On 15 August, Air Berlin was forced to file for bankruptcy after the withdrawal of funding from Abu-Dhabi based Etihad Airways, which holds 29 percent stake in the German carrier.
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.
Western governments have developed unfunded social insurance programmes where retiree benefits are paid for from the taxes of the working-age population. This means that an ageing population leads to rising expenditures that cannot be covered without increasing taxes on the young.