A law banning short-term apartment rentals just came into force in Berlin. The measure, which was passed in 2014 but only entered into force on 1 May, is aimed at releasing housing for Berliners.
The European Court of Justice has today ruled that minimum pricing for alcohol is illegal if less restrictive measures, such as tax rises, can serve the same purpose of reducing alcohol consumption.
Long denigrated and accused of every imaginable evil, the tobacco market is undergoing a renaissance with innovations that can change consumers’ habits — and health.
So‐called “sin” taxes are very much in fashion in France and elsewhere. With the aim of reducing “sinful” behaviour and financing the health care system, public authorities are planning to raise the tax load on alcohol and tobacco even higher.
The benefits of increasing labour participation rates in old age flow both to the individual – in terms of improved health and increased incomes – and to society as a whole as greater employment at older ages will reduce the costs of ageing populations.