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OPPOSITION

Opposition touts tax cuts to fuel employment

Sweden's left-green opposition parties have vowed to cut general payroll taxes (arbetsgivaravgifter) for small businesses by 8 billion kronor over the next two years in a bid to stimulate employment if they are elected into government this autumn.

Opposition touts tax cuts to fuel employment

The cut would cost the exchequer 2 billion kronor in 2011 and 6 billion kronor in 2012. For companies with two to three employees, the reform will mean a saving of 40,000 kronor a year, write the leaders of the Social Democrats, Left Party and Green Party in an article in Stockholm daily Svenska Dagbladet.

The coalition also proposes the introduction of a tax break that will cancel out the cost of general payroll taxes for companies employing people aged 20 to 25, a group over-represented in unemployment statistics.

The parties also pledge to invest “100 billion kronor more than the government” in the transport sector over the next ten years, with a “clear focus” on railways and public transport.

Citizens striving for better energy efficiency in the home are also to be rewarded, with tax deductions for home repairs and maintenance (ROT-avdrag) being extended to include renovations in rental properties that are geared towards lower energy use.

Home owners making their houses and apartments more energy efficient will also be able to avail themselves of the deduction. The proposed expansion of the home repair deduction system will cost 1.7 billion kronor in 2011 and 2.9 billion kronor in 2012, write Mona Sahlin (SocDem), Lars Ohly (Left), Maria Wetterstand (Green) and Peter Eriksson (Green).

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MEDIA

France slams Belarus’ ‘arbitrary’ crackdown on foreign media

France on Sunday condemned an "arbitrary" crackdown against the media in Belarus after the accreditation of several journalists working for foreign media was withdrawn in the wake of disputed presidential elections.

France slams Belarus' 'arbitrary' crackdown on foreign media
Belarus opposition supporters protesting against disputed presidential elections results in Minsk on August 27. Photo: Sergei Gapon/AFP
“The arbitrary measures taken by the Belarusian authorities against journalists violate press freedom,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement.
   
“I call on the Belarusian authorities to reverse these measures without delay,” he added, saying that the crisis in Belarus requires “the establishment of an inclusive national dialogue”.
   
“Repressive measures against journalists cannot help,” he said.
   
Belarusian authorities on Saturday withdrew the accreditation of journalists working for several foreign media, including AFP, ahead of a major demonstration Sunday challenging the results of the presidential election.
   
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, has faced unprecedented protests since the disputed August 9 election in which he claimed a landslide victory with 80 percent of the vote in a poll
that the opposition says was rigged.
   
 
Belarus government spokesman Anatoly Glaz said the decision to revoke the media accreditations was taken on the recommendation of the country's counter-terrorism unit.
   
He did not specify how many journalists were affected by the measure, but foreign media including the BBC, Reuters and Radio Liberty reported the withdrawal of accreditation of several of their journalists.
   
Belarusian journalists working for Agence France-Presse also had their accreditation revoked.
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