Government

Japan approves $9 sayonara tax

By Betty, April 18 2018

Japan will charge a departure tax of 1,000 yen ($9.37) per person beginning next year, with plans to use the anticipated 40 billion yen raised annually to bolster tourism.

Foreigners and Japanese alike leaving the country by air or sea will pay the tax when they buy tickets, much like they do with airport facility fees. Travelers younger than 2 are exempted from the levy, which debuts Jan. 7.

With tourism-related spending by the government likely to mushroom, many legislators asked for specifics on how the new revenue could be used, citing the costs to secure enough workers for understaffed customs operations as well as spending to set up integrated resorts with casinos.

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Japan approves $9 sayonara tax to fund tourism expenses

Japan

Tourism

Government

Big Data Meets Big Brother in China

By James, November 14 2017

Imagine a world where your daily activities were constantly monitored and evaluated: what you buy at the shops and online; where you are at any given time; who your friends are; how many hours you spend watching content or playing video games; and what bills and taxes you pay (or not).

Now imagine a system where all these behaviours are rated as either positive or negative and distilled into a Citizen Score, according to rules set by the government. It's getting underway in China, where the government is developing the Social Credit System (SCS) to rate the trustworthiness of its 1.3 billion citizens.

The government hopes, "[The law] will forge a public opinion environment where keeping trust is glorious. It will strengthen sincerity in government affairs, commercial sincerity, social sincerity and the construction of judicial credibility."

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Big Data Meets Big Brother