Tag: tax refunds

Could A Tourist Tax Be The Answer To Norway’s Overtourism Problem?

The number of tourists coming to Norway continues to increase. In 2019, several natural attractions including the trail to the Pulpit Rock and hiking trails in Lofoten received record numbers of international visitors.

Locals are frustrated with congested roads and inconsiderate parking, while small municipalities complain that they can’t afford the necessary improvements to cope with the number of visitors, which more often than not far outnumber local residents. Calls have never been louder for a tourist tax.

A study by Innovation Norway of the highest profile Norwegian destinations found that discontent is high among a clear majority of the local population. These areas include the cities Bergen, Stavanger and Ålesund, along with more remote areas including Geiranger, Lofoten, Aurland and Svalbard. Almost two-thirds of those surveyed supported the introduction of a tourist tax.

According to the European Tourism Association, the concept of a visitor tax is not yet popular in northern Europe. Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia are among the countries not to have implemented the concept. The most visited countries in Europe—France, Spain and Italy—have all introduced charges.

Tourist tax under discussion by Norway’s MPs

For the second time in two years, the Norwegian Parliament is discussing the concept of a tourist tax. Last time the proposals were voted down, but given the recent changes in the coalition government, things could well be different this time around. Both the Labour party and Center party appear to now be in favor of allowing select municipalities to introduce some kind of local visitor fee.

One person who is hoping for an agreement is Jan Ove Tryggestad, the Mayor of Stranda municipality, which includes the tourist magnet Geiranger. “Today, there are a number of tourist destinations in Norway that are struggling. We cannot take any responsibility for what mass tourism imposes on us,” he told NRK.

Tryggestad also said he believes “tourist tax” is a loaded term and prefers to call the proposal “joint fundraising.” He also proposed alternatives to the typical accommodation-based way tourist taxes are collected at locations across Europe, presumably because so many visitors to Geiranger are day-trippers from cruise ships.

He suggested mobile payments, toll stations or a simple levy on goods and services in the specified zone could all be potential solutions.

How authorities elsewhere in Norway are tackling overtourism

Elsewhere in Norway, other measures are being introduced ahead of what is expected to be another record-breaking summer season.

The Foundation responsible for the facilities at Pulpit Rock are implementing limits on the number of tour buses allowed at the parking lot at any one time. While they are not limiting numbers taking the hike, they hope to better spread those numbers across the day.

City bosses in Bergen have extended the summer ban on passenger vehicles using Bryggen and Torget in the historic center to tourist buses. Such buses will also be banned from Øvregaten, an important access road to Bryggen. While many in the city are pleased with the news, owners of local tourism companies have spoken out against the proposals. There are several hotels in the restricted zone, which could cause problems for those traveling to and from cruise ships.

Finally, the Norwegian government is also considering imposing a size limitation on cruise ships around Svalbard. They are also considering extended the current ban on the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) to cover the entire archipelago.

Follow me on Twitter. Check out my website.

David Nikel

I was born in the U.K. but moved to Norway in 2011 and haven’t looked back. I run a website and podcast for fellow expats, authored the Moon Norway travel guidebook, help Norwegian companies with their English, and spend my free time touring the country to discover more about the people and places of this unique corner of the world. I write for Forbes with an outsider’s inside perspective on Norway & Scandinavia.

Source: Could A Tourist Tax Be The Answer To Norway’s Overtourism Problem?

1.18M subscribers
Cities and attractions across the globe are experiencing severe overcrowding and other stresses brought on by too many tourists. According to the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization, there were around 70 million international tourist arrivals back in 1960. Today, that number has hit more than 1.4 billion. Erin Florio, travel news director for Conde Nast Traveler, joins “CBS This Morning” to discuss the impact of all that tourist traffic. Watch “CBS This Morning” HERE: http://bit.ly/1T88yAR Download the CBS News app on iOS HERE: https://apple.co/1tRNnUy Download the CBS News app on Android HERE: https://bit.ly/1IcphuX Like “CBS This Morning” on Facebook HERE: http://on.fb.me/1LhtdvI Follow “CBS This Morning” on Twitter HERE: http://bit.ly/1Xj5W3p Follow “CBS This Morning” on Instagram HERE: http://bit.ly/1Q7NGnY Get new episodes of shows you love across devices the next day, stream local news live, and watch full seasons of CBS fan favorites anytime, anywhere with CBS All Access. Try it free! http://bit.ly/1OQA29B Each weekday morning, “CBS This Morning” co-hosts Gayle King, Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil deliver two hours of original reporting, breaking news and top-level newsmaker interviews in an engaging and informative format that challenges the norm in network morning news programs. The broadcast has earned a prestigious Peabody Award, a Polk Award, four News & Documentary Emmys, three Daytime Emmys and the 2017 Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast. The broadcast was also honored with an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award as part of CBS News division-wide coverage of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Check local listings for “CBS This Morning” broadcast times.

Category

News & Politics

TurboTax Glitch Led To $216 Million Tax Bill For Thrift Store Worker

Nobody likes getting a tax bill in the mail. It’s especially concerning when your tax bill is a bit higher than you anticipated. But what happens when it’s hundreds of millions of dollars more than you were expecting? Just ask Donna Smith from Aurora, Colorado. Smith, a part-time worker at a local thrift store, got quite the surprise when she opened a tax bill from the Colorado Department of Revenue to find that the state claimed she owed $216,399,508 in taxes.

Smith, who makes about $10 an hour, couldn’t understand the tax bill. To put the amount in perspective, it’s nearly a quarter of the City of Aurora’s entire budget for the year (report downloads as a PDF).

Smith’s returns are self-prepared, of sorts. Her mother, Diana Valencia, prepared Smith’s tax return for 2018 and couldn’t understand what happened. She told 9News that she went back to check the return, saying, “I mean, I thought, ‘Wow, was that an error on my part?’”

Today In: Money

It was an error – but not on Valencia’s part. Valencia used TurboTax to prepare the return. According to the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR), the TurboTax software made an error tied to Smith’s federal taxable income.

A spokesperson from TurboTax confirmed the error, saying, “For a small number of TurboTax online customers that filed their taxes between June 13-16, there was an issue that caused select fields on their tax return to be incorrectly transmitted during e-file. The issue was quickly fixed and we have been working directly with affected Colorado taxpayers and the Colorado State DOR to help resolve.” If you were affected by the billing error and aren’t currently working to resolve the matter, you should contact the Department of Revenue at (303) 866-4622 to reach a citizen’s advocate.

The Colorado DOR pegged the number of affected taxpayers at 44. That doesn’t mean, however, that a few dozen taxpayers received multi-million dollar tax bills. According to Daniel Carr, Taxation Communications Manager at the Colorado DOR, that number represents taxpayers who encountered the same glitch using TurboTax software during a three-day window in June of this year. “What the taxpayer entered into TurboTax was correct,” Carr said, explaining that “an error in the TurboTax transfer reported incorrect amounts to the State of Colorado.”

The bills went out, explains the DOR, because “[o]n our end it was simply data in data out and we could only process what we were given by TurboTax. We cannot determine the accurate amounts based on the information provided.”

Once the errors were discovered, however, the DOR worked with affected taxpayers. “We have reached out to all of the taxpayers affected and are helping them resolve this issue,” says Carr.

That doesn’t mean that the taxpayers don’t have work to do. According to Carr, “Taxpayers, in this case, who kept a copy of what they submitted are able to send us that copy and we will correct the error. Otherwise, they would have to amend their return.”

(For more information on how to file an amended federal income tax return, click here.)

Mistakes happen all of the time – just maybe not quite this big. No matter the size of the return, taxpayers can protect themselves, Carr advises, by always keeping a copy of filed returns. And if the bill seems out of place? “Contact the Department of Revenue immediately to have it resolved.”

Don’t ignore the problem. That’s good advice for all taxpayers, no matter whether the bill is federal, state or local. In most cases – even when the bill is hundreds of millions of dollars – errors are totally fixable. But don’t wait and hope that it goes away: it’s important to reach out to the respective tax authorities to clear up any problems as soon as possible.

(For more on how to fix a mistake on your return, click here.)

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Kelly Phillips Erb

Years ago, I found myself sitting in law school in Moot Court wearing an oversized itchy blue suit. It was a horrible experience. In a desperate attempt to avoid anything like that in the future, I enrolled in a tax course. I loved it. I signed up for another. Before I knew it, in addition to my JD, I earned an LL.M Taxation. While at law school, I interned at the estates attorney division of the IRS. At IRS, I participated in the review and audit of federal estate tax returns. At one such audit, opposing counsel read my report, looked at his file and said, “Gentlemen, she’s exactly right.” I nearly fainted. It was a short jump from there to practicing, teaching, writing and breathing tax. Just like that, Taxgirl® was born.

Source: TurboTax Glitch Led To $216 Million Tax Bill For Thrift Store Worker

I just finished reviewing TurboTax 2018-2019, and I’m excited about how easy it is to use. 💵But, if you don’t qualify for free file (and it’s limited), they are one of the most expensive options for filing your taxes this year. Check out the full article with all the links here: https://thecollegeinvestor.com/20778/… Here’s what we’re going to talk about in this video: ▶︎ Look at the pricing of TurboTax Online 2018 – 2019 ▶︎ See how easy it is to file your taxes and why I like it so much ▶︎ The limitations of TurboTax Free Edition ▶︎ What upsells to avoid and what upsells you should consider Be sure to subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c… ★☆★Resources Mentioned in this video:★☆★ 💵TurboTax 2018 – 2019: http://go.thecollegeinvestor.com/Turb… 💵TurboTax Amazon Deal: https://amzn.to/2EctYxn 💵H&R Block Online: http://go.thecollegeinvestor.com/HRBlock ★☆★ Want More From The College Investor? ★☆★ 💻 Check out my blog here: https://thecollegeinvestor.com/ Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecollegei…

Category

Educatio

How To Turn Tax Refunds Into Savings

The ongoing flap over tax refunds has once again highlighted a serious issue: Americans use tax withholding from their paychecks as a major savings tool. They give the government more than they owe in income tax throughout the year just so they can get a check the following spring. For many low-income filers, overwithholding has become their preferred, and perhaps their only, way to save. They ought to have a better option. Traditional economists say deliberately having too much tax withheld throughout the year is, not to put too fine a point on it………..

Source: How To Turn Tax Refunds Into Savings

2019 Tax Refund Chart Can Help You Guess When You’ll Receive Your Money


If anyone tells you that they have the 2019 tax filing season all figured, they’re lying. By all accounts, the upcoming tax season is going to be tricky. Despite a shoestring staff due to the shutdown, new tax forms and new tax rules, the 2019 tax season is still set to open on January 28, 2019. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claims that the season will operate as close to normal as possible—including issuing tax refunds. So when are those tax refunds coming……….
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2019/01/21/2019-tax-refund-chart-can-help-you-guess-when-youll-receive-your-money/#6522e9684ba2

%d bloggers like this: