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What proposed SALT changes could mean for your next tax bill

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As negotiations over the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/10/28/22748554/biden-budget-build-back-better-democrats-child-care-taxes">Build Back Better Act</a> (BBB) move forward, the state and local tax deduction, or <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2021/11/03/dueling-salt-fixes-in-play-as-democrats-try-to-close-budget-deal/">SALT</a>, has emerged as the latest intraparty bargaining chip in Democrats’ efforts to pass the $1.75 trillion social spending package.
Specifically, Democrats in states with high state and local taxes like California, New York, and New Jersey are backing a proposal to raise the cap on the amount of state and local taxes individuals can deduct from their federal income taxes from $10,000 to $72,500.
The <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/4/14/22375306/salt-tax-deduction-repeal">SALT deduction</a> is a way for people, especially in states where income, sales, and property taxes are high, to escape double-paying on taxes that they’ve paid for the services provided by states and localities — things like education, health care, and transportation. Before 2017, taxpayers who itemized their returns could claim an unlimited dollar amount as a SALT deduction; subsequently, a Republican Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or TCJA, limiting the eligible SALT deduction to $10,000 per year.
Imposing that cap primarily affected high earners in blue states and allowed the government to raise more money from taxes, though it was offset at the time by sweeping tax cuts in the same Republican bill. Now, the push to raise the cap is a way to get more Democrats — particularly moderates and the aforementioned legislators from high-tax states with high earners — on board with the broader reconciliation bill.
But given that the existing SALT cap aligns with the general progressive belief that the highest earners should pay more in taxes to fund investments like the BBB, Democratic support for raising it can be confusing. Here’s why some Democrats want to see the SALT cap lifted anyway, what that would mean for tax policy in the US — and how it could affect ordinary American taxpayers:
If the SALT cap changes currently being discussed for the reconciliation bill go through, whether or not they’ll affect your tax bill depends on your income, where you live, and other specifics, like property ownership.
As <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/4/14/22375306/salt-tax-deduction-repeal">Vox’s Emily Stewart</a> explained in April, people can choose to deduct some expenses from their taxable income.
As Stewart writes:
<blockquote>
When people file their taxes, they can deduct certain expenses to make their taxable incomes lower. A lot of people just take the “standard deduction” and lop off a flat amount. Others, however, choose to <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/itemizeddeduction.asp#:~:text=An%20itemized%20deduction%20is%20an,amount%20of%20taxes%20you%20owe.&text=Allowable%20itemized%20deductions%2C%20sometimes%20subject,gifts%2C%20and%20unreimbursed%20medical%20expenses.">itemize their deductions</a>, so they can subtract things like charitable deductions and medical expenses. Generally, taxpayers choose whichever avenue will be more beneficial for them — as in, whichever will leave them with less income to be taxed.
</blockquote>
The types of expenses people can choose to deduct — income or sales tax, property tax, medical expenses, and charitable donations, for example — won’t change. The amount they are able to deduct because of those state and local taxes, however, could.
Much like the 2017 deduction cap impacted higher earners — <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-does-deduction-state-and-local-taxes-work">typically those earning more than $100,000</a> — by effectively increasing the amount of annual income subject to federal taxes, an increase in the deduction cap would primarily benefit those same higher earners.
Furthermore, higher earners are more likely to own property and thus pay property taxes in their state and locality — another expense people can choose to deduct from their taxable income.
According to the <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-does-deduction-state-and-local-taxes-work">Tax Policy Center</a>, a joint project from the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, “sixteen percent of tax filers with income between $20,000 and $50,000 claimed the SALT deduction in 2017, compared to 76 percent for tax filers with income between $100,000 and $200,000 and over 90 percent of tax filers with income above $200,000.”
High earners in places with high taxes — primarily blue states like California, New York, and New Jersey — are more likely to be able to claim the SALT deduction in order to reduce their taxable income.
In the most basic terms, the proposed changes to the SALT deduction would increase the deduction cap from $10,000 to $72,500 per year, with the raised cap set to <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2021/11/03/dueling-salt-fixes-in-play-as-democrats-try-to-close-budget-deal/">expire January 1, 2032</a>.
<a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2021/11/03/dueling-salt-fixes-in-play-as-democrats-try-to-close-budget-deal/">According to Roll Call</a>, the new $72,500 cap would also be retroactive to the start of the year.
Legislators in favor of lifting the SALT deduction cap include Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) — all of whom represent districts with lots of high-earning individuals paying high taxes. But high-profile progressives, like Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), are also in favor — in fact, Porter, whose <a href="https://datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-45-ca">district in California</a> had a median household income of $115,427 and median property value of $794,400 in 2019, has been a driving force behind raising the SALT cap.
In September, Porter defended her position on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5p0--7zR30">Pod Save America</a> podcast, arguing that keeping the current SALT cap or eliminating the deduction altogether would mean taxpayers would essentially be double-paying some taxes.
“No American with the same income level, the same earning power, the same salary, should owe more federal taxes just because of where they live,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5p0--7zR30">Porter said</a>.
The SALT deduction described above is the version currently in place in the most recent <a href="https://rules.house.gov/sites/democrats.rules.house.gov/files/BILLS-117HR5376RH-RCP117-18.pdf">House version</a> of the Build Back Better Act — but it’s not the only plan. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) have proposed an <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2021/11/03/dueling-salt-fixes-in-play-as-democrats-try-to-close-budget-deal/">alternate plan</a> — one which would keep the $10,000 cap in place, but only for taxpayers making more than about $400,000 to $550,000, depending on estimates from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. For taxpayers who make less than that, there would be no SALT cap.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has proposed his own idea, which would completely do away with the SALT cap for the next five years and shift back to the $10,000 cap in 2026.
The SALT deduction been a part of tax policy since before the federal income tax was created in 1913, and apart from some minor changes in the <a href="https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/events/taxation/meetingmaterials/18mid_materials/18mid-tps-perspectives-lang-paper.authcheckdam.pdf">1960s and 1970s</a>, it hadn’t changed significantly until the 2017 overhaul through the TCJA.
Whereas the 1964 and 1978 changes to the law addressed what could be deducted, the TCJA addressed how much could be deducted.
Taken on its own, the 2017 cap — which was set to expire in 2025 — looks like progressive tax policy. But <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/02/us/politics/salt-cap-tax-deduction.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share">it was enacted</a> by a Republican Congress to make up for a revenue shortfall caused by cutting the marginal tax rate for the highest earners from <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN11653">39.6 percent to 37 percent</a> and corporate tax rates from 35 percent to 21 percent — hence the “tax cuts” part of the bill. Overall, according to the <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-did-tcja-affect-federal-budget-outlook#:~:text=Budget%20and%20Economy-,How%20did%20the%20TCJA%20affect%20the%20federal%20budget%20outlook%3F,temporary%20tax%20cuts%20are%20extended">Tax Policy Center</a>, the Congressional Budget Office predicted at the time that the Republican tax bill would increase the federal deficit by almost $1.9 trillion over its first decade.
The proposed SALT changes — either the current House version or the alternate Senate plans — are by no means a sure thing yet. As part of the BBB, an increase to the current SALT cap still has a long road ahead.
Specifically, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/11/5/22766086/infrastructure-biden-house-democrats-vote-pass-bbb-spending-bill">as Vox’s Li Zhou explained Friday</a>, the reconciliation bill still needs to pass the House — which at this point likely won’t happen until mid-November at the earliest — before moving to the Senate and then back to the House for (potential) final passage. In both chambers, unified Democratic support is crucial — with a 50-seat Senate majority decided by Vice President Kamala Harris in her role as president of the Senate, the party has no margin for error in one chamber, and only a few votes to spare in the closely divided House.
SALT, however, could help with that. Lifting the current SALT cap has been a key priority for Gottheimer, who leads the small group of moderate House Democrats who have thus far resisted voting for BBB <a href="https://twitter.com/sarahnferris/status/1456808013399003149?s=20">without a Congressional Budget Office score</a>, and the inclusion of SALT changes in the House bill could prove important in shoring up his support for reconciliation.
“We’re confident that with this [SALT relief] agreement, we can move forward on this crucially important package and we will continue working to ensure that this tax cut gets signed into law to deliver this relief to our constituents as soon as possible,” Gottheimer said in a <a href="https://gottheimer.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2800">Friday statement</a> with Sherrill and Suozzi.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/11/6/22766735/salt-deduction-cap-democrats-biden">https://www.vox.com/2021/11/6/22766735/salt-deduction-cap-democrats-biden</a>

vox What proposed SALT changes could mean for your next tax bill

As negotiations over the Build Back Better Act (BBB) move forward, the state and local tax deduction, or SALT , has emerged as the latest ...

China's Delivery Drivers Live On Edge Amid Exploitative Sector Practices

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="China's Delivery Drivers Live On Edge Amid Exploitative Sector Practices" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-11/9icofbts_china-delivery-workers_625x300_07_November_21.jpg" title="China's Delivery Drivers Live On Edge Amid Exploitative Sector Practices" /></div>
The Covid pandemic and resulting lockdowns sent demand for meal delivery services soaring.
</div>
Beijing:
Handing over a piping hot meal at exactly the time promised, Chinese food delivery driver Zhuang Zhenhua triumphantly tapped his job as complete through the Meituan app -- and was immediately fined half of his earnings.
A glitch meant it inaccurately registered him as being late and he incurred an automatic penalty -- one of many ways, he said, delivery firms exploit millions of workers even as the sector booms.
Authorities have launched a crackdown demanding firms including Meituan and Alibaba's Ele.me ensure basic labour protections such as proper compensation, insurance, as well as tackling algorithms that effectively encourage dangerous driving.
But more than a dozen drivers told AFP there has been little change on the ground.
Often the only way to complete orders on time is to "go really fast... speed past red lights, drive on the wrong side of the road," Zhuang said.
"At the beginning, (the app allocated) 40 to 50 minutes to complete an order -- now for an order within a distance of two kilometres, with the same distance and time as before, we are given 30 minutes," he explained.
The coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdowns sent demand for meal delivery services soaring: the sector is now worth 664 billion yuan ($100 billion), according to a report from the China Hospitality Association.
The nation's competitive app-based services have expanded into nearly every aspect of modern life, with digital-savvy consumers used to instantaneous service and fast delivery due to a ready flow of cheap labour.
But after years of unrestricted growth, China's Big Tech is coming under fire from Beijing with Tencent, Didi and Meituan all targeted over anti-monopoly rules.
Earlier this year, Alibaba was fined a record $2.8 billion after an investigation found it had abused its dominant market position.
Lives at risk
There is mounting public concern over the amount of data handled by popular apps, including food delivery platforms, and Chinese authorities have directed the cyberspace watchdog to look at how algorithms are used by tech conglomerates.
Shortened delivery times have also caused more accidents in recent years, amid promises of swift service.
Globally, the sector is facing scrutiny over its treatment of predominantly freelance workers, who endure low pay, few employee rights, and are often hired through agencies to avoid providing benefits.
China's gig economy now accounts for almost one quarter of its workforce -- 200 million people are in "flexible employment", according to government figures.
The plight of food delivery and truck drivers caught public attention after little compensation was offered to the family of one courier who died delivering meals for Ele.me in Beijing, and a second set himself on fire in a dispute with the firm over pay.
Despite being hailed as an essential service, particularly at the height of the pandemic, drivers earn just 7,700 yuan a month on average.
Zhuang said many feel they are putting their lives at risk because of algorithms used by apps to determine the route and travel time allowed before drivers incur a "late delivery" penalty.
Another rider, who gave his surname as Liu, told AFP that the allocated delivery time included the period it took for the food to be prepared, something beyond his control but that could impact his pay.
"If there are delays, riders take the blame," the 40-year-old said, adding that the system made it hard to reject orders from slow merchants.
"It's useless to complain," said rider Chen Mingqiang, 50.
'Nobody wants to pay'
Meituan, which has more than 628 million users, said it calculates the time needed for a journey in four ways and allocates the longest from those options and includes a buffer.
In a written statement, the firm insisted such decisions were made "considering rider safety as the first priority, and also to satisfy consumers' needs" and that drivers could contest unfair fines.
Last month, after China's cyberspace regulator outlined plans for tighter controls on tech companies, Meituan said it would optimise its "algorithm strategy" and roll out greater allowances to help couriers avoid dangerous work conditions.
Kendra Schaefer, at Beijing-based consultancy Trivium, said a lack of transparency on how platforms were coded to determine driver requirements and compensation was a serious issue.
"An algorithm is intended to maximise efficiency, unfortunately as we're finding as society modernises, algorithms maximise efficiency at the expense of humans," she said.
"Everybody wants drivers to get treated better but nobody wants to pay for it."
The sector relies heavily on migrant workers -- who are often low-skilled and have come to cities from rural provinces in the hope of making money.
For many, there are few employment alternatives.
Zhuang conceded: "If I had the choice, I definitely wouldn't work as a delivery driver. It's a dangerous job, with high risk."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/chinas-delivery-drivers-live-on-edge-amid-exploitative-sector-practices-2601851">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/chinas-delivery-drivers-live-on-edge-amid-exploitative-sector-practices-2601851</a>

news world China's Delivery Drivers Live On Edge Amid Exploitative Sector Practices

The Covid pandemic and resulting lockdowns sent demand for meal delivery services soaring. Beijing: Handing over a piping hot meal at e...

Australia's Sydney To Further Ease Covid Restrictions As Vaccinations Pick Up

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Australia's Sydney To Further Ease Covid Restrictions As Vaccinations Pick Up" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-11/0bmmqtv_sydney-covid_625x300_07_November_21.jpg" title="Australia's Sydney To Further Ease Covid Restrictions As Vaccinations Pick Up" /></div>
COVID-19: Australia crossed the 80 per cent mark of full inoculations on Saturday.
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Sydney:
Australia's largest city of Sydney will further ease social distancing curbs on Monday, a month after emerging from a coronavirus lockdown that lasted nearly 100 days, as close to 90 per cent of people have got both doses of vaccine, officials said.
Although limited to people who are fully inoculated, the relaxation in the state of New South Wales, home to Sydney, lifts limits on house guests or outdoor gatherings, among other measures.
"We're leading the nation out of the pandemic," said state premier Dominic Perrottet, as he called for a "final push" to reach, and even surpass, a milestone of 95 per cent vaccinations.
Several hundred people held an anti-vaccine protest on Sunday in the state's capital of Sydney, but such opposition is slight in Australia, where polls show vaccination opponents number in the single digits.
The southeastern state of Victoria recorded the majority of Australia's 1,417 new coronavirus cases, with public health figures showing 10 more deaths.
There were no new infections in the remote Northern Territory, where a snap lockdown was extended until midnight on Monday to tackle a small outbreak in some areas.
Australia crossed the 80 per cent mark of full inoculations on Saturday.
"That should give us all confidence in terms of opening up," federal finance minister Simon Birmingham told broadcaster Channel 9 in an interview on Sunday.
Australia eased international border curbs on Monday for the first time during the pandemic, but only for its vaccinated public from states with high levels of inoculation.
However domestic travel is still hindered, as most states and territories keep internal borders shut. Western Australia state will re-open when it hits the 90 per cent level of double vaccine doses, its premier said.
Despite the Delta outbreaks that brought lockdowns for months in the two largest cities of Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's tally of COVID-19 infections is far lower than many developed nations, at just over 180,000 cases and 1,597 deaths.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/australias-sydney-to-further-ease-covid-19-restrictions-as-vaccinations-pick-up-2601782">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/australias-sydney-to-further-ease-covid-19-restrictions-as-vaccinations-pick-up-2601782</a>

news world Australia's Sydney To Further Ease Covid Restrictions As Vaccinations Pick Up

COVID-19: Australia crossed the 80 per cent mark of full inoculations on Saturday. Sydney: Australia's largest city of Sydney will ...

Amid Climate Crisis, Nuclear Power Finally Has "Seat At Table": UN Agency

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Amid Climate Crisis, Nuclear Power Finally Has 'Seat At Table': UN Agency" src="https://i.ndtvimg.com/i/2018-03/nuclear-power-generic_650x400_41520358968.jpg" title="Amid Climate Crisis, Nuclear Power Finally Has 'Seat At Table': UN Agency" /></div>
As climate crisis deepens, need to transition away from fossil fuels becomes urgent. (Representational)
</div>
Glasgow:
For more than two decades, promoters and purveyors of nuclear energy felt shunned at UN climate change conferences.
At the COP26 summit underway in Glasgow, however, they have been welcomed with open arms, the UN's top nuclear regulator told AFP.
The spectre of Chernobyl and Fukushima, along with the enduring problem of nuclear waste, kept energy generated by splitting atoms on the sidelines, even if that energy was virtually carbon free.
But as the climate crisis deepens and the need to transition away from fossil fuels becomes urgent, attitudes may be shifting.
"Nuclear energy is part of the solution to global warming, there's no way around it," said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in an interview.
It already accounts for a quarter of "clean" -- that is, carbon-free -- energy worldwide, and Grossi said this COP is the first where it has "had a seat at the table".
"The winds are changing."
To have even a 50/50 chance of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels -- the threshold for dangerous tipping points that could trigger runaway warming -- global greenhouse emissions must be slashed by almost half within a decade, scientists say.
But things are still moving in the wrong direction: a report on Thursday said emissions in 2021 are approaching record levels.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned they could hit new heights by 2023.
That is helping refocus attention on nuclear.
"At the 2015 COP in Paris, nuclear wasn't welcome," said Callum Thomas, head of a recruitment firm for the nuclear industry, who was spotted at COP26 sporting a T-shirt saying "Let's Talk Nuclear".
"There was a belief it was not needed. Now many countries are looking at the feasibility, especially with the rise in gas prices."
'Never stops'
From the time he took the IAEA's helm nearly two years ago, Grossi, an Argentine diplomat, has been a tireless advocate for the industry.
At his first COP in Madrid he "went in spite of the general assumption that nuclear would not be welcome".
On the contrary in Glasgow, where nearly 200 countries are still trying to put flesh on the bone of the 2015 Paris Agreement, he said "nuclear is not only welcome, but is generating a lot of interest".
Grossi argues that the technology can not only speed the transition away from fossil fuels, but also power research on technologies needed for adapting to climate impacts, from finding drought-resistant crops to eradicating mosquitos.
He acknowledges that it carries serious risks.
The meltdown of three reactors at Japan's Fukushima power plant in 2011 following an earthquake and a tsunami profoundly shook confidence in nuclear.
The industry also has yet to find a way to dispose of nuclear waste, which remains highly radioactive for thousands of years.
But Grossi said these issues are not disqualifying, arguing that statistically the technology has fewer negative consequences than many other forms of energy.
It could also be a complement to renewables.
"Nuclear energy goes on and on for the entire year, it never stops," he said.
Even so, with prolonged construction times, many argue that it is too late to build enough nuclear capacity to effectively join the battle against global warming.
But Grossi said he thinks part of the answer lies in keeping existing reactors up and running.
100-year-old reactors?
Many power plants designed to run for 40 years are now licensed for 60 years under strict national safety standards supervised by the IAEA, he said.
"What could be more efficient than a facility that you build that gives you energy for close to 100 years?" he said.
He acknowledged that plants running that long might be a "bit of a provocation".
"But it still might be possible."
In their projections on how to limit the rise in global temperatures and satisfy a growing global demand for energy at the same time, the IEA takes all non-carbon sources on board.
The UN's climate science advisory panel, the IPCC, has also given a place to nuclear in its models, even as it says that its deployment "could be limited by social preferences."
Indeed, attitudes towards nuclear power vary sharply across nations.
While New Zealand and Germany are opposed, India is in discussions with French energy giant EDF to build what would be the largest nuclear power plant in the world.
Meanwhile, both Canada and the United States are developing so-called "small modular reactors", although only Russia has put into operation a floating reactor using this technology.
Price is also not the barrier it used to be, said Grossi.
"Countries see in smaller units a very interesting alternative, which is not in the range of billions but of hundreds of millions," he said. "When it comes to energy projects, this is quite affordable."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/amid-climate-crisis-nuclear-power-finally-has-seat-at-table-united-nations-atomic-energy-agency-2601739">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/amid-climate-crisis-nuclear-power-finally-has-seat-at-table-united-nations-atomic-energy-agency-2601739</a>

news world Amid Climate Crisis, Nuclear Power Finally Has "Seat At Table": UN Agency

As climate crisis deepens, need to transition away from fossil fuels becomes urgent. (Representational) Glasgow: For more than two deca...

Airlines Brace For Travel Surge As US Reopens For All Vaccinated Voyagers

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Airlines Brace For Travel Surge As US Reopens For All Vaccinated Voyagers" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-08/d1pgktl8_us-airport-genericcovid650_625x300_17_August_21.jpg" title="Airlines Brace For Travel Surge As US Reopens For All Vaccinated Voyagers" /></div>
Airline reservations took off immediately after the US reopening announcement. (Representational)
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New York:
Airline reservations to the United States took off immediately after the White House announced the country would reopen to all vaccinated international voyagers starting next week, compelling a welcome -- if challenging -- industry pivot.
The long-awaited US move to welcome back international travelers -- which takes effect Monday -- follows 18 months of restrictions for 33 countries during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic that separated families, impeded business travel and frustrated tourists.
Big carriers including Air France, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines are scrambling to meet the sudden surge in demand, adding flights, swapping in bigger planes for smaller ones and redoubling efforts to hire and retain staff.
Just after the White House announcement, British Airways saw a 900 per cent jump in searches for flights and holiday packages to key US destinations compared with the week before.
The day after the announcement, American Airlines garnered a 66 per cent jump in flight reservations to Britain, 40 per cent to Europe and 74 per cent to Brazil.
Competition for seats on November 8 itself was especially intense, as Evelyne and Jean-Michel Desobeau discovered when they booked a trip using frequent flyer miles.
The couple, anxious to see their daughter and son-in-law, had reserved a flight from France to New York for November 2, based on a guess of when the travel ban would be lifted.
But when the date was officially set at November 8, the couple discovered that flying that day would have meant using three times as many miles as the original trip. In the end, they will arrive on November 9, using a more moderate amount of miles.
More seats, bigger planes
At Air France, traffic has been gradually returning and "won't change overnight on November 8," said a spokesperson for the carrier.
The French airline has for months flown jets with empty seats. But with demand rising, it recently increased the number of daily flights between New York and Paris from three to five.
For its Houston-Paris trip, Air France is shifting out the Airbus 330 in favor of the Boeing 777, which has more seats. The carrier expects its capacity in terms of US travel to reach 90 per cent of its pre-COVID-19 level in March 2022, up from 65 per cent in October.
Airlines are planning for a modest pullback in January and February after a strong holiday season, but anticipate strong demand in the spring that will intensify in the summer, traditionally the busiest season.
At United Airlines, traffic to Latin America has fully returned to its level from 2019, but the rest of international travel remains at only about 63 per cent.
The US carrier is betting big on a vibrant return to international travel, introducing five new destinations in the spring including in Spain and Norway, adding flights for popular destinations such as Rome and Dublin and reviving service to Frankfurt, Nice and other cities.
Too few workers?
The industry also expects a strong, but slower, recovery in travel to Asia.
Singapore Airlines, which benefited from a recent decision by Singaporean authorities to allow quarantine-free travel for a far broader range of travelers from the United States and Canada, anticipates flight frequency from North America to Singapore in December will reach 77 per cent of pre-Covid levels, thanks to the reopening of voyages to Seattle and Vancouver, and for trips like Singapore-Frankfurt-New York.
Burkett Huey, an analyst at Morningstar, said airlines should have enough planes to meet rising demand. But whether there is sufficient staff is "a question mark," he said.
Airlines welcomed the exodus of thousands of employees early in the pandemic. But both American and Southwest have in recent weeks canceled thousands of flights due in part to meager staff levels.
Still unclear is the timetable for a robust recovery in business travel, an unknown that affects airline planning.
Traditionally, airlines fly wide body planes across the Atlantic on busy routes to provide comfortable seats for business travelers, and then organize smaller planes for touristic destinations.
But if business travelers are late to come back, airlines could decide to plan more direct flights using the newer narrow body jets with longer range.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/airlines-brace-for-travel-surge-as-us-reopens-for-all-vaccinated-international-voyagers-2601695">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/airlines-brace-for-travel-surge-as-us-reopens-for-all-vaccinated-international-voyagers-2601695</a>

news world Airlines Brace For Travel Surge As US Reopens For All Vaccinated Voyagers

Airline reservations took off immediately after the US reopening announcement. (Representational) New York: Airline reservations to the...

2 Suspects Arrested In Mexico Beach Shooting That Left 2 Dead

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="2 Suspects Arrested In Mexico Beach Shooting That Left 2 Dead" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-11/id4m5i1o_mexico-shooting-police-cancun_625x300_05_November_21.jpg" title="2 Suspects Arrested In Mexico Beach Shooting That Left 2 Dead" /></div>
Soldiers gathered outside the Hyatt Ziva Riviera hotel after the shooting near Mexico's Cancun.
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Mexico City:
Mexican authorities on Saturday arrested two people suspected of involvement in <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/mexico-shooting-tourists-panic-as-gang-shootout-on-mexico-beach-in-cancun-leaves-2-dead-2599738" target="_self">a shooting between rival gangs on a beach</a> near the Caribbean resort destination of Cancun that left two people dead.
The armed clash, which took place Thursday, was the second to shake Mexico's Riviera Maya in recent weeks and is another blow to a tourism industry still recovering from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The attorney general's office for the eastern state of Quintana Roo said it had managed to locate three of the four vehicles the suspected shooters used to travel to the beach. They arrested two people who had been driving, while one managed to escape.
"Two drivers were captured while a third one fled, and there was even an exchange of gunfire with police officers, managing to escape to a jungle area," the attorney general said in a statement.
The office also said initial investigations showed that the groups involved that day had split off from the Sinaloa cartel who "are disputing territory for the sale of drugs."
The shooting on November 4 took place on the beach outside one of the luxury resort hotels near Cancun, a popular tourist destination.
Local authorities had said the clash was between rival gangs of drug dealers.
Mexico is plagued by cartel-related bloodshed that has seen more than 300,000 people murdered since the government deployed the military in the war on drugs in 2006.
While the Riviera Maya, home to Cancun and other leading resort destinations including Playa del Carmen and Tulum, is generally considered safer than much of the country, there has been an increase in violence.
Last month, two tourists from Germany and India were killed in a shootout between suspected drug dealers in Tulum, while several others were wounded.
In 2017, three foreigners were among five killed in a shooting at an electronic music festival in Playa del Carmen.
The incidents have led European countries and the United States to warn their citizens about the risks of visiting the Mexican Caribbean, among the world's top beach destinations.
Tourism represents 8.5 per cent of Mexico's gross domestic product and is the main economic activity in the southeast region, which includes the Riviera Maya.
Although Mexico has remained open to foreigners during the COVID-19 pandemic, a slump in visitor numbers has taken a heavy toll on the country's tourism industry.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/cancun-2-suspects-arrested-in-mexico-beach-shooting-between-rival-gangs-that-left-2-dead-2601683">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/cancun-2-suspects-arrested-in-mexico-beach-shooting-between-rival-gangs-that-left-2-dead-2601683</a>

news world 2 Suspects Arrested In Mexico Beach Shooting That Left 2 Dead

Soldiers gathered outside the Hyatt Ziva Riviera hotel after the shooting near Mexico's Cancun. Mexico City: Mexican authorities on...