Amazon may be 800 pound gorilla in Internet but it has fallen into some kind of trouble with tax matters in Japan. Well, the situation is a bit complicated. It is not a matter of tax evasion. Rather it is a matter of international trade. If you are interested about international trade and taxation then this matter should be of some interest to you.
But the company said the taxation was inappropriate and asked tax authorities in the United States and Japan to discuss whether the firm properly complied with the tax code in the bilateral tax treaty, the newspaper added.
It is matter of claim and counter claim. Amazon is saying that they have already paid the tax in USA for its income that Japanese government is claiming. On the other hand, Japanese tax officials are saying that Amazon has to pay $119 million in taxes for its operations in Japan.
Remittance is one of the top contributors for Philippine economy. Many workers from the country are in the Middle East countries and they send billions of dollars every year back home to families and relatives. However, now, because of economic recession, the country is suffering in this sector. So, President Gloria Arroyo has called on Japan to help the country. They have skilled workers who are good in English and that is why Gloria Arroyo is suggesting that her country can provide many English language teachers and IT workers for Japan.
What I understand is that Japan is suffering from economic recession. Unemployment is a major concern in the country now. So, I am not sure whether Japan can give importance to the call of Gloria Arroyo.
Economic recession has not finished yet. However, there is some kind of a common idea among many leaders that the worst is over and from here only better condition may come. This should ring sweet bell to auto makers because they are among the most hard hit from the recession. If economic condition improves then the demand for cars should increase too. Toyota officials are confident that they are prepared for it.
"The fact that Toyota entered the downturn from a position of strength strongly suggests it will be among the first to return to profit," the weekly financial newspaper said in its June 15 edition.
If the U.S. auto market shows signs of perking up, Toyota's ADRs over the next year could go from their recent price in the high $70s to at least $115, Barron's forecast, noting they hit $137 about two years ago.
It is good for Toyota. Unfortunately, US auto makers suffered a lot. GM bankruptcy caused a havoc in America in the auto industry.
Indian ambassador in China, Nirupama Rao, called for a balanced relationship between India and China. The ambassador was addressing 500 delegates from several countries of the world at the Global Business Forum which was organized in China by FICCI, a trade promotion forum. The forum was organized during the ongoing International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) weekend which was recently kicked off by Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan.
Nirupama Rao said that both the countries need to increase co-operation for each other in order to develop on several sectors and both India and China should have a much better understanding between themselves. Stating that the economies of the two countries could be the engine of world economic growth, Ms. Rao said that both the countries can learn from each other and have enough space for growth in both the countries.
Maruti Suzuki posted a 10% increase in its revenue in the American car market in the last fiscal year, while its parent company Suzuki faced a 55.6 percent decline in its total sales over the last one year. This is really a big achievement for Maruti Suzuki, which is a subsidiary of Japanese auto maker Suzuki, to maintain a growth in the last fiscal year when many other automakers struggled to minimize its operating losses due to a significant fall in demand amidst economic recession in the country.
Maruti Suzuki recorded Rs 23,085 crore of revenue in the last financial year which is 10 percent growth compared to the year-round income. Suzuki, on the other hand, just saw a significant fall in its sales and lost a huge chunk of revenue. In fact, the Japanese company posted a revenue of Rs 18,000 crore which is 55-6 percent less than the income it earned the previous year.
It is a really a matter of surprise that the India based automaker has seen excellent success in the US market which has been a hard platform for the noted automakers to fare well. Well, Maruti Suzuki has launched a number of small cars in the last one year and has seen extensive success in the domestic market too. The company now expects similar success in the current fiscal year too both in domestic and American car markets.
Toyota Motor Corporation expects flat sales in Indian market in 2009. The Japanese automaker, which is now operating business in India under a joint venture with Kirloskar Group, has not started selling small car in the cost-effective Indian car market. In fact, the Toyota Kirloskar is planning to launch its first small car in the domestic market at the end of the year. Small car has become the most profitable line of business for the automakers in the country.
Most of the rival companies including GM, Suzuki and Hyundai already started selling small car. Last fiscal year, small cars accounted for 73% of the 1.22 million car sales in India. Having realized the potential of the small car line up, many car makers came up with small car models in India. Domestic car makers like Maruti, Tata have also made the small car market more competitive.
I think, Toyota should have focused on the small car segment much before. No doubt, the company should now bring out a small car for Indian market as soon as possible because this is the easiest way to grab a big chunk of market share within a very short time in Indian car market.
The economic recession has not got over yet and it seems that it will continue for an extended period now. I do not know about any other sector, but global airline industry is predicting so. Recently, The International Air Transport Association has almost doubled its estimated loss to $9 billion. The initial forecast indicated a bit better than last year’s losses, but now it seems that the condition is going be worst than the previous year. Global airline industry would see a 15% drop in its yearly revenue which is even worst than the condition after the terror attack in the US on 11 September 2001.
The airline business is currently stumbling due to the prevailing economic crisis which saw many airline companies to cut its flights, staffs, in-flight services as well as salaries to deal with the recession-hit condition. Some airlines are trying to attract the cost-sensitive travelers by offering tickets for much less. Demands for first class and business class tickets have been slowed down significantly, as many travelers are choosing economy class to save money.
Asia-Pacific region saw biggest loss last year mainly because of economic slowdown in Japan. Moreover, the booming growth in Indian and Chinese economy has also been halted by the current economic meltdown. Naturally, the middle class and upper middle class in China and India are now much more concerned about saving money. Overall, it seems that the condition of global airline industry is less likely to improve this year.
