Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.08.2015, Blaðsíða 8

Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.08.2015, Blaðsíða 8
List of licenced Tour Operators and Travel Agencies on: visiticeland.com Licensing and registration of travel- related services The Icelandic Tourist Board issues licences to tour operators and travel agents, as well as issuing registration to booking services and information centres. Tour operators and travel agents are required to use a special logo approved by the Icelandic Tourist Board on all their advertisements and on their Internet website. Booking services and information centres are entitled to use a Tourist Board logo on all their material. The logos below are recognised by the Icelandic Tourist Board. I C E L A N D 4 D U M M I E S OPEN 7-21 BREAKFAST, LUNCH & DINNER T EMPL AR A SUND 3 , 101 RE Y K JAV ÍK , T EL : 5711822, W W W.BERGSSON. IS Continued There are many reasons for rising inequality in the world, but in Iceland the main cause is simple. The current right-wing government has lowered taxes affect- ing the rich. To illustrate this, let us pick an example at random: the wealthy Mr. Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. His tax payments went down from roughly 122,000 Euros last year to 54,000 Euros this year, a reduction of about 55 percent. Don't try to fool me, that's not a random example, that's the Prime Minister of Iceland. The case of the Prime Minister is not brought up to suggest that he is using his power to enrich himself. The 68,000 Eu- ros or so have no affect on his finances. Business paper Viðskiptablaðið esti- mated in 2013 that he and his wife were worth about 7.5 million Euros. Now, that is not the kind of money where you can buy an island and build a skull-shaped secret lair, but it is enough to get you in the top 0.05% of the richest people in the world. Bah, what good is money if I can't hold the world hostage with my giant skull laser? No political party has ever had a major- ity of seats in the Icelandic parliament. Therefore coalition governments are the norm. In theory, having two or more political parties in power should cover possible blind spots and limit excesses, but sometimes politicians of differ- ent striphes share blind spots. The two parties currently in power—the Prime Minister's Progressive Party, and the In- dependence Party—are both headed by men from wealthy families. Government rhetoric and policies make it clear that the two parties have little or no idea what life is like when you do not benefit hand- somely from the abolition of a wealth tax. But are they wealthy enough to understand the struggles of those making down payments on a giant skull laser? Most of the Prime Minister's lower tax payment can be explained by the aboli- tion of the wealth tax, though his income tax payment also went down by roughly 35 percent. As pointed out by journal- ist Gunnar Gunnarsson, who broke the story for the news site Austurfrétt, this is the result of changes made to the Ice- landic tax code last year. Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson analysed the new tax sys- tem in the newspaper Stundin, writing that the "changes made by the current government to the tax code have been most beneficial for the wealthiest in Ice- landic society." Wealth does not bring happiness, as the ancient wise men say. Hap- piness is a warm giant skull laser. These changes are in opposition to what the government formed by the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Greens did after coming into power following the 2008 financial crash. That govern- ment increased taxes on large businesses and the wealthy and decreased the tax burden on those with low-to-middle income. So things have taken a drastic swing in the opposite direction. Like when I push my kid on a swing and don't pay attention, it hits me right in the face. Speaking to Stundin, Columbia Univer- sity economist Jón Steinson says that before the crash "the tax code Iceland- ers lived with was the most right-wing of wealthy countries in OECD." Stundin points out that in 2007, if you compared the wealthiest one percent of the popula- tion in the United States and Iceland, the former paid 30 percent of their income in taxes, while the latter paid 13 percent. And now the Icelandic govern- ment is trying to give rich Ice- landers more money again. That worked well last time. It would perhaps be a little harsh to suggest that the richest one percent of Icelanders are idiots who should not be trusted with anyone's money, including their own. However, the Icelandic pub- lic is none too fond of the idea that rich people should pay less in taxes, especially as basic services, like healthcare, are un- derfunded. According to opinion polls, the Independence Party's support is back down to the level it was immediately af- ter the financial crash, for which it was widely blamed. The Progressive Party has lost half of the support it had in the last election. Have any populist parties risen up, as has happened in Europe? The beneficiary of public discontent, at least in terms of polling, is the Pirate Par- ty. Since spring, it has consistently polled as the most supported party in Iceland. The two left-wing parties, as well as the centrist party Bright Future, have also declined in polls. The parties in govern- ment have not reacted so far, possibly thinking that the Pirate Party will lose followers as elections draw nearer. But if it does not happen, or another opposi- tion party draws the populist following, then they might have to pool their extra money together for a giant skull laser. 8 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 12 — 2015 So What's This I Keep Hearing About Rising Inequality in Iceland? Words by Kári Tulinius @Kattullus Illustration by Lóa Hjálmstýsdóttir I C E L A N D 4 D U M M I E S Iceland | Inequality Speaking of adorable baby an- imals, the town of Reykjanesbær has finally found a solution for their out-of-control vegetation by setting goats loose on patches of thick and fast-growing plant life that has been the bane of lawn mowers and weeders. The goats were so efficient that city officials have confirmed they will be rehired next summer. In other news: an archae- ologist reportedly made “the find of the century” in a newly discovered Icelandic cave. In the recently discovered and appro- priately named Leynir (“Con- ceals”) cave, Adolf Friðriksson, the director of the Institute of Archaeology, has found signs that a person cooked horse meat at some point in the 12th century, despite there being no record of any people living in the area at the time. So, there’s good news and there’s bad news. Good news: Following a combination of strong public support and gov- ernment willingness, it looks like we could soon be saying “bless bless” to Iceland’s naming laws. In a recent radio interview, Min- ister of the Interior Ólöf Nordal told reporters that she believes the laws need to be abolished. To this end, her ministry is currently drafting a bill to do just that. Now for the bad news: Björk has cancelled a series of shows, including Iceland Airwaves. The reason given for the cancellation was a schedul- ing conflict and unfortunately the cancellations aren’t without precedent: several Björk shows were also cancelled in 2008, 2011 and 2012, due to medical prob- lems and staging issues.
Blaðsíða 1
Blaðsíða 2
Blaðsíða 3
Blaðsíða 4
Blaðsíða 5
Blaðsíða 6
Blaðsíða 7
Blaðsíða 8
Blaðsíða 9
Blaðsíða 10
Blaðsíða 11
Blaðsíða 12
Blaðsíða 13
Blaðsíða 14
Blaðsíða 15
Blaðsíða 16
Blaðsíða 17
Blaðsíða 18
Blaðsíða 19
Blaðsíða 20
Blaðsíða 21
Blaðsíða 22
Blaðsíða 23
Blaðsíða 24
Blaðsíða 25
Blaðsíða 26
Blaðsíða 27
Blaðsíða 28
Blaðsíða 29
Blaðsíða 30
Blaðsíða 31
Blaðsíða 32
Blaðsíða 33
Blaðsíða 34
Blaðsíða 35
Blaðsíða 36
Blaðsíða 37
Blaðsíða 38
Blaðsíða 39
Blaðsíða 40
Blaðsíða 41
Blaðsíða 42
Blaðsíða 43
Blaðsíða 44
Blaðsíða 45
Blaðsíða 46
Blaðsíða 47
Blaðsíða 48
Blaðsíða 49
Blaðsíða 50
Blaðsíða 51
Blaðsíða 52
Blaðsíða 53
Blaðsíða 54
Blaðsíða 55
Blaðsíða 56
Blaðsíða 57
Blaðsíða 58
Blaðsíða 59
Blaðsíða 60
Blaðsíða 61
Blaðsíða 62
Blaðsíða 63
Blaðsíða 64
Blaðsíða 65
Blaðsíða 66
Blaðsíða 67
Blaðsíða 68
Blaðsíða 69
Blaðsíða 70
Blaðsíða 71
Blaðsíða 72

x

Reykjavík Grapevine

Beinir tenglar

Ef þú vilt tengja á þennan titil, vinsamlegast notaðu þessa tengla:

Tengja á þennan titil: Reykjavík Grapevine
https://timarit.is/publication/943

Tengja á þetta tölublað:

Tengja á þessa síðu:

Tengja á þessa grein:

Vinsamlegast ekki tengja beint á myndir eða PDF skjöl á Tímarit.is þar sem slíkar slóðir geta breyst án fyrirvara. Notið slóðirnar hér fyrir ofan til að tengja á vefinn.