It will be no great surprise to readers that the tax burden shouldered by Portugal’s population has been increasing; by 4.4% in 2015 compared to the year before.
The total take by the State's Tax Authority remains below the European Union average of 39% of GDP. Portugal’s taxpayers were relieved of 34% of GDP, a whopping €61.9 billion in a country of just over 10 million people.
More than a quarter of honey bee colonies in the US were obliterated over the winter making a total of nearly half of all colonies disappearing in the year to April 2016.
Preliminary figures from the US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) and the Bee Informed Partnership indicate that 44% of bee colonies were wiped out during the year.
Middle earners in Germany are in steep decline, having plunged by 6% in two decades, according to the German Institute for Economic Research.
The study found that the number of high earners increased by 10% during the period 1991 to 2013, taking home 33% of total income in 2013.
People in Norway are suffering from a deep lack of confidence in their country’s economy.
Confidence is at its lowest point in 24 years when the country was hit by a banking and housing crisis in the early 1990s.
British industry, down for two consecutive quarters, has slid back into recession.
The Office for National Statistics said industrial production – comprising manufacturing, mining and quarrying, North Sea oil and gas, and water, gas and electricity supply – is 10% lower than it was when the recession took hold in early 2008.
The Royal Bank of Scotland and its NatWest arm have become the latest UK lenders to stop offering mortgages to expats.
The policy will take effect from 19 May and requires applicants to be resident in the UK in order to qualify for a mortgage. Included in the policy are expat customers who are requesting additional borrowing.
Portugal’s exports of goods in the first quarter of 2016 has experienced one of the largest drops in the past seven years due primarily to problems in Angola, China, Germany and Brazil.
The impact of lower world prices for raw materials including oil, and financial volatility are slowing Portugal’s recovery as Portugal’s export customers see their buying power melting away.
Airbnb cheats in Paris are coming under renewed pressure to obey legal constraints.
Paris City Hall believes that nearly half the city properties listed with the rental website are being let for longer than the legal limit of 120 days per year and that the owners are failing to pay the appropriate taxes.
