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Politics

E.U. Delays Digital Levy as Tax Talks Proceed

Other finance ministers indicated that the delay was another sign of progress.

“It’s very, very good that we are now going to the next step, discussing how we will implement this at the European Union and that the European Union is deciding not to go with its own proposal to the public today,” Olaf Scholz, Germany’s finance minister, said as he entered the meeting.

The E.U. digital levy proposal faced a difficult path to becoming law in Europe, but the prospect of a new proposal that could be construed as a tax that targets American companies would have been another distraction for the fragile negotiations.

The United States has already been angered by other digital taxes that countries like France, Italy and Britain have enacted, which are separate from the new proposal. More than a dozen countries have enacted or announced plans in recent years to move forward with their own digital taxes.

The Biden administration has asked countries to immediately drop their digital taxes and has prepared retaliatory tariffs on a wide swath of European goods, including cheese, wine and clothing. As part of the global tax negotiations, countries have said they are willing to do so in exchange for additional tax on the largest and most profitable multinational enterprises, those with profit margins of at least 10 percent, that would be based on where their goods or services were sold, even if they had no physical presence there.

France, Europe’s biggest proponent of a digital tax, had no comment Monday. Its finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, had said during the weekend that France would legally commit to withdrawing its digital services tax only after an agreement was in effect, which is unlikely to happen before 2023.

In remarks at the meeting on Monday, Ms. Yellen emphasized the importance of a close relationship between the United States and the European Union and underscored the importance of the global tax agreement that she has been helping to broker. She argued that a deal over a global minimum tax would help European nations make important investments in their economies and reduce inequality.

“Long-run fiscal sustainability is critically important, which is one of the reasons why we need to continue working collectively to implement a global minimum tax of at least 15 percent, in line with the commitment the G20 made just days ago,” Ms. Yellen said. “We hope all E.U. member states will join the consensus and the European Union will move forward on this issue at E.U. level.”

Categories
Entertainment

Schitt’s Creek: Dan Levy, Emily Hampshire BTS Motel Webisode

Image source: Everett

Welcome back to the Rosebud Motel, where the Herb Ertlinger wine flows freely and the Schitt’s Creek The cast lets us deal with their behind-the-scenes antics. On Wednesday, Emily Hampshire shared a season one web episode in which she and Dan Levy are portrayed as Stevie and David while talking about the motel sale. “How far did you get in selling the motel when I wasn’t there?” David asks Stevie, who says she “hardly thought about it” other than talking to a broker, getting a quote, buying “for sale” signs, and coming up with a few commercial slogans.

“Are you looking for an awkwardly located storage room with lots of powdery mildew? Then this motel is for you!” Says Stevie before pointing at the camera. Other tempting selling points include the potential to use the motel as “demolition practice,” as a “boutique-style minimum security prison,” or as a horror film for aspiring student filmmakers. Interested parties can direct their inquiries to 1-855-555-SCHITT.

“I can’t believe I’ve never seen this before,” Hampshire captioned the post. She also congratulated Amy Segal, also known as Amyjuliasegal, on Instagram for directing all 52 scripts Schitt’s Creek Webisodes and Behind the consequences Videos of their most recent Canadian Screen Award for Best Biography or Art Documentary Program or Best Series.

While we can’t believe this gem has lingered in the vault for the last five years, we’re glad it finally popped up so we can hit the play button whenever we need a good laugh. Check out the hilarious Schitt’s Creek Webisode here.

Categories
Entertainment

Eugene Levy Seems So Proud Watching Son Dan Levy on SNL

Image source: NBC

Eugene Levy has a long list of prominent roles on his Hollywood resume, but on February 6th he played the role of Proud Father. His son Dan Levy was the host Saturday night live For the first time, and when Eugene didn’t make a surprise monologue cameo, he stood in the wings cheering Dan. Someone caught a glimpse of the sweet family moment and shared a snapshot on the show’s official Instagram account for fans to enjoy as if they were there.

Dan also had behind-the-scenes support from his mother, Deborah Divine. She tweeted a message to his childhood bullies, saying, “This goes to the bullies at Camp WTF who made life difficult for a certain roommate in the summer of 1996 – just because he was different. Well, after all these years, I just did 7 words to say, ‘Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!’ “Whether Dan is up Schitt’s Creek or in real life it is clear that his family will always be by his side. Get a glimpse of his father’s backstage support below.

Categories
Business

New York Occasions Names Cliff Levy to a Prime Modifying Position

The New York Times announced on Wednesday a return to its leadership team in the newsroom with the appointment of its Subway editor, Clifford J. Levy.

Levy, 53, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, has been running the subway counter since 2018. Previously, he was deputy editor-in-chief of the Times’ online platforms and worked as head of the Moscow office and investigative reporter.

In a message to the newsroom on Wednesday, Dean Baquet, the editor-in-chief, and Joseph Kahn, the editor-in-chief said Mr. Levy would temporarily advise the audio division, home of the podcast “The Daily,” before moving on to a broader role. The audio division is overseen by Sam Dolnick, a deputy editor-in-chief and member of the Sulzberger family who control The Times, and Lisa Tobin.

Mr. Levy’s promotion comes a month after The Times released a correction for “Caliphate,” a 12-part audio series designed to shed light on the Islamic State. In an editor’s note, The Times said the podcast had too much faith in the misrepresentation or exaggeration of one of its main topics, Shehroze Chaudhry, a Canadian who claimed to have participated in atrocities by the Islamic State. On the day the note was published, Mr. Baquet described the problems with “Caliphate” as “institutional failure” and said his mistakes should not be blamed on “a reporter”.

“I or someone else should have done the same type of test because it was a big, ambitious piece of journalism,” Baquet said in a December interview with Michael Barbaro, the host of “The Daily”. “And I did not do this type of test, nor did my senior officers have extensive experience reviewing investigative reports.”

In their note on Wednesday, Mr. Baquet and Mr. Kahn said, “Cliff will spend the coming weeks learning the rhythms of ‘The Daily’ and the wider audio team, then helping Sam, Lisa and the Masthead better integrate with the daily Operation of the audio department in the wider newsroom. “

Business & Economy

Updated

Jan. 27, 2021, 11:46 ET

“One of his priorities is the development of new procedures for checking ambitious audio series,” the communication continues.

“The Daily” has become a central part of The Times, with four million listeners every weekday.

Times editors who hold the title of assistant editor-in-chief or assistant editor-in-chief are at the top of the editorial board, referred to by the editorial staff as senior masthead editors because their names appear along with the publisher at the top of page A2 of the print edition. AG Sulzberger and Mr. Baquet.

The number of names on Page 2 has increased in the last few months as 64-year-old Baquet approaches retirement age. Traditionally, Top Times editors have made high-profile posts before they are 66.

Carolyn Ryan, who heads the newsroom’s recruiting, strategy and high-profile journalism, became deputy editor-in-chief in October. The promotion followed her stations in charge of the newspaper’s political coverage, the subway division, and the Washington office.

With the return of Mr Levy to the crew, the newspaper has five assistant senior editors. The others are Rebecca Blumenstein, Steve Duenes and Matthew Purdy.

Mr. Kahn, the managing editor, ranks second after Mr. Baquet in the Times imprint. In December, national editor Marc Lacey was promoted to deputy editor-in-chief and one of seven journalists to hold the title. In the new role, Mr. Lacey is responsible for the live reporting.

While Mr. Levy was in charge of subway coverage, The Times won a Pulitzer Prize for a series by Brian M. Rosenthal that exposed predatory loans and other problems in the New York taxi industry. Mr Baquet and Mr Kahn said in their note on Wednesday that the search for a new subway editor was underway.