New York and New Tax

According to a Manhattan Institute survey, more than half of high-earning New Yorkers are working entirely from home and 44% are considering leaving the city. Ned Lamont, Connecticut’s governor, has said “the old idea of the commuter(通勤者) going into New York City five days a week may be outdated.” It does seem     1     that the tens of thousands commuting from Mr. Lamont’s state will continue to do so. The region’s governors have     2     well together to deal with the pandemic(流行病), but the friendliness may soon end over taxes.

When people from     3     states like New Jersey and Connecticut commute to New York to work for a New York-based employer, they must pay New York tax on the related earned income. Even those who work from home must pay New York taxes unless the employee is working outside New York by     4    .

Taxpayers and those states are looking closely at this loophole(漏洞). In December, Connecticut and New Jersey applied to the Supreme Court to consider a case which     5     a state’s authority to tax non-residents’ income while they are working remotely. They think this is definitely a(n)     6     to the city’s finances. “Firms have considered leaving the city before, and employees are gradually accepting the idea. They have been working remotely for almost ten months and they’ve     7     to that idea.”

Companies are also watching the progression of the billionaire Mark to Market Tax Act, which would treat capital     8     from billionaires’ property as taxable income. New York’s Democratic governor said he would reject any laws     9     heavy taxes on the rich, because it would drive out wealthy, mobile residents. It would not take too many moving trucks for the city to feel the economic loss, says Michael Hendrix. A 5%     10     of New Yorkers making about $10,000 would result in an annual loss of $933m—roughly the amount distributed to the city’s health department.

4 . E-cigarettes Ban:Good news for Tobacco?

The proposed ban on flavored e-cigarettes may drive many Americans back to cigarettes,said Christopher Palmeri and Jeff Green in the Los Ange Times.

Responding to an outbreak of hundreds of serious lung illnesses from vapes(电子烟)that killed a seventh person this week, FDA(食物药品监管局)will outlaw everything but tobacco-flavored-cigarettes, as Michigan and New York state recently did. Flavors like buttered popcorn and mango helped create "an explosion" in teen vaping. But hundreds of thousands of teens already addicted to nicotine-and 9 million adults who vape--may simply replace vaping with tobacco products. By banning favored vapes the government may be "closing the shed door after the horse has gotten out."

Nobody vapes "because the flavor is so amazing," said David Marcus in The Federalist com. That's why the ban is so clueless."If kids want to taste bubble gum,they can buy,you know,bubble gum." Vaping giants like Juul need to be honest about the fact that they’re in the nicotine business, and monitor themselves accordingly. They should spend billions ensuring that stores don’t sell to minors instead of touting the "scientific conclusion"that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking. The burning involved in smoking cigarettes creates tar and a bunch of chemicals not present in e-cigarettes' watery vapor. True, but nicotine is also a dangerous and addictive drug and vaping liquid itself contains chemicals that damage blood vessels(血管)."The idea of safe smoking" is"a lie," and the vaping industry's fruit- and candy-flavored pods" are proof of evil intent."

"The massive increase in teen vapers" is a reasonable concern, said Robert Gebelhoff in Washington Post.com.But the evidence suggests that the lung illnesses that led the government to act were caused by black-market products cut with dangerous substance.Banning favored vapes will only drive more nicotine addicts and teens to the black market,which will be happy to provide fruity pods. Instead of banning flavors, the government "should empower the FDA to fully regulate the industry." That would let science,"not panic,guide our policy."

5 . The teenage years of an individual is marked by evaluating one's values,experiencing a shift in outlooks,and a tendency to act rebellious. It can also be a time when someone becomes extremely____ to negative influences,and is drawn towards dangerous situations. On the other hand,for parents, the period of their children's adolescence means regularly worrying about their safety and formation as a citizen. Thus, a method of _____teenagers' security is needed, and curfews(宵禁)are often seen as such a measure，since they have proved their ______the same time, certain peculiarities exist about establishing curfews for children.

The issue of teenage curfews is widely debated in the United States, where this method is still rather _____, and in European democracies, where this measure is yet not so widely used .The first and foremost reason for establishing curfews is children's security. ____curfews require teenagers under 17 years to stay out of streets starting from 11p.m.or midnight. This is believed to protect them from crimes committed after nightfall,as well as from breaking the law, and there exists serious evidence _____this belief. For example, when New Orleans enabled a dusk-til-dawn curfew in 1994, the rates of juvenile crime were reported to fall more than 20 percent.Even more impressive _______were recorded in Dallas, which reported a 30-percent decrease in violent juvenile crime,and a 21-percent decrease in the overall rates of crimes committed by young people (The New York Times).

On the other hand, curfews can be seen as a preventive measure that rob young people of their rights,____ their freedom. This opinion is _____ supported by the fact that curfew violations(违规) and the respective charges are among the most often committed juvenile crimes in the United States. _______, there were reports claiming that police arrested more non-white teenagers for curfew violations.All this can cause a teenager to believe they have crossed a psychological line dividing them as criminals; thus,such teenagers may start to see themselves as outlaws, which can _____ committing more serious crimes than a curfew offense.

What is important for a parent to remember when establishing a curfew for their children is that a teenager's misjudged view of certain______may cause them to misbehave in some other way; this is proved by research conducted by the University of Minnesota, according to which teens tend to protest against what they see as _______. Considering this,parents should ______the authoritarian style of establishing curfews; instead, they should have a conversation with their teenager that would be aimed at finding ideal conditions for a curfew that would ______both sides.

It is a common sight on campus or in the streets: a young person rides by on an electric scooter, traveling quickly and proudly. But Beijing’s traffic authorities have said that starting on Sept.5, people who are caught riding electric scooters on public roads or bicycle lanes will be fined 10 yuan. They will also be given a warning not to use the vehicles on public roads again.

The announcement was made after traffic police in Shanghai started a campaign to get electric scooters off public roads, with police officers stopping riders because the scooters could cause traffic problems.

The Beijing Consumer Association said it had tested more than 20 electric scooters of different brands recently and found that most had substandard brakes. It added that 16 of the tested scooters could go faster than the maximum 20 km per hour set for electric bikes. According to the traffic police, people who ride electric scooters at certain speeds can easily bump into the vehicles in the vehicle lane and hurt people who walk in the bicycle lanes.

But seeing the benefits that electric scooters have brought to young people, experts are worried that the ban may take effect slowly.

Electric scooters are a great answer to the ‘last mile problem’ of getting from a public transport station to one’s home. They’re light enough to throw over your shoulder. They’re easy to ride just about anywhere and don’t need a lot of physical effort. The scooter can travel 25 km on one charge. It’s convenient and easy to control.

They are also good for environment. Unlike cars and buses, electric scooters produce no carbon dioxide, need no fuel and make almost no noise.

For many young people, they use them to copy cool celebrities they have seen in videos.

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