High tide is a big problem in Venice, and many experts have been warning that the city is sinking. With about 170,000 people, this old Italian town that once ruled the waves in the Mediterranean Sea is already overstretched: to be sustainable the daily figure should not go beyond the threshold of 160,000 people.
But next year, thanks to Expo, tourists will be pouring in, with at least one million people to be added to these numbers. Is this a dream or a nightmare?
That’s the same question about the economic impact of Milan Expo 2015. Official figures show that it will be a boon, but not everyone agrees. From 2012 to 2020, the Expo is expected to bring €23.6 billion (Dh106bn) in additional production, with 191,000 people directly or indirectly involved.
“Tourism is certainly one of the market sectors that will witness the greatest benefits, estimated at €4.5 billion of added value” boasts the company overseeing Expo 2015. And a fifth of this €23.6bn will flow into companies’ balance sheets. The event is also expected to leave a €6.7bn heritage in properties and infrastructure. These results emerged from a study of the direct economic impact of Expo Milano 2015 carried out by the SDA Bocconi School of Management. Yet, here comes the nightmare in the form of an economist from the university, Roberto Perotti, who has questioned these figures on Lavoce.it, a think tank.
“The problem of Expo 2015”, he argues, “it’s not corruption or delays but the fact that it should not be there. When, because of a form of collective drunkenness one gives up on a serious costs analysis, then it’s the community who is losing out”. The problem, he explains, is the method used to work out these numbers. “This methodology ignores that all used resources have a cost. Thereby, it always, anyway, provides positive figures.”
And he mentions the example of the Turin Olympic Games in 2006 where forecasts on tourists’ flows proved to be too optimistic.
Only with hindsight will we be able to see who’s right. But the lesson is clear: without a proper cost analysis, the danger is that the real return will be in political, rather business, terms.
Another thing that is clear is that the accommodation business is changing. And if hotels push prices too high, as happens every time in these occasions, people could turn to the sharing economy. Sites such as Airbnb are expected to play a major role and many in Milan and in the surrounding areas are reorganising their houses to host Expo tourists. In just one year the amount of visitors who have decided to stay in privates houses has increased by three times.
“Expo is a big challenge,” said Matteo Stifanelli, Airbnb Italy’s country manager. “We could offer a sustainable answer to the hospitality needs, without building new hotels that, after Expo, could end up empty.”
Hospitality is no longer a monopoly in the hands of hoteliers, who complain that the sharing economy does not pay taxes and are pushing for stricter rules for sites such as Airbnb. But the same problem could soon apply to restaurants – websites such as Bookalokal work in a similar way to Airbnb, but offering meals instead of rooms.
Bookalokal does not have many hosts in Milan yet, but its intentions are clear. "We definitely have plans to expand in Italy and will be looking for more hosts in Milan and across Italy very soon," Evelyne White, the founder and chief executive at Bookalokal, told The National.
So the second lesson to learn from what is going in Milan is to take into full account the rising dimension of the sharing economy – the expected 20 million tourists should spend something in the region of €3.5bn, and €1.2bn only in restaurants, but now also private citizens will have their piece of cake. So among the business winners of this Expo 2015 for the first time on the podium there may be the average citizen who can offset in this way the inevitable problems stemming from the sudden arrival in town of 20 million people.
In the next column we’ll see in detail how it’s working out for the real estate market: where, despite the economic crisis, there could be a few positive surprises even in sinking Italy.
Jacopo Barigazzi is a former Newsweek contributor and Reuters journalist. Based in Milan, he is writing a monthly column for these pages on the build-up to Expo 2015
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2015%20PRO%20MAX
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UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
Company%20profile
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FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
Liz%20Truss
%3Cp%3EMinisterial%20experience%3A%20Current%20Foreign%20Secretary.%0D%3Cbr%3E%0DWhat%20did%20she%20do%20before%20politics%3F%20Worked%20as%20an%20economist%20for%20Shell%20and%20Cable%20and%20Wireless%20and%20was%20then%20a%20deputy%20director%20for%20right-of-centre%20think%20tank%20Reform.%0D%3Cbr%3E%0DWhat%20does%20she%20say%20on%20tax%3F%20She%20has%20pledged%20to%20%22start%20cutting%20taxes%20from%20day%20one%22%2C%20reversing%20April's%20rise%20in%20National%20Insurance%20and%20promising%20to%20keep%20%22corporation%20tax%20competitive%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Henrik Stenson's finishes at Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship:
2006 - 2
2007 - 8
2008 - 2
2009 - MC
2010 - 21
2011 - 42
2012 - MC
2013 - 23
2014 - MC
2015 - MC
2016 - 3
2017 - 8
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh1,050,000
On sale: now
Abramovich London
A Kensington Palace Gardens house with 15 bedrooms is valued at more than £150 million.
A three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront bought for £22 million.
Steel company Evraz drops more than 10 per cent in trading after UK officials said it was potentially supplying the Russian military.
Sale of Chelsea Football Club is now impossible.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
