:00:05. > :00:15.November but is the price too high to rue cash-strapped shoppers? --
:00:15. > :00:15.
:00:16. > :00:20.woo. Hello and welcome. Also in the programme, the next part in our
:00:20. > :00:23.series, Taxing Times, we take you to Singapore where expats enjoy
:00:23. > :00:28.favourable rates. Flights across Europe rarely go in
:00:28. > :00:32.straight lines. More often, they go in zigzags, wasting time for
:00:32. > :00:35.passengers and ramps up fuel costs for the airlines. The European
:00:35. > :00:40.Commission lays the blame on national air traffic control
:00:40. > :00:43.centres and says there should be a more centralised system. Now it is
:00:43. > :00:50.threatening member states with legal action if they do not act
:00:50. > :00:58.quickly to make it happen. European Union skies are some of
:00:58. > :01:02.the busiest in the world but there are no fewer than 27 N national
:01:02. > :01:06.control centres. In busy periods, they often divert planes into
:01:06. > :01:11.somebody else's airspace to take the pressure off themselves. This
:01:11. > :01:15.makes their lives easier but is thought to add an extra 42
:01:15. > :01:20.kilometres to the -- the average flight in Europe. Inefficiencies in
:01:20. > :01:25.the current system are estimated to cost up to 5 billion euros every
:01:25. > :01:32.year in terms of extra costs that are passed on to airlines and the
:01:32. > :01:36.customers. It also entails extra fuel use, that generates emissions,
:01:36. > :01:41.generates heavy user charges, all of which can't necessary in the
:01:41. > :01:46.modern day. Four over one decade, Europe's transport commission has
:01:46. > :01:51.been asking for a more centralised system for a traffic control. The
:01:51. > :01:55.plan is to create nine airspace blocks with the international
:01:55. > :01:58.control centres. A number of existing centres could then be
:01:58. > :02:04.closed. Almost all European member states have signed up to the scheme
:02:04. > :02:08.but none has taken any steps to put it into practice. This is partly
:02:08. > :02:13.because national governments charge huge fees for their air traffic
:02:13. > :02:16.control services and they do not want to lose revenues. It is also
:02:16. > :02:21.because national governments are reluctant to lay off staff in their
:02:21. > :02:27.own countries at the behest of the European Commission. The commission
:02:27. > :02:30.meets on Tuesday to draft stronger laws to force and the States. Air
:02:30. > :02:35.traffic controllers in several countries will hold strikes in
:02:35. > :02:39.response this week. Microsoft has revealed its new Xbox
:02:39. > :02:42.One console will be available in the shops in November and cost $499
:02:42. > :02:52.in the United States, higher than most gamers expected. In Europe, it
:02:52. > :02:55.will cost 499 euros. In the UK, �429. The revelation came during
:02:55. > :03:04.the press day of the Electronics Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas,
:03:04. > :03:09.better known as E3. About one hour ago, Sony unveiled the look of its
:03:09. > :03:12.new PlayStation 4 -- PlayStation 4, which has been a closely guarded
:03:12. > :03:22.secret since February. It also revealed the PlayStation 4 will be
:03:22. > :03:22.
:03:22. > :03:25.on sale in the US for $399, $100 cheaper than the Xbox One. Stuart
:03:25. > :03:29.Miles is a technology journalist from pocketlint.com. He joins me
:03:29. > :03:34.now from Los Angeles. They have come out with all the information
:03:35. > :03:43.we have been waiting. Tell us about the battle between the two gainers.
:03:43. > :03:53.It is an incredible shock move. -- gamers. They are obviously trying
:03:53. > :03:56.
:03:56. > :04:01.to make sure they can be cheaper and still the market at Christmas.
:04:01. > :04:06.In the austerity period, it will be very appealing. As you say, there
:04:06. > :04:10.is not a lot of money around and competition is greater for these
:04:10. > :04:16.consols. There are more options with mobile devices and gaming.
:04:16. > :04:21.That is what probably Microsoft will say. They will say they have
:04:21. > :04:26.the sense of that is more powerful than Sony's. That is what you pay
:04:26. > :04:34.money. But we are also used to paying $500 for the latest iPad or
:04:34. > :04:38.even latest smartphone. Why should we pay that for the latest console?
:04:38. > :04:44.Sony's approach is along the lines of, if you come to us, we will give
:04:44. > :04:53.you a good time, it will be cheaper and it allows us to get a good base
:04:53. > :04:58.which can appeal and attract more customers to create more games.
:04:58. > :05:02.do you think will win this? The is a tough one. I think we still have
:05:02. > :05:07.some time to go. We have seen what is coming out now. The thing I am
:05:07. > :05:12.still waiting for is the line-up of games on day one. It always comes
:05:12. > :05:16.down to work games you want to play. If Microsoft has those, you will
:05:16. > :05:23.buy that. If PlayStation has the game you want, you will buy a
:05:23. > :05:27.Thank you. We relate to get back to the expo now. Moving on.
:05:27. > :05:30.On a daily basis, the share markets in Japan have been making the
:05:30. > :05:36.headlines with huge swings. Today, things seem calmer and the central
:05:36. > :05:39.bank has just finished its two-day policy meeting. We can go to Tokyo
:05:39. > :05:43.now and speak to Rupert Wingfield- Hayes. Nice to see you. We are
:05:43. > :05:47.talking regularly at the moment because things are very volatile in
:05:47. > :05:55.Japan. A lot was expected out of this meeting. What did they have to
:05:55. > :05:59.say? The central bank has said it is not going to do anything new.
:05:59. > :06:03.The message that came out of the Bank of Japan today is that it is
:06:03. > :06:08.time to hold their nerve, continue with the policy they have set out
:06:08. > :06:14.at the beginning of April, which is a policy of large-scale monetary
:06:14. > :06:19.easing, creating about 600-700 billion US dollars of new money a
:06:19. > :06:23.year over the next two years, but they are not going to react in the
:06:23. > :06:27.short-term. Essentially saying the short-term volatility in the stock
:06:27. > :06:31.market is nothing to be worried about, they are still doing well
:06:31. > :06:36.and the latest figures on Japanese growth are actually more positive
:06:36. > :06:41.than anyone expected. They have been revised up to a 1% growth in
:06:41. > :06:46.the first quarter. That is a 4% growth for the year. If that
:06:46. > :06:50.trajectory continues. So, Japan's economy is growing at a healthy
:06:50. > :06:57.rate. Their policy is working. They do not need to worry too much about
:06:57. > :07:01.this short-term volatility in the stock market. OK. Thank you.
:07:01. > :07:11.Most of us have pondered before, if I could work anywhere in the world,
:07:11. > :07:11.
:07:11. > :07:18.where would I choose? You could choose to be an astronaut in China
:07:18. > :07:21.but there are many other factors to consider. Beyond Singapore's clean
:07:21. > :07:24.streets and strong job market, the financial incentive is, for many,
:07:24. > :07:28.one of its biggest draw cards. Mariko Oi reports from the city
:07:28. > :07:34.state. The sun, the beach and the high
:07:34. > :07:37.standard of living. That is what attracted this British man to move
:07:37. > :07:44.to Singapore seven years ago. But there was an added bonus. Income
:07:44. > :07:48.tax is much lower than back home. The tax is a big thing. You
:07:48. > :07:51.actually do get value for money here. The low taxation gives you
:07:51. > :07:54.more money in your pocket and travelling around South East Asia
:07:54. > :07:59.is not terribly expensive anyway, so you can ultimately go to more
:07:59. > :08:03.exotic places because you can stretch the dollar a bit more.
:08:03. > :08:07.has attracted many others. Today, foreigners make up almost 40% of
:08:07. > :08:11.Singapore's population. There are higher taxes on some products, like
:08:11. > :08:16.alcohol and cigarettes, but income tax is one of the lowest in the
:08:16. > :08:23.world. For somebody earning $100,000 US, if you work in the UK
:08:23. > :08:27.almost a quarter of your salary would be deducted as income tax. In
:08:27. > :08:31.the US, it depends on which state you live in but, for example, in
:08:31. > :08:39.California the combined tax bill would be about the same as the UK.
:08:39. > :08:43.Nearly one-third of what you earn is paid to the government. But here
:08:43. > :08:48.in Singapore, it's a much smaller slice. You would only have to pay
:08:48. > :08:51.less than 7% of what you earn. Companies pay much lower taxes as
:08:51. > :08:59.well. Many global firms had therefore set up their Asian
:08:59. > :09:05.headquarters here. So they can have their cake and eat it too. French
:09:05. > :09:07.bakery Paul opened its first store in Singapore last January. Its Asia
:09:08. > :09:12.managing director says that, with nearly 500 stores in every
:09:12. > :09:22.continent, the firm pays various tax rates around the world.
:09:22. > :09:26.
:09:26. > :09:30.rates in Singapore are lower than they would be in other countries.
:09:30. > :09:33.But we didn't come to Singapore because of the tax, we came because
:09:33. > :09:37.we believed the market was good for Paul. The tax rate is favourable.
:09:37. > :09:40.It is better for our bottom line. There are claims the lower tax rate
:09:40. > :09:43.has also attracted tax evaders. Some even call Singapore the
:09:43. > :09:47.Switzerland of Asia. For its part, the government has recently been
:09:47. > :09:57.clamping down on illegal activities. With tighter banking rules soon to
:09:57. > :09:59.
:09:59. > :10:04.take effect, it hopes to maintain Very interesting. Stay with us this
:10:04. > :10:09.week as we bring you more stories on tax issues from different parts