Denmark’s New ‘Fat’ Tax

Denmark’s new government is pushing through a nationwide fat and sugar tax.

Measuring Happiness in Victoria, British Columbia

A Canadian epidemiologist is helping his own community to track the happiness of its people.

The Sleeping Bag Tax

Sleeping bags from Bangladesh were competing with a manufacturer in Alabama, and a senator from that state didn’t like it.

UK online protest inspires US group

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The online protest movement UK Uncut has spawned a new group here in the US, called US Uncut. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with the group’s founder, Carl Gibson, who explains the group’s mission. Download MP3

Twitter Talk : US Uncut
US Uncut

Taxing witchcraft

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In the Geo Quiz we’re looking for a European country where a new tax is causing a stir. It targets some self-employed workers who didn’t pay taxes in the past. These includes astrologers, fortune tellers and witches. And they’re not happy about a tax on their ancient arts. Download MP3

Europeans and the American tea party

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Some conservative circles in Europe are looking to the American Tea Party movement for inspiration and with some envy. From Italy to Spain right wing groups openly admire its recent grassroots successes and they’re trying to take a page or two from the Americans for their own playbooks. The World’s Gerry Hadden reports. (flickr image: theqspeaks) Download MP3

Taxes

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U.S. Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” That message often seems forgotten these days: Most citizens, the world-over, seemingly hate to pay their taxes. And in some places, like Greece, tax evasion is rampant. What’s a government to do? What’s the best way to collect taxes? And what’s the strangest way to collect taxes? All questions examined on this edition of The World’s Global Economy Podcast.

How countries collect taxes

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The World’s Jason Margolis describes some of the methods used by countries around the world to get their citizens to pay taxes.

Tech Podcast: Germans prepare for RoboCup 2010

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In this week’s podcast, we feature a listener-generated segment on robotic soccer. Tell me, is there anything more awesome than teams of three kid-sized robots trying to score goals against one another? Absolutely not is the answer. We’ll hear from the FUmanoids, the German team that is currently the #2 team in the world. We’ll also talk about Google’s Europe woes, and about Latvia’s virtual “Robin Hood.”

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A Cross-Border Comparison of Stimulus Spending

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Just over a year ago, President Obama and Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better know as “The Stimulus.” It was a $787 billion shot-in-the-arm to the U.S. economy, a mix of tax cuts and expenditure spending.

The U.S. wasn’t the only country to take such action. On the Global Economy Podcast, we look at how the stimulus plans in different countries have fared and compare the actions taken by the Canadian and U.S. governments.

Tax haven

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There’s a British territory in the Caribbean that’s been thriving on its status as one of the world’s major tax havens. It’s gotten all the money it’s needed through indirect taxes. But those times seem to be over: thanks to the global recession the local government has been unable to pay all its bills. Read more on our Geo Quiz page to find out which part of the world we’re talking about.

France cuts meal tax

The French government has slashed its high tax on restaurant meals in an effort to help out ailing cafes and restaurants. Reporter Genevieve Oger has the story.
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