Latest news with #economicrelief
Zawya
22-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Cape Town's $125mln debt relief plan: A lifeline for millions facing financial hardship
The City of Cape Town has approved a substantial R2.2bn debt write-off for qualifying residents in its 2025/26 budget to provide economic relief and improve the metro's financial sustainability. Despite achieving a high annual collection ratio of 97.83% as of 30 June 2025, the City recognises the need to assist residents facing financial hardship. The write-off applies to municipal debts outstanding up to 30 June 2024. Eligible beneficiaries include owners of residential properties valued between R450,000 and R7.5m. Additionally, the relief extends to indigent households with zero property valuation, income-based indigent customers, pensioners, social-grant recipients, and various community-focused institutions such as cemeteries, crematoria, non-profits, animal shelters, facilities for vulnerable groups, local museums, old age homes, public benefit organisations, social housing, and youth development organisations. This initiative aims to ease financial burdens while supporting the city's fiscal health. - Residential properties valued between R450,000 and R2.5m may qualify for a full 100% write-off on arrears older than one year. - Properties valued between R2.5m and R7m can receive up to a 50% reduction on debt older than one year. - Low-cost housing and indigent households earning less than R3,500 per month are eligible for complete debt cancellation. This programme requires owners to commit to a payment arrangement for their current and future accounts. If the payment arrangement is not maintained, the previously written-off debt will be reinstated. Says Siseko Mbandezi, Mayoral Committee Member for Finance at the City of Cape Town: "We have said those with property valued from over R500,000 to up to R2.5m would qualify for a 100% write-off and those with property valued over R2.5m and up to R7m would also qualify for a reduction of up to 50% off of their debts. That on its own shows the commitment to also assist those who are in the middle income households with financial difficulty." All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Zawya
17-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Jordan: Cabinet approves digital logistics project in Aqaba, economic relief measures, heritage designations
AMMAN — The Cabinet, during a session chaired by Prime Minister Jafar Hassan on Wednesday, approved a package of decisions targeting digital transformation, economic relief, international cooperation, and cultural heritage preservation. The Cabinet approved an agreement between the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) and Maqta Ayla Digital Solutions Company to manage and develop a new digital truck control and monitoring system at the Aqaba port, according to the Jordan news agency, Petra. The project will establish a centralised digital platform that integrates customs, port operations, shipping lines, and clearance companies, streamlining logistics, enhancing transparency, and accelerating cargo handling. Key components include the digital regulation of truck entry and exit, digitised permits, real-time monitoring of vehicle movements, and improved road safety through reduced congestion. The Cabinet also instructed the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship to ensure full integration with Jordan's digital government systems. The Cabinet approved measures to ease financial pressure on companies in the Digital and Entrepreneurial Sector benefiting from the Temporary Employment Support Programme (Hafiz). These businesses will now be able to repay 2023-related debts in monthly installments over five years, according to Petra. To date, the government has contributed JD1.9 million in Social Security support through Hafiz, helping to employ around 600 youth in IT roles across public and private sectors. The programme subsidises up to 50 per cent of salaries for new hires, aiming to boost digital skills and accelerate service digitization, according to Petra. The Cabinet also settled 696 tax cases between the Income and Sales Tax Department and taxpayers, a step aimed at fostering a better business climate, increasing tax compliance, and resolving legal disputes. The Cabinet also approved two cooperation agreements with Lebanon focusing on social development and welfare, and another with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to eliminate double taxation and prevent tax evasion, promoting stronger economic ties. © Copyright The Jordan Times. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Japan Times
10-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
As election looms, Ishiba pledges ¥1 quadrillion GDP by 2040
Economic relief packages for present difficulties and economic goals for future prosperity are the strategies the ruling and opposition parties are employing ahead of the Upper House election next month, as they roll out their official campaign pledges. Financial aid to help households deal with the high cost of consumer prices, particularly those for rice and agricultural products, is a major part of each party's formal set of promises to voters who need help now. But Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party is also announcing an ambitious economic growth target for the distant future. 'We aim to achieve a nominal gross domestic product of ¥1 quadrillion ($6.9 trillion) by 2040 and I have instructed party executives to make increasing the average income by more than 50% from current levels by then as our party's first pledge in the upcoming Upper House election,' Ishiba announced Monday night. How, exactly, the LDP would achieve that was not made clear. The party plans to compile a more detailed policy platform next week. Japan's nominal gross domestic product in 2024 was ¥609.4 trillion, according to Cabinet data, while the average annual private sector salary in 2023 was ¥4.6 million, according to the National Tax Agency. To deal with present economic realities, the LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito, agreed Tuesday to include promises of cash payments in their respective Upper House campaign pledges, in response to recent consumer price increases. The exact amount each household would receive and under what conditions are yet to be determined, although the amount promised in the LDP's platform could be in the range of the tens of thousands of yen per person. Komeito, which has already announced its Upper House campaign pledges, is also promising to abolish the temporary gasoline tax rate of ¥25.1 per liter. It says the abolition date can be determined during year-end tax negotiations. In the meantime, Komeito supports a continuation of current subsidies to lower gasoline prices and expanding a tax-exempt limit for commuting allowances for employees who commute by private vehicle. The opposition parties are also gearing up for the Upper House race with a similar emphasis on pocketbook issues. Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan head Yoshihiko Noda speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday. | JIJI On Tuesday, Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda announced his party's platform under a slogan of promising to protect voters from rising prices, especially those for daily necessities. 'We'll implement immediate measures in the form of a meal support grant to alleviate the burden of rising rice prices. A onetime payment of ¥20,000 per person, equivalent to half a year's worth of consumption tax on food items, will be provided. After that, we will implement a zero percent consumption tax on foodstuffs for one year and up to two years,' Noda said. The CDP is also promising a review of Japan's rice policy to bring prices down, while emphasizing the importance of protecting both rice farmers and consumers. In addition, Noda presented the party's plan for dealing with gasoline prices. 'Our aim is to abolish the provisional tax rate and achieve a reduction of ¥1,000 per 40 liters,' he said. Other parties are now finalizing their election strategies, including the exact wording of their campaign promises. The date of the Upper House poll has not yet been announced, although July 20 appears to be the most likely. The current session of parliament is slated to end on June 22.
Bloomberg
15-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Will Seek 180-Day Waiver to Congress Sanctions on Syria
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration will offer Syria initial economic relief by seeking a 180-day waiver to sanctions imposed by Congress, with the longer-term goal of removing the restrictions entirely. He said President Donald Trump intends to use the waiver authority granted to him by the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which penalizes anyone who does business with the Syrian government.
Washington Post
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Syrians rejoice after Trump pledge to lift crippling sanctions
DAMASCUS, Syria — President Donald Trump's announcement from Saudi Arabia that his administration intends to lift wide-ranging sanctions on Syria sparked jubilation in the capital, Damascus, as a population long impoverished by the restrictions was finally able to hope for relief. For years, the U.S. government insisted that its sanctions targeted the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad, a dictator who presided over a devastating civil war. But ultimately the measures, which cut Syria off from the global financial system, strangled the country's economy, triggered hyperinflation, weakened the health system and left the poorest living hand-to-mouth.
