11/06/2013 World Business Report

November but is the price too high to rue cash-strapped shoppers? --

woo. Hello and welcome. Also in the programme, the next part in our

series, Taxing Times, we take you to Singapore where expats enjoy

favourable rates. Flights across Europe rarely go in

straight lines. More often, they go in zigzags, wasting time for

passengers and ramps up fuel costs for the airlines. The European

Commission lays the blame on national air traffic control

centres and says there should be a more centralised system. Now it is

threatening member states with legal action if they do not act

quickly to make it happen. European Union skies are some of

the busiest in the world but there are no fewer than 27 N national

control centres. In busy periods, they often divert planes into

somebody else's airspace to take the pressure off themselves. This

makes their lives easier but is thought to add an extra 42

kilometres to the -- the average flight in Europe. Inefficiencies in

the current system are estimated to cost up to 5 billion euros every

year in terms of extra costs that are passed on to airlines and the

customers. It also entails extra fuel use, that generates emissions,

generates heavy user charges, all of which can't necessary in the

modern day. Four over one decade, Europe's transport commission has

been asking for a more centralised system for a traffic control. The

plan is to create nine airspace blocks with the international

control centres. A number of existing centres could then be

closed. Almost all European member states have signed up to the scheme

but none has taken any steps to put it into practice. This is partly

because national governments charge huge fees for their air traffic

control services and they do not want to lose revenues. It is also

because national governments are reluctant to lay off staff in their

own countries at the behest of the European Commission. The commission

meets on Tuesday to draft stronger laws to force and the States. Air

traffic controllers in several countries will hold strikes in

response this week. Microsoft has revealed its new Xbox

One console will be available in the shops in November and cost $499

in the United States, higher than most gamers expected. In Europe, it

will cost 499 euros. In the UK, �429. The revelation came during

the press day of the Electronics Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas,

better known as E3. About one hour ago, Sony unveiled the look of its

new PlayStation 4 -- PlayStation 4, which has been a closely guarded

secret since February. It also revealed the PlayStation 4 will be

on sale in the US for $399, $100 cheaper than the Xbox One. Stuart

Miles is a technology journalist from pocketlint.com. He joins me

now from Los Angeles. They have come out with all the information

we have been waiting. Tell us about the battle between the two gainers.

It is an incredible shock move. -- gamers. They are obviously trying

to make sure they can be cheaper and still the market at Christmas.

In the austerity period, it will be very appealing. As you say, there

is not a lot of money around and competition is greater for these

consols. There are more options with mobile devices and gaming.

That is what probably Microsoft will say. They will say they have

the sense of that is more powerful than Sony's. That is what you pay

money. But we are also used to paying $500 for the latest iPad or

even latest smartphone. Why should we pay that for the latest console?

Sony's approach is along the lines of, if you come to us, we will give

you a good time, it will be cheaper and it allows us to get a good base

which can appeal and attract more customers to create more games.

do you think will win this? The is a tough one. I think we still have

some time to go. We have seen what is coming out now. The thing I am

still waiting for is the line-up of games on day one. It always comes

down to work games you want to play. If Microsoft has those, you will

buy that. If PlayStation has the game you want, you will buy a

Thank you. We relate to get back to the expo now. Moving on.

On a daily basis, the share markets in Japan have been making the

headlines with huge swings. Today, things seem calmer and the central

bank has just finished its two-day policy meeting. We can go to Tokyo

now and speak to Rupert Wingfield- Hayes. Nice to see you. We are

talking regularly at the moment because things are very volatile in

Japan. A lot was expected out of this meeting. What did they have to

say? The central bank has said it is not going to do anything new.

The message that came out of the Bank of Japan today is that it is

time to hold their nerve, continue with the policy they have set out

at the beginning of April, which is a policy of large-scale monetary

easing, creating about 600-700 billion US dollars of new money a

year over the next two years, but they are not going to react in the

short-term. Essentially saying the short-term volatility in the stock

market is nothing to be worried about, they are still doing well

and the latest figures on Japanese growth are actually more positive

than anyone expected. They have been revised up to a 1% growth in

the first quarter. That is a 4% growth for the year. If that

trajectory continues. So, Japan's economy is growing at a healthy

rate. Their policy is working. They do not need to worry too much about

this short-term volatility in the stock market. OK. Thank you.

Most of us have pondered before, if I could work anywhere in the world,

where would I choose? You could choose to be an astronaut in China

but there are many other factors to consider. Beyond Singapore's clean

streets and strong job market, the financial incentive is, for many,

one of its biggest draw cards. Mariko Oi reports from the city

state. The sun, the beach and the high

standard of living. That is what attracted this British man to move

to Singapore seven years ago. But there was an added bonus. Income

tax is much lower than back home. The tax is a big thing. You

actually do get value for money here. The low taxation gives you

more money in your pocket and travelling around South East Asia

is not terribly expensive anyway, so you can ultimately go to more

exotic places because you can stretch the dollar a bit more.

has attracted many others. Today, foreigners make up almost 40% of

Singapore's population. There are higher taxes on some products, like

alcohol and cigarettes, but income tax is one of the lowest in the

world. For somebody earning $100,000 US, if you work in the UK

almost a quarter of your salary would be deducted as income tax. In

the US, it depends on which state you live in but, for example, in

California the combined tax bill would be about the same as the UK.

Nearly one-third of what you earn is paid to the government. But here

in Singapore, it's a much smaller slice. You would only have to pay

less than 7% of what you earn. Companies pay much lower taxes as

well. Many global firms had therefore set up their Asian

headquarters here. So they can have their cake and eat it too. French

bakery Paul opened its first store in Singapore last January. Its Asia

managing director says that, with nearly 500 stores in every

continent, the firm pays various tax rates around the world.

rates in Singapore are lower than they would be in other countries.

But we didn't come to Singapore because of the tax, we came because

we believed the market was good for Paul. The tax rate is favourable.

It is better for our bottom line. There are claims the lower tax rate

has also attracted tax evaders. Some even call Singapore the

Switzerland of Asia. For its part, the government has recently been

clamping down on illegal activities. With tighter banking rules soon to

take effect, it hopes to maintain Very interesting. Stay with us this

week as we bring you more stories on tax issues from different parts