Finance

Despite the sharp rise in the number of corona infections, the government advised on Monday for possible further easing. An immediate opening of the gastronomy in the whole country is to be expected just as little as that cultural and leisure facilities will be able to open their doors again soon. However, it cannot be ruled out that there will be a stronger regional distinction again and that there will be relief in youth sport.

Image: APA (Anschober)

The government has recently come under pressure from both sides. Both ÖVP and SPÖ governors, as well as business and sports and cultural initiatives, had urged opening steps, if possible in mid-March, but no later than Easter. In contrast, almost all virologists and epidemiologists warned against easing. The traffic light commission even suggested that openings be withdrawn should the numbers continue to rise.

The Sunday value of over 2,100 was the highest on this weekday of this year. The seven-day incidence per 100,000 population rose to 158. As a reminder, the government originally wanted to end the strict lockdown only when the value fell below 50. Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) spoke on Sunday of an “alarming trend reversal”.

As usual, the government will initially consult medical experts on Monday. Then the opposition is involved via video conference, after all, the governors are guests in the Chancellery. At this meeting, the measures will be finalized and then made known to the public (probably around 5 p.m.).

To settle a legal dispute over the violation of the privacy of 1.6 million users in the US, the Internet company Facebook pays 650 million dollars (538 million euros) in compensation. According to documents that the AFP news agency saw on Sunday, a federal court approved the agreement between Facebook and 1.6 million of its users in the state of Illinois.

Image: APA (AFP)

In 2015, the Chicago prosecutor charged Facebook with collecting biometric data for facial recognition, which happened without users' knowledge. She argued that the California internet giant's actions violated a 2008 Illinois privacy law.

After Facebook failed with its application to drop the case, the company promised to pay $ 550 million in January 2020 to settle the lawsuit. Judge James Donato rejected the sum as insufficient.

Donato described the amount of compensation that has now been agreed as “one of the highest comparisons ever for the violation of privacy”. It is a great success for consumers “in the hotly contested area of digital privacy”. Each affected user will receive at least $ 345 in compensation. Facebook was initially not available for comment.

Schanigarten People Spring

The government is keeping a low profile on the lockdown summit. High corona numbers could prevent openings; WKÖ representatives remain confident.

On Monday, the government will consult with experts on further opening steps in Austria. In view of the increasing number of infections, it is more than questionable whether further easing will be decided. Most recently, the epidemiologist and government advisor Eva Schernhammer said she would recommend Kurz and Anschober on Monday not to announce any corona easing for the time being. The development cannot be forecast at the moment. The day before the decision, Anschober was also concerned about the current developments. In a broadcast he speaks of a “worrying trend reversal in Austria”.

The calls for openings from the catering industry are getting louder and louder. Most recently, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Harald Mahrer, also spoke on the subject. The increased number of positive results does not disturb him. He explains: “If we test more, the numbers will also increase.” Mahrer is still convinced that opening steps are possible.

The Chamber of Commerce General Secretary and ÖVP finance spokesman Karlheinz Kopf is just as confident that the catering and hotel industry will be able to unlock in mid-March. In the ORF magazine “Hohes Haus” he said: “We expect opening steps to take place on March 15th.” In view of the fact that about 60 percent of the infections can be traced back to the private sector – for example because of private meetings – opening a restaurant would be the better solution.

The Chamber of Commerce therefore advocates “safe opening”. If this does not happen – which head “cannot imagine at the moment and does not want to imagine” – one has to look at the “reasoning and react accordingly”. “Of course, politics have the last word,” says Kopf. He also noted that there would only be a gradual opening in these areas anyway, as the companies also needed a start-up time.

The Vienna City Councilor for Economic Affairs, Peter Hanke, has a similar opinion. In an interview with the city newspaper “Sprich!” he emphasized that he could well imagine opening steps in the catering sector soon: “I believe that as soon as the spring weather gives us warm temperatures, the pub gardens that are so close to our hearts should open again. Therefore, one should think hard about whether not Mitte March would be a good time to take the first steps to relax the catering industry. ” Hanke therefore believes that at least the Viennese pub gardens – if everything goes well – can open in mid-March.

In the Upper Styrian Kreischberg ski area, winter is over for this year. The corona short season will end on March 1st, the company said on the weekend. The decision has a positive background: The operators use the time to build a 40 million euro ten-person gondola lift. On the Kreischberg, the calls for hotels and bars to be opened immediately have lost some of their volume. But not in many other tourist regions in the country.

Because, as a current OGM evaluation of the labor market data shows, Austria's tourist locations are suffering enormously from the closings. In the eleven strongest municipalities, the number of unemployed has increased 25-fold. In Galtür every fifth inhabitant was registered as unemployed in January, in Ischgl every seventh. While January unemployment rose by an average of almost a third (31.8 percent), the increase in Tyrol was 132 percent. “The winter sports regions were hit with full force,” says Johannes Klotz from market researcher OGM.

Trade and construction also affected

73,000 of all job seekers at the moment were previously employed in tourism (an increase of 113 percent compared to the previous year). In addition, there are another 138,000 employees on short-time work. In total, around 300,000 full-time jobs were directly or indirectly dependent on tourism before the corona crisis. We will probably not reach this peak in the next ten years, ”expects Thomas Reisenzahn, the managing director of Prodinger Tourismusberatung.

In addition to trade, the trade and construction industry, as classic supplier industries, are also severely affected by the total failure of the winter season, according to a study by the Society for Applied Economic Research. In total, another 45,000 unemployed in trade and construction were directly due to the lack of an alpine winter season.

At least on this front, a gradual opening of the affected industries in March could bring some relief, according to data from the Ministry of Labor on the effects of the first easing in January. According to this, 120,000 people in the trade and service sector have been able to take up a regular job again in the past three weeks.

Only the thermal baths benefit

But this positive development cannot be transferred one-to-one to tourism, warns Wifo economist Oliver Fritz. While the thermal spa regions could definitely benefit, it is completely open, especially in the winter sports resorts, whether opening the hotels so shortly before the end of the season will still pay off. According to the economic researcher, the industry can expect a real recovery at the earliest with the start of a “normal” summer season.

ÖGB President Wolfgang Katzian called for an extension of short-time work until the second half of the year in the ORF “press hour”. After all, short-time work is also much cheaper than unemployment benefits. He also believes that an increase in unemployment benefits is necessary. The top trade unionists do not believe in a restructuring of public finances without new taxes. “Anyone who thinks that one can only grow out of the crisis lives on the moon.” The crisis costs should be borne by the large digital corporations. In addition, one must also talk about the participation of large assets. [R8UMN

Letter import customs

Those who are currently ordering goods from England will have to dig deeper into their pockets from July 1st. Because the “Brexit” makes shopping on the island expensive.

Since the “Brexit” on January 31, 2021, Great Britain no longer belongs to the EU. Therefore, up to now, you had to submit a customs declaration and pay import sales tax for the import of goods with a value of 22 euros or more. From a goods value of 150 euros per shipment, customs were also due. But now it is even bigger and more expensive.

The following example shows what that means in concrete terms: A Viennese woman orders a special stamp for the wedding of Prince William and Duchess Kate for her mother in a British memorabilia shop for 22 pounds (25 euros). For this, the British retailer charges a shipping fee of 6 pounds. Because the value limit of 22 euros is exceeded, a customs declaration must be made, for which DHL charges a processing fee of 6 euros (including VAT). Customs do not have to be paid (value below 150 euros), but import sales tax of 6.08 euros does. The price for the 25 euro special stamp for the Viennese “all inclusive” is 44.38 euros.

The exemption limit of 22 euros will drop from July 1, 2021. This means that a customs declaration must be submitted and import sales tax paid for all consignments from third countries that are imported into the EU, regardless of the value of the goods. The customs regulations for goods over 150 euros, however, will not change.

“With the abolition of the tax exemption limit, a longstanding disadvantage for domestic traders will be eliminated,” explains Finance Minister Gernot Blümel. A striking number of parcels with a value of less than 22 euros have already been sent, especially from Asia, or declared as gifts with a low value.

This is why Swiss Post is now working closely with customs and writing to the recipient for items with suspiciously low values in order to inquire about the price actually paid. In 9 out of 10 cases it turned out that the value of the shipment was too low. The recipients had to pay the import sales tax.

A separate “Brexit” section on the Ministry of Finance's website also provides information on questions about transitional rules, processes and returns.

7 tracking services are used in the password manager's Android app. A security researcher advises against its use.

The LastPass password manager recently offended many users when it was announced that the free version could only be used on one type of device from March 16. Now there is new bad news for LastPass users, reports Android Police.

7 trackers

According to the German security researcher Mike Kuketz, who checked the LastPass Android app with the Exodus Privacy tracking scanner, there are 7 trackers, including 4 from Google and 3 more from AppsFlyer, MixPanel and Segment.

They pass on data to third-party providers, including information about the smartphone used, the Android version, the mobile phone provider and the Android advertising ID, which can also be used to assign data collected elsewhere to a device.

“Poor certificate”

The trackers are industry-standard mobile analysis tools that are used to improve the product, according to a statement from LastPass.

Kuketz, on the other hand, speaks of a “poor testimony” that it is “completely out of the question to integrate such trackers into password manager apps,” he writes in his analysis. If you actually use LastPass, he recommends changing the password manager.

Social explosive. Around half of the Chinese live on the edge of poverty. The rich are getting richer

This week in Beijing in the National People's Congress, the economic program of the new five-year plan will be discussed. An important point: fighting poverty and the gap between urban and rural areas.

Last Friday, President Xi Jinping announced a new propaganda message: The victory over poverty. Xi announced this with pathetic words: “99 million poor people in rural regions could be lifted out of poverty. We were able to remove all affected administrative districts and villages from the poverty list. The arduous task of eradicating absolute poverty is done. That is a historical miracle. ”

China's ruler Xi Jinping

1.25 euros per day

The Politburo in China also defines a limit for this “miracle”. Those who have more than 1.25 euros per day are living above the poverty line. However, the World Bank sets the poverty line higher than the Chinese government: an average of 4.50 euros per day is necessary in China in order not to be considered poor. In the 1980s, China ended the experiment of “real existing socialism” and proclaimed the “socialist market economy”. Before Xi took office in 2013, the big cities were the focus of Chinese economic policy. Xi put the focus on poverty reduction in rural areas.

That means: microloans for building a house or starting a business. Plus training programs for adults, school fees for children and roads to remote areas. Jörg Wuttke, President of the European Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, analyzed Xi's announcement last Friday on the German ARD: “In China, Spanish conditions already prevail in the cities.” But there are still around 600 million people (from around 1.4 million . Residents) who would live on the edge of poverty.

Poverty in China

Wealth increases

At the same time, however, China's empires are getting richer. More than that: never before have China's super-rich got so much richer as quickly as in the Corona year. This was only recently shown by the Hurun Report – the annual list of the Chinese money nobility. Not determined by government agencies, but by the Briton Rupert Hoogewerf, who has lived in China for a long time. Conclusion: Corona has not affected China's money nobility. The wealth of the 878 dollar billionaires living in China in October of the previous year rose by a staggering one and a half trillion dollars in the Corona year.

The rich did not suffer during the crisis – on the contrary

The rulers seem to make no secret of the fact that this is a problem. The Social Science Institute at the University of Beijing has publicly calculated that one percent of the population now owns a third of China's total wealth, while the lowest-income quarter has to share a meager percent of the wealth. Only in South Africa and Brazil is the gap between poverty and wealth widening faster and wider.

The government has long been concerned about the social consequences of the situation. Beijing tried to counter this as early as 2013: with a higher minimum wage for the poor and a luxury tax for the rich. And the current five-year plan aims at state-paid education for all and an affordable health system.

ÖGB President Wolfgang Katzian complains that in the corona pandemic, more money went to the economy and agriculture than to the employees. From his point of view, it is now important to do something for them, for example by increasing unemployment benefits. The short-time work will also be necessary in the second half of the year. To overcome the financial crisis, he wants to ask wealthy people to pay, as the union chief explained on Sunday in the ORF “press hour”.

Image: APA

Katzian does not consider it realistic that the economy will bring the finances back into balance on its own: “Anyone who believes that one can only grow out of the crisis lives on the moon.” First, the winners of the pandemic, the large digital corporations, would have to contribute something, with the top trade unionist expecting a European initiative. In addition, one will have to talk about the participation of large fortunes.

Regarding the relationship with the government, Katzian said that it had improved again under turquoise-green. At least one will be heard again on questions of regulatory policy, but not on questions of the future.

For the ÖGB boss, for example, an increase in unemployment benefits would be necessary: “70 percent (net replacement rate) is still little,” he said of the union's corresponding demand.

It is clear to Katzian that this instrument will still be needed after the current short-time work model expires in the middle of the year. After all, short-time work is also much cheaper than unemployment benefits. In addition, in the transition phase after the end of the pandemic, it is important to further develop partial retirement and the solo bonus model.

Furthermore, the ÖGB President wants to see various options for reducing working hours discussed. After all, he advocates that the state should employ people in certain areas.

Katzian did not want to judge whether the lockdown should be loosened further: “I do not presume to do the job of a virologist.” However, the union head demands that the government once set clear parameters according to which the decisions are made. Katzian is not satisfied with the speed of the vaccinations, which he blames partly on the government and partly on the EU.

Katzian did not want to lean on whether Finance Minister Gernot Blümel (ÖVP) should resign because of the latest accusations against him. Each representative had to decide for himself what this meant for his public credibility.

Chamber of Commerce General Secretary pleads for gradual opening. Companies would need lead time anyway.

Despite the increasing number of new infections, Chamber of Commerce Secretary General Karlheinz Kopf is confident that the catering and hotel industry will open in mid-March. “We expect opening steps to take place on March 15,” said Kopf in the ORF magazine Hohes Haus . If that is not the case – “which I can not imagine at the moment” – then you have to look at the reasoning. “In the end, it is politics that decide,” stressed Kopf.

Start-up time necessary

In any case, there would only be a gradual opening, as the companies also needed a start-up period. In gastronomy, things would go faster than in the hotel industry, he cited as an example today. The government wants to announce on the month how the easing steps in the wake of the corona pandemic will continue. A new Sunday record of new infections was set today – 2,123 new cases in 24 hours. Since the beginning of the year, there had never been more than 2,000 cases on Sundays.

Home office regulation

The home office regulation defended head against criticism. The fact that only three euros per day are tax deductible for a maximum of a hundred days must be seen from the point of view that most employers would provide their employees with the necessary equipment for home office anyway. The fact that tax deductibility can only be achieved when working from home in your own four walls is a first step. Discussions about further solutions would take place among the social partners.

Katzian

Trade union leader Wolfgang Katzian criticizes the fact that in the corona pandemic more money flowed to the economy than to the employees.

ÖGB President Wolfgang Katzian criticized the very unequal distribution of Corona funding in the ORF “Pressestunde” and calls for an increase in unemployment benefits from 55 to 70 percent net replacement rate in order to get people through the crisis.

“It pisses me off when people always say that there is no incentive. We currently have 500,000 unemployed and 50,000 vacancies, so someone should discuss the incentive with me,” rumbles Katzian. Even if job seekers are motivated to the point of their fingertips and are all professors, there are currently no jobs. “There are many standing in front of the ruins of their existence and when we say like a mantra that we need higher unemployment benefits, then we do not do it to annoy someone, but rather the survival of a large number of people”.

According to the ÖGB boss, short-time work will also be necessary in the second half of the year, after all, it is also much cheaper than unemployment benefits. To overcome the financial crisis, Katzian wants to ask the “winners of the pandemic”, the large digital corporations and the wealthy to pay: “Hopefully nobody will believe that we can overcome these great challenges by taking something away from the unemployed or by ruining the welfare state”.

The union boss did not want to judge whether the lockdown should be loosened further: “I will be careful not to do the work of the virologists. If the virological situation allows, I want it to be unlocked, but I will not have any requirements or demands do.” Katzian is dissatisfied with the speed of the vaccinations – “much too slow” – which he blames partly on the government and partly on the EU.