Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 (nCoV-2019)

[AlbertC]

Air Canada revises refund policy amid growing anger over cancelled flights

MAY 22, 2020

Air Canada is revising its cancellation policy amid mounting customer frustration, offering travellers the option of a voucher with no expiry date or discount Aeroplan points if the airline cancels their flight due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The airline says the new policy — the previous one capped travel vouchers at 24 months — applies to non-refundable tickets issued up to the end of June, with an original travel date between March 1 and June 30.

Air Canada’s new tack comes as advocates and thousands of passengers continue to demand their money back for services they paid for but have not received.

Three petitions with more than 77,000 signatures are calling for full refunds to be implemented before financial aid is handed out to airlines, two of which were presented to the House of Commons over the past 11 days.

Air Canada revises refund policy amid growing anger over cancelled flights

Air Canada is revising its cancellation policy amid mounting customer frustration, offering travellers the option of a voucher with no expiry date or discount Aeroplan points if the airline cancels their flight due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline says the new policy — the previous one...

toronto.citynews.ca

 

[Towered]

The place that my brother goes to for haircuts have already notified customers on social media that they're going to charge an extra $10 per cut when they open up again. So from $35 to 45.

That's...significant. I guess I'll be one of those lousy consumers that sits on their money instead of helping the economy recover!

 

[Richard White]

That's...significant. I guess I'll be one of those lousy consumers that sits on their money instead of helping the economy recover!

Why pay $45 when you can shave it all off and go bald for free!

 

[AlbertC]

That's...significant. I guess I'll be one of those lousy consumers that sits on their money instead of helping the economy recover!

Maybe space out haircuts from having them each month to every 2nd or 3rd instead now...or worse case scenario have your significant other or different family member improvise for now.

 

[PinkLucy]

What else are you going to spend your money on? And think of the extra work hair people are going to have with overgrown hair and/or home haircuts to fix.

 

[picard102]

$45 for a haircut doesn't seem crazy even pre-pandemic. You get what you pay for.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Scotland bans companies based in tax havens from accessing coronavirus bailout money

From link.

‘Any company which avoids its responsibility to contribute to society should not be getting handouts when things go wrong,’ says Scottish Green party co-leader Patrick Harvie

Scotland has become the latest country to block companies based in tax havens from accessing coronavirus bailout funds, in a move that will increase pressure on Boris Johnson’s government to introduce similar measures.

MSPs approved new rules on Wednesday night that will mean companies that are registered in tax havens, or are a subsidiary of an offshore company, cannot apply for government grants.

France, Belgium, Denmark, Poland, Wales and Argentina have applied similar policies to their coronavirus business-support packages.

A second amendment to the Scottish legislation, introduced by the Green Party, would have required companies taking bailout money to commit to country-by-country reporting in their accounts. However, the amendment was voted down.

Country-by-country reporting has long been a central policy request of the tax justice movement because it would open up to public scrutiny any shifting of corporate profits into tax havens.

Campaigners welcomed the Scottish parliament’s move but warned that it would not prevent large firms that avoid billions in tax from accessing bailout funds.

Scotland, like other European countries that have introduced tax-haven clauses, is relying on the EU’s blacklist of tax havens that does not include some notable tax-avoidance hotspots, such as Jersey, the British Virgin Islands, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

The Tax Justice Network’s chief executive, Alex Cobham, said this would leave the door open to companies registered in many of the world’s most dangerous corporate tax havens.

He said: “The EU tax-haven blacklist, which Scotland and other European countries are relying on to stop Covid-19 bailouts from ending up in tax havens, is based on an old-fashioned notion of tax havens as small, palm-fringed islands and ignores the reality of modern-day tax havenry.

“Many of the biggest corporate tax havens are based right here in Europe.”

According to the Tax Justice Network’s research, Luxembourg is responsible for 11 times more corporate tax avoidance risk than the EU-blacklisted Seychelles.

The network estimates that Luxembourg costs EU members over $12bn (£9.8bn) in lost corporate tax per year.

“The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the grave costs of an international tax system programmed to prioritise the interest of corporate giants over the needs of people,” Mr Cobham said.

“For years, corporate tax havens like the Netherlands and Luxembourg have fuelled a race to the bottom, handing over wealth and power to the biggest corporations and taking it away from the nurses and public service workers risking their lives today to protect ours.”

Scotland’s measures, which were backed by the SNP and the Conservatives, cover a £120m fund that provides grants for small- and medium-sized firms, and a £30m bailout fund for creative, tourism and hospitality businesses.

Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Green Party co-leader, said: “Any company which avoids its responsibility to contribute to society should not be getting handouts when things go wrong. That’s why many European nations and Wales have already made this commitment.

“I’m delighted that ministers finally saw sense on this basic issue of fairness. This move isn’t the final word, but it marks the beginning of a new approach to tackling the companies which shamelessly avoid paying tax, and we will continue to build on what’s been achieved today.”

 

[gabe]

The place that my brother goes to for haircuts have already notified customers on social media that they're going to charge an extra $10 per cut when they open up again. So from $35 to 45.

I can understand that. Personal protective equipment is expensive. I think everything we buy that isn't online is going to have a Covid fee. Covid fees are going to be part of life for a while. I can see retail stores, grocery stores, bars and restaurants eventually doing the same. It's going to be expensive for the consumer.

 

[gabe]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1263836535041994753

 

[lenaitch]

$45 for a haircut doesn't seem crazy even pre-pandemic. You get what you pay for.

I guess you don't want to know what my small town barber charges. I figure the first visit when he opens will be just for an estimate.

 

[Northern Light]

$45 for a haircut doesn't seem crazy even pre-pandemic. You get what you pay for.

Well now, that depends.

For those of us with increasingly less hair, who don't really get it 'styled' or coloured, and who sit in the chair for 15m tops...........

That's $220 an hour........which is more than I bill! LOL

By a sizable margin too!

A good friend of mine who gets by on a tight budget..........finds a place in the City where a barber does his hair for $8.

That's probably mean to the person doing the work...........

But his hair turns out fine.

I have less hair and typically pay $32 +tip.

 

[SunriseChampion]

That's...significant. I guess I'll be one of those lousy consumers that sits on their money instead of helping the economy recover!

Buy less. Live more.

I'll give you a hair cut for free and probably feed you a pint whilst we're at it.

I've been getting my hair done for free for years, least I could do is pass on the feeling. Though, I get it done in a salon so you'll have to settle for leaning over the bathtub.

 

[SunriseChampion]

I can understand that. Personal protective equipment is expensive. I think everything we buy that isn't online is going to have a Covid fee. Covid fees are going to be part of life for a while. I can see retail stores, grocery stores, bars and restaurants eventually doing the same. It's going to be expensive for the consumer.

There's an idea! I've been working this whole time and never thought to charge a Covid fee!

Ripping myself off, clearly.

PPE is cheap and only low-margin businesses are going to pass that cost on. If I even tried passing that particular cost on to my clients it'd amount to a negligible rounding error.

Be wary of businesses upcharging for plague reasons......only some may have actual reason to do so. I'd walk away from most, myself. Sounds like bullshit to me.

 

[Towered]

Buy less. Live more.

I'll give you a hair cut for free and probably feed you a pint whilst we're at it.

I've been getting my hair done for free for years, least I could do is pass on the feeling. Though, I get it done in a salon so you'll have to settle for leaning over the bathtub.

Sounds kinky!

 

[WislaHD]

$45 for a haircut doesn't seem crazy even pre-pandemic. You get what you pay for.

Indeed. After my old place (where I was paying $25) shut down I have been going from place to place looking for the right cut, and it usually costs in excess of $50.

I learned how to cut my own hair during this pandemic, and I have ordered some professional equipment, because paying over $60 (after tax and tip) for a haircut seemed ridiculous.