned into residences. Others that are burdened with older, unsafe, non-air-conditioned school structures could convert this space into classrooms for students. Or perhaps all the homeless people sleeping on the streets outside of these empty structures could be given a warm place to stay with medical and counselling support? With the continuing boom in e-commerce, warehouse space remains costly but could become more affordable – and logistically accessible – in a downtown structure. Manufacturing space could be more accommodating, with a better location making it easier to procure workers. Other alternatives for these buildings already being considered include vertical farming, storage facilities, gyms and movie sets. Or what about taking the red pill and merely knocking these buildings down and creating open spaces, parks, museums or structures that are more amenable to this new era of downtown life? Sounds great, right? But who’s going to pay for all of this? The cost of converting downtown office buildings into farms, startup incubators, warehouses or residences would not be trivial. The revenue streams from these ventures are dubious and – specifically if used for public housing or education – would probably be non-existent. Attracting private investment would be an enormous and likely fruitless challenge. For the downtowns of Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Philadelphia to pivot into this post-pandemic world what is going to be needed is a lot of pandemic-era government funding, and considering that more than $6tn has been spent on pandemic aid this is not an easy ask. But it’s going to be asked. And how will voters respond? Those living in suburban and rural areas – many of which are booming thanks to those work-from-home employees who are now paying more rents and spending more money in their neighborhoods than downtown – aren’t going to be too thrilled. They will wonder why their taxpayer money is being spent on propping up our crumbling downtowns instead of their own schools, police departments and municipal services. This is the looming debate and it is likely to be decided at the local level. And it’s going to play out over the next few years. But if you’re running a business in a downtown area that’s reliant on the office worker coming back to the office, my advice is you’re going to have to do something quicker. Perhaps public money one day will rain down on you and sow the seeds of new projects that will generate more foot traffic and customers. But you better not wait. It’s time to reconsider your location and your business model if you want to survive.
Millions of UK families using credit cards and loans to pay basic bills 2023-07-30 - Millions of families are borrowing to cover basic bills and expenses, according to analysis that warns Britain is entering a dangerous new phase of the cost of living crisis. Interest rates are expected to rise again this week and there are warnings about a “timebomb of debt” among poorer households. Reports suggest companies are targeting struggling single parents, using social media ads, to offer inappropriate debt repayment schemes that will leave them worse off. According to Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) analysis shared with the Observer, 2.3 million low-income families have reported taking out loans or using credit to pay essential bills during the crisis. Political attention has focused on the impact of interest rates on mortgage payers, but they are also having an impact on those on tight budgets. In many cases, the option of borrowing is being cut off. Nearly 6 million low-income families have unsecured debt, such as credit cards, overdrafts and personal loans from banks, credit unions and payday lenders. In May this year, they owed £14.2bn in total. Interest on this debt was £3.9bn, equivalent to about £675 a year per family. Using credit to pay bills is not preventing households from falling behind with payments. Three-quarters report arrears with at least one household bill or lending commitment, with 44% in arrears with three or more bills. Meanwhile 2.8 million low-income households said they had been refused a loan between May 2021 and May 2023. Facing rising bills, Julie Anna Richmond from Enniskillen is sticking to a strict budget to clear debt. Photograph: Paul McErlane/The Observer “The cost of living crisis is entering a dangerous new phase,” said Rachelle Earwaker, senior economist at JRF. “Even at this apparent peak in economic suffering, millions of low-income families continue to rely on the lifeline of unsecured lending to prevent them falling even further into severe material hardship. But with interest rates continuing to rise, it remains unclear how much more weight this option can bear. “Despite inflation falling back, we risk the tragedy of a second wave in this crisis, as millions of people struggle to maintain their borrowing in view of rising interest rates. The fragility of the current situation ought to be a preoccupation for policymakers everywhere, but on the contrary, it is in danger of being overlooked. While rising mortgage costs dominate the national conversation, the affordability of short-term credit should also be a factor of vital concern.” With energy prices falling and inflation showing signs of slowing, there are concerns among those on the frontline helping struggling households that the cost of living crisis has fallen down the political agenda. Emer Sheehy, principal policy manager at Citizens Advice, said it was still the charity’s top concern. “Our data is still at historic highs across the board on many of these issues,” she said. “If we don’t respond quickly, the likely result is a timebomb of debt as people find it impossible to make ends meet, or pay back any debts they’ve built up in the last year.” She also warned that action was needed to tackle the targeting of struggling families by sellers of individual voluntary agreements (IVAs) that were not appropriate for many people in debt. “What we’re seeing in the debt landscape is a kind of wild west,” she said. “It’s a big problem that we see particularly with IVAs, which have grown exponentially.” Julie Anna Richmond, 51, from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, knows how long it can take to reverse a spiral into debt. She built up arrears a decade ago when she moved into a women’s aid refuge. She had fallen ill, had to quit her job and was no longer able to pay her bills. “People think you’re in debt because you went on a spending spree or you have an issue with money, but that’s not always the case,” she said. With the help of Christians Against Poverty, she is now on a plan that will see her become debt-free by January, but rising costs this year have made it more difficult. “Electricity has gone up quite a bit and I have medical equipment,” she said. “I don’t want to contact CAP and ask to pay less [debt payments] because I really want to be debt-free in January. I’m sticking to a strict budget.” There are now calls for the government to help by cancelling the deductions many low-paid households face from universal credit payments. Deductions are often made to clear earlier debts or to repay an advance. “It is crucial the government continues to uprate benefits with inflation and looks for ways to increase income for the most vulnerable households, for example by stopping unaffordable deductions from universal credit to repay government debts,” said Peter Tutton, head of policy at the StepChange debt charity. A government spokesperson said: “We know people are struggling with rising prices, which is why we are delivering support worth on average £3,300 per household, uprating benefits in line with inflation and have increased the national living wage. “We have invested a record £90m to support free debt advice in England and our Breathing Space scheme gives those facing financial difficulties space to receive debt advice, without pressure from creditors or mounting debts. “Deductions help to protect claimants from enforcement actions such as eviction, make sure priority debts like child maintenance are addressed and recover money when overpayments are made.”
Rishi Sunak to use Scottish trip to attack Labour stance on North Sea oil 2023-07-30 - Rishi Sunak is to make a visit to north-east Scotland focused on North Sea energy that is intended to draw a dividing line between the government and Labour’s plan to ban new oil and gas projects. While No 10 said in advance only that the prime minister would use the trip to Aberdeenshire to commit to policies connected to energy security and net zero, he is expected to announce funding for a planned carbon capture scheme in the region. The money will be provided for the already mooted Acorn carbon capture and storage project, which had initially missed out when two other sites were chosen for such schemes in 2021, one in Humber and Teesside, and the other in Liverpool Bay. A Downing Street announcement said that Sunak was to “confirm that Scotland will continue to be at the forefront of UK government plans to strengthen the UK’s long-term energy security”, giving no further details. However, the Times reported that the prime minister will use the trip to announce the government will issue 100 licences for companies that want to extract oil and gas from the North Sea. The No 10 statement said the prime minister will meet “key energy industry figures and companies”, and outline policies to ensure energy security. He is due to begin by appearing on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland on Monday. As well as giving Sunak a relatively rare foray into Scotland, where the Conservatives are seen as vulnerable in the six seats they hold, the visit is also intended as a chance to attack Labour’s plans on energy. Keir Starmer’s party, which is hopeful of winning back a series of Scottish seats, has pledged to ban drilling for new oil and gas projects in the North Sea, although existing wells would remain operational for decades to come, and make heavy investments in green technologies to create jobs. Environmental groups and scientists have said an end to new fossil fuel projects is vital to meet net zero goals, but Sunak and his ministers have argued that the ban could leave the UK vulnerable. Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said his party welcomed investment in carbon capture and storage but he sought assurances after the Acorn project was overlooked in 2021. “There can be no more broken promises or delays. Now is the time to strike on Scotland’s green energy potential,” he said. The Scottish Greens, the SNP’s partners in government, said that while carbon capture and storage had a role, it “must not be used as a justification for more North Sea drilling, which will have a devastating impact on our environment and take us even closer to climate breakdown”. Ed Miliband, the shadow climate secretary, said: “Every family and business is paying the price, in higher energy bills, of 13 years of failed Tory energy policy. It is absurd that having left this country so exposed, the Conservative party is asking the public to believe they can fix it. “And it’s telling that while Labour focuses on lower bills and good jobs, Rishi Sunak lurches desperately towards a culture war on climate to appease his split party, losing track of what he believes from day to day, depending on which faction he’s met with. “It’s no way to govern and it’s costing working people.”
Step to riches? Disused stairwell in London could be yours for just £20,000 2023-07-30 - If climbing the property ladder seems stressful to you, why not consider taking the stairs? A disused four-storey stairwell at the back of a branch of Starbucks in south-west London has become the latest peculiar piece of property to go on sale in London’s feverish housing market. Yours for £20,000 or thereabouts, the oddity will go under auction on Tuesday – with agents suggesting its appeals include a long leasehold, full vacant possession and “development potential”. Quite what form that potential takes requires some imagination. The online video tour shows the space littered with cardboard boxes, a bicycle, a tired potted plant and a number of fire extinguishers. The jaunty soundtrack – more usually heard layered over promotional clips for sleek apartments or cosy cottages – attempts to draw the viewer’s attention from the broken windows. But, as an optimistic estate agent may say, it is flooded with natural light and, being a minute’s walk from the Thames in the centre of Twickenham, its location has undeniable appeal. Those viewing the listing online have suggested turning it into a workspace or a vertical farm. It has, as property agents say, “hope value”. There is no shortage of demand for flats in the area, which sell for more than £400,000 – but how the stairwell could be adapted would require ingenuity and, most importantly, planning permission. Office pods for workers desperate to escape working from home or a vertical farm are among ideas suggested by some who have viewed the particulars. It is understood the stairwell is no longer connected to the block of flats that it used to serve and realistically anyone bidding would be doing so in the hope they could get permission to build something, or at the very least extensively adapt the existing structure on the small footprint available. The auction is the latest in a line of head-scratching property offers in the capital – where the average property value has increased 63% in the last decade from £322,000 to £525,000, according to official data. Flats being shown on the rental market increasingly have beds erected on platforms above living areas combined with kitchens and built-in storage more familiar to the layout of camper vans. A windowless room in a warehouse was put on the market in east London for £600 a month in May. A studio in Chiswick with a shower in the kitchen was on offer for £999 in January, while in the same month a £1,500 a month studio in Notting Hill had a toilet and kitchen sink less than a metre apart. The staircase “opportunity” comes amid UK government plans to make it easier to convert shops and offices into homes in order to address the housing crisis. Earlier this month, Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, said rules will be drawn up to give greater freedoms to carry out property extensions and to open up lofts.
How Much Money Can I Gift Without Owing Taxes? 2023-07-29 - gift tax limit For 2023, the annual gift tax exemption is $17,000, up from $16,000 in 2022. This means you can give up to $17,000 to as many people as you want in 2023 without any of it being subject to the federal gift tax. The gift tax is imposed by the IRS if you transfer money or property – worth more than an exempted amount – to another person without receiving at least equal value in return. This could apply to parents giving money to their children, the gifting of property such as a house or a car, or any other transfer. There is also a lifetime exclusion of $12.92 million in 2023. For help with the gift tax or any other personal finance issues you may have, consider working with a financial advisor. Annual Gift Tax Limits The annual gift tax exclusion of $17,000 for 2023 is the amount of money that you can give as a gift to one person, in any given year, without having to pay any gift tax. You never have to pay taxes on gifts that are equal to or less than the annual exclusion limit. So you don’t need to worry about paying the gift tax on, say, a sweater you bought your nephew for Christmas. The annual gift exclusion limit applies on a per-recipient basis. This gift tax limit isn’t a cap on the total sum of all your gifts for the year. You can make individual $17,000 gifts to as many people as you want. You just cannot gift any one recipient more than $17,000 within one year without deducting from your lifetime exemption. If you’re married, you and your spouse can each gift up to $167,000 to any one recipient. If you gift more than the exclusion to a recipient, you will need to file tax forms to disclose those gifts to the IRS. You may also have to pay taxes on it. If that’s the case, the tax rates range from 18% up to 40%. However, you won’t have to pay any taxes as long as you haven’t hit the lifetime gift tax exemption. Lifetime Gift Tax Limits Most taxpayers won’t ever pay gift tax because the IRS allows you to gift up to $12.92 million (as of 2023) over your lifetime without having to pay gift tax. This is the lifetime gift tax exemption, and it’s up from $12.06 million in 2021. Story continues So let’s say that in 2023 you gift $217,000 to a family member. This gift is $200,000 over the annual gift exclusion, meaning you’ll need to report it to the IRS. However, you won’t immediately have to pay tax on that gift. Instead, the IRS deducts that $200,000 from your lifetime gift tax exemption. So assuming you never made any other gifts over the annual exemption, your remaining lifetime exemption is now $12.72 million ($12.92 million minus $200,000). The table below breaks down this example: Example of Lifetime Exemption Limits Gift Value $217,000 2022 Gift Tax Exemption Limit $17,000 Taxable Amount $200,000 Lifetime Gift Tax Exemption Limit $12,920,000 Remaining Lifetime Exemption Limit $12,720,000 Most taxpayers will not reach the gift tax limit of $12.92 million over their lifetimes. However, the lifetime gift tax exemption becomes important again when you die and pass on an estate. How the Gift Tax Works The IRS defines a gift as “any transfer to an individual, either directly or indirectly, where full consideration is not received in return.” In other words, if you write a big check, gift some investments or give a car to someone other than your spouse or dependent, you have made a gift. The IRS has a gift tax limit, both for the amount you can give each year and for what you can give over the course of your life. If you go over those limits, you will have to pay a tax on the amount of gifts that are over the limit. This tax is the gift tax. In almost every case, the donor is responsible for paying gift tax, not the recipient. A recipient will only pay gift tax in special circumstances where he or she has elected to pay it through an agreement with the donor. Even though recipients don’t face any immediate tax consequences, they can face capital gains tax if they sell gifted property down the line. There are two numbers to keep in mind as you think about gift tax: the annual gift tax exclusion and the lifetime gift tax exemption. How to Calculate the Gift Tax Just like your federal income tax, the gift tax is based on marginal tax brackets. And rates range between 18% and 40%. If you want to calculate the taxable income for gifts exceeding the annual exclusion limit, the table below breaks down the rate that you will have to pay based on the value of the gift. 20223 Gift Tax Rates Gift Value Above the Annual Exclusion Limit Rate Up to $10,000 18% $10,001 to $20,000 20% $20,001 to $40,000 22% $40,001 to $60,000 24% $60,001 to $80,000 26% $80,001 to $100,000 28% $100,001 to $150,000 30% $150,001 to $250,000 32% $250,001 to $500,000 34% $500,001 to $750,000 37% $750,001 to $1,000,000 39% More than $1,000,000 40% Gift Tax and Estate Tax gift tax limit The federal government will collect estate tax if your estate has a value of more than the federal estate tax exemption. The exemption for 2023 is $12.92 million. At the same time, the exemption for your estate may not be the full $12.92 million. You can only exempt your estate up to the amount of your remaining lifetime gift tax exemption. So let’s say that you have lowered your lifetime exemption down to $10 million by making $2.92 million in taxable gifts over your life. The federal government would then tax any estate that you pass on to someone for all value over $10 million. In other words, the gift tax and estate tax have a single combined exclusion. Regardless of whether the gift is passed to the recipient before or after your death, it applies toward that same $12.92 million limit. All of this means that one way to prevent taxation of any assets you pass on is to gift those assets in increments of $17,000 or less. This could take some planning on your part but it is completely legal. There are also some gifts that you never have to pay tax on. What Gifts Are Safe From Taxes? Taxable gifts can include cash, checks, property and even interest-free loans. It also applies to anything you sell below fair market value. For instance, if you sell your home to your non-dependent child for $175,000 when it’s worth $250,000, the $75,000 difference could be considered a gift. That surpasses the annual gift tax limit and thus is deducted from your lifetime gift tax limit. What constitutes a gift that counts toward your gift tax limit is generally easy to understand. There are several things that the IRS doesn’t consider a gift, however. You can give unlimited gifts in these categories without facing a gift tax or having to file gift tax paperwork: Anything given to a spouse who is a U.S. citizen Anything given to a dependent Charitable donations Political donations Funds paid directly to educational institutions on behalf of someone else Funds paid directly to medical service or health insurance providers on behalf of someone else There are, of course, a few exceptions to keep in mind. If your spouse is not a U.S. citizen, you can only give him or her $157,000 each year. Anything above that is subject to gift tax and counts against your lifetime limit. Funds that cover educational expenses refer only to tuition. That does not include books, dorms or meal plans. You can skirt the gift tax by contributing to someone’s 529 college savings plan with a lump sum and then spreading it over five years for tax purposes. The IRS allows taxpayers to donate $75,000 into a 529 plan without paying tax or reducing the lifetime limit. The only caveat is that any additional gifts for the same recipient will count toward your lifetime limit. Lastly, it’s important to note that charitable donations are not only exempt from gift tax, they may also be eligible as an itemized deduction on your individual income tax return. How to File Your Gift Tax Return The first step to paying gift tax is reporting your gift. Complete IRS Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, on or before your tax filing deadline. Download the document, complete each relevant line and sign and date along the bottom. You then send the form in with the rest of your tax return. You should complete Form 709 anytime you gift in excess of $17,000 – even if you’re within the $12.92 million lifetime limit. You’ll have to file a Form 709 each year you give a reportable gift, and each form should list all reportable gifts made during the calendar year. If you live in Connecticut or Minnesota, you may also have to file a state gift tax return. These are the only states that have their own gift tax. In most cases, you can file a gift tax return on your own. If your transfers are large or complex, though, consider finding a financial professional. Bottom Line gift tax limit The IRS allows every taxpayer is gift up to $17,000 to an individual recipient in one year. There is no limit to the number of recipients you can give a gift to. There is also a lifetime exemption of $12.92 million. Even if you gift someone more than $17,000 in one year, you will not have to pay any gift taxes unless you go over that lifetime gift tax limit. You will still need to report gifts over the annual exclusion to the IRS via Form 709. The IRS will lower your remaining lifetime exclusion over time and then use that amount to determine how much of your estate you need to pay estate tax on. Tips for Getting Through Tax Season Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now. Any charitable donations that you make are tax deductible. As you plan for your taxes, it’s important to keep track of your potential deductions throughout the year. They could save you money if you make deductions worth more than the standard deduction. One way to maximize your deductions is to use the right tax filing service. Two of the best filing services, H&R Block and TurboTax, both offer tools to help you maximize your deductions. And while both services are easy-to-use, certain taxpayers may prefer one over the other. Here’s a breakdown of H&R Block vs. TurboTax to help you decide which is best for you. Photo credit: ©iStock.com/donald_gruener, ©iStock.com/Goran13, ©iStock.com/YinYang The post Gift Tax Limits: How Much Can You Gift? appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.
Help! I Got a Private Letter Ruling (PLR) From the IRS. What Happens Next? 2023-07-29 - Understanding a Private Letter Ruling (PLR) Private letter rulings, commonly known as "guidances," are the bane of tax attorneys everywhere. They are very specific, vast in number and essential to understanding how tax law works. In brief, it's a written answer issued by the IRS to a specific taxpayer question. It gives the agency's position on this particular filing but is also considered an official statement by the IRS on how tax law works on this and related areas. Though not considered a binding precedent for future decisions, it is a strong indication of how the IRS will rule in similar situations. Here's what you need to know. A financial advisor can help you optimize your tax plan. Find a fiduciary advisor today. How the IRS Issues Guidance Tax is one of the most complicated areas of U.S. law. There are two main reasons for this. First, there's simply a lot of it. When people talk about "tax law" they're referring to a body of work that includes, among other things: The tax statute itself, Title 26 of the U.S. Code IRS Regulations IRS Statements interpreting its regulations and the tax statute Judicial opinions and case law on tax issues Politifact measures the tax statute alone at more than 6,500 pages. Then there are the regulations that define how the IRS will enforce U.S.C. 26, the guidances addressing this legislation, the judicial opinions on whether the IRS interpreted all of it correctly, and so on. The second reason is that tax law is one of the most specific areas of U.S. law. All of this sheer volume of tax law comes, in part, from the fact that tax law doesn't leave much room for interpretation. When it comes to taxes, people need specific answers to a very specific question: How much do I owe? The IRS does not function on ambiguity nor does it allow people to reasonably decide how much they should owe. Come Tax Day every year, taxpayers need to know exactly how much to pay without having to resolve the issue in court. Story continues This creates problems. When the vast, complicated body of tax law interacts with the complexity of any given individual's or business' finances, the results are often unpredictable. Yet in a system that seeks specificity, there's not much room to adapt around unpredictability. A taxpayer's filing is right or its wrong … and it's not always possible to know that answer ahead of time. So the agency issues what are known as "guidances." An IRS guidance is a statement from the agency about how tax laws will apply to a specific set of facts. Through its guidances, the tax agency addresses specific questions as they arise. What Are Private Letter Rulings? Understanding a Private Letter Ruling (PLR) A private letter ruling is a form of individual guidance that the IRS publishes at the request of a taxpayer. It applies the tax law to a specific set of facts and advises the taxpayer of their rights and responsibilities in that situation. It is "issued to establish with certainty the federal tax consequences of a particular transaction before the transaction is consummated or before the taxpayer's return is filed," the agency says. These guidances are issued in response to a written request that a taxpayer submits. They are binding if the taxpayer "fully and accurately described the proposed transaction in the request and carries out the transaction as described." However, as mentioned earlier, a private letter ruling shouldn't be relied upon as precedent by other taxpayers or IRS personnel. Lastly, these rulings are typically made public after all information that could identify an individual taxpayer has been redacted or removed. The purpose of a private letter ruling is to help someone figure out their tax liability in advance before they file their taxes. This allows the individual to know what they owe and helps the IRS to avoid the time-consuming process of bouncing back someone's tax return. How Private Letter Rulings Affect Tax Law In one sense, private letter rulings do not affect tax law at all. The IRS is clear that any given PLR applies only to the situation in front of it. This is a specific answer to a specific question: "How much do I, personally, owe right now?" But in law, all precedent is considered informative even when it is nonbinding. A private letter ruling does not bind the IRS to any future action, but it does tell tax attorneys how the agency views any given situation. If the agency allows someone to depreciate their Toyota Camry, odds are they'll let the next taxpayer do the same with a Ford F-150. When trying to advise clients, tax attorneys always start by looking for specific answers to their questions. They look first to regulations and binding guidances such as revenue rulings, hoping to find a direct match to the client's needs. When that's not available, the next step is to look for a close comparison. A private letter ruling does not require the IRS to treat future cases the same way, but it indicates how the agency will rule in a similar situation. Tax lawyers or even individuals can use them as a resource to help answer questions when the existing law is ambiguous. How To Get A Private Letter Ruling Understanding a Private Letter Ruling (PLR) There's a catch, though. A private letter ruling is typically not a viable option for most taxpayers with questions for the IRS. Getting a private letter ruling is a time-consuming, highly technical and often expensive process. You must submit your request to the IRS in writing, on an unresolved issue relevant to a specific, upcoming tax filing. The IRS will not issue a private letter ruling for taxes that have already been filed, nor for ambiguous issues that relate to uncertain tax liabilities in the future. It will also not respond to issues that it considers resolved by the existing body of tax law. You must include the full details of your tax situation, and the IRS has a list of around 50 questions that you must answer in order to get a ruling. If the agency decides that you did not answer one of these questions to its satisfaction, or that the answer did not accurately reflect your financial situation, then it may either not issue a ruling or decide that its ruling is not binding. You also must pay a processing fee. Fees range from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands. While individuals may pay as little as $275, this is unusual. The common user fee for a PLR ranges between $5,000 and $38,000. If you meet these requirements, the IRS will typically get back to you within 21 days to discuss the next steps. Together, the complexity and high costs of a private letter ruling tend to make this a good option for wealthy taxpayers or businesses looking to clarify significant tax bills in advance of filing. For individuals, it's almost always better to seek a tax professional. Other Types of IRS Guidance Private letter rulings are one form of guidance that the IRS can issue. In general, there are other types of guidance that the tax agency publishes: Revenue rulings Revenue procedures Technical advice memoranda Notices Each of these serves a different function. A revenue ruling, for example, occurs when the IRS independently decides to clarify some issue of how to apply tax law to a given set of facts. For example, the agency may decide to clarify whether taxpayers can deduct a specific business expense. A revenue procedure, on the other hand, is an announcement by the IRS on how to calculate, file or otherwise process taxes. For example, the agency may decide to issue a revenue procedure to clarify what form taxpayers should use to list a given business deduction or how to calculate it. Bottom Line A private letter ruling is a statement from the IRS on how it applies the tax law to a specific set of facts for a specific taxpayer. They are issued when someone asks for a ruling. While they do not set binding precedents for future taxpayers, they are valuable guidance in determining how the IRS views the law. However, getting a private letter ruling is an expensive, time-consuming and highly technical process. As a result, it's not viable for average taxpayers. Tax Tips Independent contractors are a large and growing part of the workforce. They can also have some tricky nasty taxes to file. If you're an independent contractor or you're considering some work on the side, be sure to familiarize yourself with these tax rules. However, taxes don't have to be ugly or even unpleasant at all. A financial advisor with tax planning expertise can smooth out the process for you. Finding a financial advisor doesn't have to be hard. SmartAsset's free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you're ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now. Photo credit: ©iStock.com/Pgiam, ©iStock.com/sefa ozel, ©iStock.com/andresr The post Understanding a Private Letter Ruling (PLR) appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.
Wall Street Braces for the Great Loan Tightening: Credit Weekly 2023-07-29 - (Bloomberg) -- The great credit tightening is finally approaching on both sides of the Atlantic, if the latest surveys of bankers are anything to go by. Most Read from Bloomberg After delivering a fresh interest-rate hike Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled that Monday’s senior loan officer opinion survey, which typically polls more than 80 lenders, will show tightening lending standards. The extent of the decline will be closely watched. Thank restrictive monetary policy and bank turmoil for creating headaches for borrowers across the globe, from mom-and-pops to blue-chip companies. Over in Europe, appetite for corporate loans plunged by the most on record in the second quarter — a faster slowdown than anticipated. Add new US regulations that would force big banks to hike their capital buffers by billions of dollars and a case can be made that the long-anticipated stiffening of lending conditions is playing out. But its economic impact is less clear. Noting easing demand for commercial and industrial loans, the likes of Citigroup Inc. reckon the shift in the credit cycle could cut inflation-adjusted gross domestic product in the US and Europe by around 1% to 2% by the end of next year. “Its impact on the broader economy is taking longer as the overall liquidity in the system remains robust,” said Marvin Loh, global macro strategist at State Street Corp., referring to interest-rate hikes. For now, fixed-income investors seem relaxed. The extra yield that investment-grade corporate debt pays pays over government bonds is nearing the lowest since just before the regional banking crisis left money managers looking for safe havens. The sanguine market tone reflects the fact that recession bets have misfired all year, while alternative financiers like private credit firms are stepping up. Story continues “Continued tight monetary policy is certainly a drag on credit extension, but having the end in sight with increasing confidence can help ease that constraint,” said Steven Kelly, who researches financial crisis management at Yale University. “Skepticism of a so-called soft landing continues, but as the Fed continues to do the perceived-improbable on that front, the soft landing view will only grow in acceptance.” New capital requirement rules, with the biggest lenders having to boost their capital requirements by 19%, are also a headache for Wall Street. The proposal, which likely won’t be implemented for years, is probably already having an impact, according to Kelly. “At least at the margin, the expected path of bank capital regulations also is likely weighing on new bank credit extension,” he said before the official announcement earlier this week. Read More: Calm Before the Storm? Credit’s Cracks Widen Ahead of Recession Any knock to the economy from credit tightening would be clearly painful for the slew of companies that have built up a mountain of debt in the easy-money years and are now facing soaring borrowing costs. Issuers have responded by making larger payments on their commercial loans, Bank of America Corp. Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick said on a call with analysts earlier this month. In a note on Thursday, Armen Panossian and Danielle Poli at Oaktree Capital Management state their case for why elevated interest rates are set to send defaults higher. “Asset bubbles created during the easy money era could deflate painfully, causing a rash of downgrades, distress, and, eventually, defaults,” they wrote. Week in Review Demand for private credit rebounded globally in the second quarter, with 34 new funds raising $71.2 billion, Preqin data shows. Some of the biggest buyers in the $1.3 trillion CLO market are piling into securitizations stuffed full of private debt. Banks sold $2.125 billion of junk bonds and leveraged loans to fund Apollo Global Management Inc.’s acquisition of aluminum products maker Arconic Corp. Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group repaid a maturing dollar bond following a last-minute asset sale, after a dramatic week of record volatility. Carlyle Group extended a $200 million loan to iRobot Corp. to help it ride out the wait until Amazon.com Inc. gets the green light to acquire the maker of Roomba vacuums. In return, Carlyle stands to earn more than 14% a year. Casino Guichard Perrachon SA reached a restructuring deal with creditors that will see Chairman Jean-Charles Naouri’s holdings wiped out as he cedes control to investors led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Sino-Ocean Group Holding Ltd. is seeking extensions on both domestic and dollar bond payments, a reminder of the ongoing liquidity constraints in the property sector as new-home sales slump. Billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate is testing lender demand for financings that may total more than $1 billion. On the Move Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s top leveraged finance trader and partner Tom Malafronte is planning to depart the bank at the end of the year. He joined from Credit Suisse Group AG in 2013 and was promoted to head of US leveraged finance trading in 2019. At Goldman, Malafronte overlapped with Sam Berberian, who recently left Citigroup Inc. to join Citadel Securities as it builds out its credit trading unit. KeyCorp’s investment-banking arm named Doug Ingram a managing director and head of the syndicated and leveraged finance group. Ingram was most recently at Bank of America Corp., where he served as head of leveraged acquisition finance. Angelo Gordon & Co. has hired Tilden Park Capital Management’s David Busker to lead commercial real estate debt, and promoted several credit veterans as it bolsters its structured credit platform. Guggenheim Partners is recruiting restructuring veteran Homer Parkhill from Rothschild & Co., where he worked for more than 21 years. --With assistance from Dan Wilchins. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek ©2023 Bloomberg L.P.