Sunday, March 19, 2023

Capital gains tax and more changes that could target higher-income Canadians in the next federal budget

Jamie Golombek: Ottawa says it's looking to close tax loopholes that benefit the wealthy and corporations

Author of the article:Jamie Golombek
Published Mar 16, 2023

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland

PHOTO BY BLAIR GABLE/REUTERS

We have a date. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will deliver Canada’s federal budget plan on March 28, giving us less than two weeks to speculate about what may — or may not — be included therein, which also means time is running out to do any significant planning before any potential tax changes.

No one knows with any certainty what will be in the upcoming budget, but we can glean some insight on its potential themes from the 226-page pre-budget Report of the Standing Committee on Finance issued last week, which contained 230 separate recommendations for tax changes and spending.

Among the proposals, the following recommendation may set the tone: “Undertake a public review to identify federal tax expenditures, tax loopholes and other tax avoidance mechanisms that particularly benefit high-income individuals, wealthy individuals and large corporations and make recommendations to eliminate or limit them.”

With that ominous theme in mind, here are some potential tax changes that could target higher-income Canadians, along with some potential planning tips.

Top tax bracket

The top federal tax rate of 33 per cent currently kicks in at an income of more than $235,675 for 2023, which is a 6.3 per cent bump in the threshold over 2022 as a result of the high inflation we’ve been experiencing over the past year. The NDP’s pre-election platform hoped to increase the top rate by two percentage points to 35 per cent. If enacted, this could bring the top combined marginal tax rate, once provincial tax is factored in, to approximately 56 per cent in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, and to 57 per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador.

A similar proposal to bump up the top rate for the highest income earners was recently included in United States President Joe Biden’s budget announcement earlier this month. He called for a top federal income tax rate of 39.6 per cent, up from 37 per cent, for taxpayers earning more than US$400,000.

Surplus strips

The government may decide to shut down a popular private corporation tax-planning arrangement that some sophisticated taxpayers have been employing to distribute corporate surplus (essentially, retained earnings for tax purposes) from their corporation at capital gains rates, rather than at the higher rates for Canadian dividends, or via the payment of a salary or bonus.

The Canada Revenue Agency has previously attempted to challenge surplus strip transactions, but the courts have generally held that this type of planning is acceptable, and doesn’t violate the general anti-avoidance rule, since the Income Tax Act doesn’t contain a general policy requiring shareholders to remove their surplus via a dividend rather than a capital gain.

The government tried to shut down this type of planning as part of its private corporation tax reforms in 2017, but those proposals were ultimately abandoned after significant public criticism.

Alternative minimum tax

Last year’s federal budget noted that “some high-income Canadians still pay relatively little in personal income tax as a share of their income.” To address this, the government announced a formal review of the alternative minimum tax (AMT), the results of which were originally supposed to come out in last fall’s economic update. Instead, the government stated that a “detailed proposal and path for implementation” would be released in the upcoming budget.

Of course, we already have a federal AMT at a 15-per-cent rate. The primary reasons why some high-income Canadians pay low effective rates of tax has nothing to do with nefarious tax planning. For the most part, high-income earners are doing nothing more than claiming registered retirement savings plan deductions, charitable donations and dividend tax credits, and earning half-taxable capital gains.

South of the border, Biden’s recent budget included a proposal to introduce a new 25-per-cent minimum tax on individuals whose net worth is more than US$100 million. This new tax would be different, in that it would be imposed on both income and unrealized capital gains for the wealthiest 0.01 per cent.

Capital gains inclusion rate

Finally, no discussion of potential budget changes would be complete without at least touching on the capital gains inclusion rate. Currently set at 50 per cent, you may recall that the NDP’s platform proposed a hike to 75 per cent.

In preparation for the budget discussions, Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, emeritus professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Public Policy, just released a paper entitled Pathways to Reform of Capital Gains Taxation in Canada that considers the case for increasing taxes on capital gains in Canada, and the implications for the upcoming reform of the AMT.

Kesselman shows there is a high concentration of capital gains among relatively few taxpayers and at very high incomes, and suggests that targeting an increased capital gains inclusion rate, either on large gains above a certain dollar amount or by filers with very high incomes, would sharply reduce the number of affected taxpayers, “easing both administration and compliance as well as public acceptance.”

Biden’s budget proposed a similar measure. The U.S. currently taxes long‐term capital gains and dividends at a top rate of 20 per cent federally, plus net investment income tax (NIIT) of 3.8 per cent. The U.S. budget proposed taxing capital gains at a new top marginal income tax rate of 39.6 per cent (plus raising the NIIT to five per cent) for taxpayers with more than US$1 million of annual income.

If a change were announced to Canada’s capital gains inclusion rate, it would likely be effective as of budget day (March 28). This means investors who fear a bump in the inclusion rate could consider accelerating any planning, including a potential rebalancing of their portfolios by taking gains now, thereby locking in a 50-per-cent inclusion rate. There are also more sophisticated tax strategies that could buy you some time if you’re unsure what could happen to the inclusion rate on budget day.

Jamie Golombek, CPA, CA, CFP, CLU, TEP, is the managing director, Tax & Estate Planning with CIBC Private Wealth in Toronto. Jamie.Golombek@cibc.com.

Tesla Model Y makes it to the Arctic Ocean, the first EV to do so in dead of winter

March 18, 2023 Drive Tesla Staff News

model y arctic — Credit: Eric Bowling | NNSL

Jonathan Zoes, an aspiring filmmaker, has become the first person to drive an electric vehicle to the Arctic Ocean in -40°C (-40°F) temperatures of an Arctic winter, and he did it in a Tesla Model Y. Zoes documented his journey driving through Canada to Tuktoyaktuk, relying on the help of strangers to plug in the vehicle once charging stations became harder to find.

In an interview with Northern News Services Limited, Zoes stated that finding charging stations was easy in the southern part of his drive. However, as he made his way to Dawson Creek in Northern British Columbia, he had to rely on RV parks to keep his vehicle charged.

The Yukon territory has been constructing fast charging stations at an impressive rate, even surpassing the adoption rate of electric vehicles among locals. Consequently, Zoes found most of the charging stations empty after passing Whitehorse.

tuktoyaktuk — Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories | Google Maps

Zoes couldn’t always rely on finding public chargers however. An Indigenous council in Profit River let him use their maintenance building for the night to charge up. To cross the Dempster Highway, which has no gas stations for more than 300 kilometres, he befriended road crews who let him use their garages. In Fort McPherson, he was able to get another charge from LJ’s Contracting. To travel the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktyuk Highway, he improvised a charging station.

By utilizing the Tesla mobile app Zoes calculates that he managed to save $463 in fuel expenses during his month-long journey to Inuvik. His only expenses were the costs for food and electric charges paid to his hosts. In comparison, covering the same distance with a gasoline-powered car would have set him back $701. Additionally, Zoes enjoyed the benefit of sleeping in the warmth of his car for most of the nights, except for one night spent in Eagle Plains.

Zoes stated that the technology works and will only get better and he hopes his trip helps to inspire others to take a chance on EVs and to push for more charging infrastructure in remote areas.

Study Reveals Falling Satisfaction With Home Charging Experience

Tesla's home charger ranks highest followed by

GRIZZL-E.

Mar 17, 2023

By: John Neff

J.D. Power – the unofficial ranking organization of, well, everything – has released a new study that says while 68 percent of electric vehicle owners use a permanently installed Level 2 charger at home, their overall satisfaction with the experience has fallen year over year. These findings come from the 2023 Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Home Charging Study, which rates owner satisfaction with the many L2 chargers on the market in the US.

The study determined that satisfaction with home charging overall fell 12 points this year to 740 on a 1,000-point scale. The culprit? The rising cost of electricity due to inflation. Owners are also reportedly unhappy with home charging speeds, and for some reason J.D. Power doesn't explain, the model year of your EV may make a difference. The company says in its press release, "The 2023 study finds that owners of 2022 and 2023 model EVs are less satisfied with their home charging speed (605 and 597, respectively) than owners of 2021 model EVs (616) and 2020 model EVs (608)," which is surprising considering newer EVs usually have better charging technology, and therefore charging speeds, than older models.

This year's study measured home charger satisfaction for individual chargers in eight areas:

Fairness of retail price
Cord length
Size of charger
Ease of winding/storing cable
Cost of charging
Charging speed
Ease of use
Reliability

The highest rated L2 permanently mounted home charger is Tesla's own official charger, which scored 790 out of 1,000 points. The runner up comes from GRIZZL-E, which scored 757 points, and third place goes to Emporia with 754 points.

J.D. Power partnered with PlugShare to produce this year's study. PlugShare should be familiar to most EV owners, many of whom use the company's app to find available chargers and keep track of their experiences. The study included 13,860 owners of 2017-2023 model year EVs and plug-in hybrids and ran from December 2022 through February 2023.

Fortunately, J.D. Power does offer suggestions to increase your satisfaction with home charging if you find yourself down about it.

Know your utility provider: It may offer a program for charging vehicles at home that include rebates or incentives, but you have to ask to find out.
Schedule your charging: If your EV offers scheduling for charging, you can use it to charge during off-peak hours when electricity is cheaper.
Location, location, location: Electricity costs are higher in some parts of the country than others. The study showed owners in New England are least satisfied, while residents in the East South Central region of the country are most satisfied.
Upgrade to Level 2: The biggest increase of satisfaction with home charging will come when an owner upgrades from Level 1 to Level 2 charging. Satisfaction with charging speed jumps 373 points when this happens, according to the study.

Long-range EVs have big battery packs that can store a lot of energy, and it's not surprising some new owners are finding keeping their new car charged costs more than they expected. With the helpful tips above, though, an owner should be able to reduce this expense, and nothing can ever completely sour the experience of coming out in the morning every day to a completely charged car.

Source: J.D. Power

Clayoquot Sound’s War in the Woods

War for the Woods: behind the scenes of a new CBC documentary based on Narwhal reporting

Nuu-chah-nulth people have famously defended their territory from old-growth logging for decades. Their story of resistance is centred in an episode of CBC’s The Nature of Things

Photo: Luke Skillen / War For The Woods

By Joy SpearChief-Morris

NARWHAL
March 17, 2023

Nearly thirty years after the famous War in the Woods logging demonstrations on Nuu-chah-nulth homelands, on Vancouver Island, a new documentary looks at what happened and what's changed.

In the spring of 2022, Steph Kwetásel’wet Wood, a reporter for The Narwhal, got an unexpected email. A film production company wanted to know if she’d be willing to work on a documentary based on her reporting on how Clayoquot Sound’s War in the Woods transformed Nuu-chah-nulth homelands.

In 1984, Nuu-chah-nulth nations famously turned away logging company MacMillan Bloedel, which planned to clear cut old-growth forests — some of which were more than 1,000 years old. In the decade that followed, there was a series of blockades and protests demanding better logging practices and meaningful consultation with First Nations.

At the time, it was the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history. Thousands of people travelled to the remote region of Tofino, B.C., with the anti-logging fight peaking in 1993 when more than 800 people were arrested. (In 2021, on-going protests at Fairy Creek, on southwestern Vancouver Island, surpassed the War in the Woods as the largest act of civil disobedience).

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Now, nearly 30 years later, this story is examined in a new episode of the CBC series, The Nature of Things, airing March 17. Produced by Makwa Creative and Antica Productions and narrated by Wood, the film War for the Woods shows how First Nations are voicing their sovereign rights over their territories and finding ways to protect ecologically and culturally important forests.

The documentary was co-directed by Toronto-based filmmakers Sean Stiller, also the director of photography and member of the Williams Lake First Nation of the Secwepemc Nation, and Big Cedar Films’ Geoff Morrison, who co-wrote the film.

Stiller and Morrison sat down with me to discuss the importance of telling the story of old-growth logging from Indigenous perspectives.

Why is this story still important to tell today?

Geoff: At the core of it is the importance of old-growth forests and we look at it [from] two or three different perspectives. The reason we’re hearing so much about old-growth forests in the news is because there is so little growth left, and it’s been scientifically proven that these forests are critical to the planet storing carbon. I think what we tried to do with the film is look at it from another perspective as well. To show that there’s more than just the ecological value, but there’s a cultural value to these forests as well.

Part of War for the Woods was filmed amongst old-growth forests in Avatar Grove, on Pacheedaht Territory, near Port Renfrew. The film was co-directed by Sean Stiller (left) and Geoff Morisson (centre). Photo: Ken Wu

Sean: To some extent, the impetus for this episode being commissioned is that we are now in the thirtieth anniversary of the Clayoquot Sound protests, which of course we allude to in the beginning of the episode. So there’s a timeliness to that historical event, and then using that as a launching pad for more contemporary conversation. We took an opportunity to talk about things like conservation financing, which particularly among the central Nuu-Chah-Nulth nations has become quite a strong push, in terms of how they move past logging, but in a way that allows the nations to provide economic opportunity to their band members rather than just leaving them empty handed. Our focus was to spend time talking about these solutions, versus simply being on the front lines with largely non-Indigenous people who were opposed to old-growth logging.

This documentary was filmed and produced by and with an Indigenous team. Why is it important to tell these stories through an Indigenous lens?

Sean: We see things from a very different perspective, and I think when you’re working with an Indigenous production company, you don’t have to fight for that perspective, it’s sort of built in. It also works its way in a lot of other aspects of production. There’s a built-in understanding that you take the time you need, you take the care you need to address these things in a good way. Things like really generous honorariums and ensuring medicines are being offered to participants, these are all just givens with an Indigenous production company. Things that historically non-Indigenous companies might have had missteps around. You can assume a certain amount of nuance and sensitivity working with an Indigenous production team.

Geoff: For me, it was a great privilege to be able to work with this team on this project and to be able to have a part in telling a story like this from that perspective. There’s so much that’s spoken about in the film that someone from a settler background like myself, might not naturally understand or maybe gravitate towards.
Stephanie Wood, a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh reporter for The Narwhal, is the narrator and guide through the documentary.

What was the process of working with Wood throughout the documentary?

Sean: The initial motivation to reach out to Stephanie was that she wrote a retrospective on what was going on in particularly Tla-o-qui-aht territory. The Narwhal themselves were interested at one point in wondering what’s happening now, post the Clayoquot Sound 1993 resistance. She already had spent time building relationships working in that territory. She had also done some work in the Ahousaht First Nation that we visit briefly. So, there was this template, this long-form article she had written — which was really lovely — which laid out a lot of what we wanted to talk to, and she had already met people like Joe Martin and Saya Masso, the natural resources manager. I had a chance to meet with her and then we had subsequent phone chats, she expressed a lot of interest. We felt like it was a really fresh perspective to see things through her eyes. The Nature of Things, because David Suzuki is stepping away from the show, [CBC] was really keen to see a fresh face, to have a different point of view. So, all those things kind of conspired together and it just felt like a really great way to enter this story.

Steph Kwetásel’wet Wood was asked to narrate the film War for the Woods based on her reporting on how Clayoquot Sound’s War in the Woods transformed this region. Photo: Luke Skillen / War For The Woods

Geoff: [The documentary] touches on a lot of the themes that are present in her reporting, and a lot of her individual interests as a reporter. Looking at new models of conservation, like [Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas], guardian programs. There’s a lot that just really seems to naturally align.

Has anything changed since the 1993 Clayoquot Sound protests? Have there been any updates to the logging and clearcut policy in B.C.?

Geoff: I think one of the things the film tries to do is look at it really from the perspective of the Tla-o-qui-aht and the central Nuu-Chah-Nulth nations. Their story was not as loudly remembered as much in the history, but things really did change for them in terms of gaining control of their forests and how those forests would be logged over the coming years. In a broader sense, from my view, I’m not sure much really changed in terms of the debate on clear cutting and old-growth logging, because here we are 30 years later and we’re still fighting to protect what old-growth remains.

Sean: Perhaps what’s changed somewhat among these nations is a much more robust conversation, or maybe confidence, around questions of sovereignty and of really taking charge of stewardship of the territory. The Tla-o-qui-aht, the Ahousaht and the Hesquiaht have all articulated very clear land-use decisions, very ambitious land-use visions for how they want to steward their territories. These days, there are also outside partners who are incentivized to protect these pristine ecosystems, effectively buyout [Indigenous nations’] tree farm licences so that they’re economically incentivized to not log but have other viable economic paths forward. That feels like a very new conversation.

The documentary focuses a lot on anti-logging activism. What can be learned from Indigenous activism for protecting old-growth forests?

Geoff: Something that we observed from speaking to people in this film is the Indigenous approach to conservation is much more rounded. There’s a lot more to it, and I think that is much more based on this historical relationship to the land. Hundreds and thousands of years of stewarding the land is what is informing these decisions about how the land should be stewarded today and I think that’s something that’s really exciting about new models of conservation.

Sean: The Nuu-Chah-Nulth people, as do most other Indigenous nations, have their natural law and have systems of knowledge based on observation over many hundreds of years, and when there’s a resistance to logging it’s not out of some purely emotional connection to the forest, it’s because they understand very well that birds migrate in their territory at a certain time of the year. There are other very sound ecological reasons to restrict certain activities at certain times, or to only focus on certain regions and that comes out of carefully fought for scientific knowledge, in some cases, knowledge that [western] scientists themselves are just arriving at.

Why did you want to make this documentary?

Sean: On a personal level, I seem to be drawn to projects that have at their core some relationship to the natural world and human culture, and where those two overlap. And particularly in an Indigenous context, I just find myself drawn to the importance of the stories, especially today. This for me, is one project, among other projects, that I feel deeply passionate about.

Geoff: It’s a very complicated and important story, and I think the privilege to come at it and look at it from a slightly alternative perspective and really focus on the importance of these trees, not just for their ecological value but also the value to Indigenous culture, I think is really what gives this piece a real heart. I’m hoping that’s the message that the audience leaves with and it was a really wonderful experience to be able to play a part in that.

This interview was edited for length and clarity. You can view the film here.

Joy SpearChief-Morris

GOD SAID I COULD BE A BIGOT

REUTERS

PUBLISHED YESTERDAY

San Jose Sharks' James Reimer says the team's decision to wear Pride-themed jerseys in support of the LGBTQIA+ community runs counter to his religious beliefs.ADAM HUNGER/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer said he will not wear the National Hockey League team’s Pride jersey during warm-ups ahead of their game against the New York Islanders on Saturday because they do not align with his religious beliefs.

The 35-year-old Canadian said the decision was based on his Christian beliefs and added that he has “always strived to treat everyone that I encounter with respect,” and that all members of the LGBTQ+ community should be welcomed in hockey.

“In this specific instance, I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in my life,” Reimer said in a statement.

Reimer is the second NHL player to refuse to participate in a team’s Pride-themed initiatives following a similar decision by Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Ivan Provorov in January.

In addition, both the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild opted against wearing Pride jerseys and using sticks wrapped in rainbow tape during their Pride nights in January.

As part of the Sharks’ Pride Night, the team had specially designed nameplates put on locker stalls while some players will use Pride Tape on their sticks. There will also be Pride-themed corporate partner boards around the rink.

The Sharks said in a separate statement that they are proud to host Pride Night and that it reinforces the team’s commitment to inclusiveness but also said they support Reimer’s decision.

“As we promote these standards, we also acknowledge and accept the rights of individuals to express themselves, including how or whether they choose to express their beliefs, regardless of the cause or topic,” the Sharks said.

“As an organization, we will not waver in our support of the LGBTQIA+ community and continue to encourage others to engage in active allyship.”

Reagan allies ‘colluded with Iran during hostage crisis to sabotage Carter’s re-election’

Story by Josh White • Yesterday

A Texas politician has claimed that he worked with a senior member of Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign to convince Iran to delay releasing its hostages during the crisis of 1979 in a bid to derail Jimmy Carter's re-election bid.

Iranian students took over the US embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for more than 400 days - AFP© AFP

Ben Barnes, Texas's former lieutenant governor, has claimed in an interview with The New York Times that John Connally Jr – once a governor of the same state and a high-ranking member of Reagan's election team – took him on a secret diplomatic tour of the Middle East as part of a scheme to damage Carter by convincing Iran to hold on to its American hostages until after the election.

Mr Carter was the US president when 52 diplomats and US citizens were taken hostage at the American embassy in Tehran by college students who supported the Iranian revolution.

Despite diplomatic efforts from the White House, the hostages were held for 444 days and the political crisis significantly damaged the Democratic president's attempt to be re-elected. Mr Carter was heavily defeated by his Republican rival in the election of 1980.

The hostages were released minutes after Reagan was sworn in as US president on Jan 20, 1981.

Reagan with wife Nancy at the inauguration parade in 1981. The hostages were released minutes after his speech - EPA© Provided by The Telegraph

According to Mr Barnes, Connally brought him to several Middle Eastern capitals to lobby regional leaders to convince Tehran that they would receive a better deal from Republican nominee Reagan if they kept hold of the hostages until after the election.

Mr Barnes told the newspaper that he was persuaded to come forward with his account by the news last month that Mr Carter is receiving home hospice care.

“History needs to know what happened,” Mr Barnes told the newspaper. “I think it’s so significant and I guess knowing that the end is near for President Carter put it on my mind more and more and more. I just feel like we’ve got to get it down some way.”

According to the newspaper, records at Lyndon Baines Johnson Library show that Connally and Mr Barnes left on a trip from Houston on July 18, 1980 to visit Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel, and returned to the US on Aug 11.

Mr Barnes said he was certain that the reason for the trip was to deliver the message to Iran to hold the hostages until after the election.

He claimed that when the pair met the first of a number of Middle Eastern leaders, Connally told them: “Look, Ronald Reagan’s going to be elected president and you need to get the word to Iran that they’re going to make a better deal with Reagan than they are Carter.”

Mr Barnes added: “He [Connally] said, ‘It would be very smart for you to pass the word to the Iranians to wait until after this general election is over.’ And boy, I tell you, I’m sitting there and I heard it and so now it dawns on me, I realise why we’re there.

“I’ll go to my grave believing that it was the purpose of the trip.”

Mr Barnes does not suggest that Reagan, who won two terms as US president, knew anything about the trip, but Mr Barnes told The New York Times that Connally briefed the chairman of Reagan's campaign, William Casey, when they returned to the US.

Carter is the oldest living former US president - AP© Provided by The Telegraph

Mr Barnes claimed that Casey, who went on to be director of the CIA under Reagan, wanted to know whether “they were going to hold the hostages”.

“It wasn’t freelancing because Casey was so interested in hearing as soon as we got back to the United States.”

In 1992 and again in 1993, Congress held separate inquiries that investigated alleged collusion between the Reagan campaign and Tehran and found no evidence of wrongdoing.

The timing of the release of the hostages has over the years given rise to conspiracy theories and allegations that Reagan's team conspired with Iran in a bid to prevent the release and stop Mr Carter pulling off an “October surprise” – a news event shortly before a presidential election that could swing the vote in one candidate's favour.

The Reagan administration was accused by some – namely former Iranian president Abolhassan Banisadr – of rewarding Tehran by supplying the regime with weapons and releasing Iranian assets held in US banks.

Connally died in 1993. His eldest son, John Connally III, told The New York Times that he remembered his father taking the trip but that he did not know of any communication with Iran.

He said: “No mention was made in any meeting I was in about any message being sent to the Iranians. It doesn’t sound like my dad.”

Casey died in 1987, while Reagan passed away in 2004.

Mr Barnes, a Democrat, was a fundraiser for John Kerry's failed bid for president in 2004 and was Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.

Sanders Urges Banning Bank CEOs From Fed Boards in Wake of SVB

Kate Davidson and Steven T. Dennis, Bloomberg News

Bernie Sanders , Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Senator Bernie Sanders said he plans to introduce a measure that would prevent big-bank executives from serving on the boards of the regional Federal Reserve banks that oversee them.

“One of the most absurd aspects of the Silicon Valley bank failure is that its CEO was a director of the same body in charge of regulating it: the San Francisco Fed,” the Vermont senator said on Twitter on Saturday. “I’ll be introducing a bill to end this conflict of interest by banning big bank CEOs from serving on Fed boards.”

Greg Becker, Silicon Valley Bank’s former president and chief executive officer, had served as a director on the San Francisco Fed board before the bank failed last week. Lawmakers are scrutinizing why the San Francisco Fed failed to address problems at the lender before its collapse.

The bill “would also prevent Fed employees and board members from owning any stock or investing in any institution the Fed regulates,” said Warren Gunnels, staff director of the Senate Health Committee, which Sanders chairs. It’ll be an updated version of a bill Sanders filed a decade ago, he said.

The Fed declined to comment on Sanders’s plan. Other senators have also talked about reforming governance of regional banks.

Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland and Banking Committee, said this week that the Fed’s structure should be reconsidered given Becker’s role at the San Francisco Fed.

“I think we need to eliminate even the perception of conflict of interest, if you have a bank that’s part of the board whose job it is to supervise banks in a particular region,” Van Hollen said in an interview.

Unlike the Fed board in Washington, which is made up of officials nominated by the US president and confirmed by the Senate, the Fed’s 12 regional banks are run by presidents chosen by private boards of directors. Those directors are made up of business and community leaders, as well as bank executives.

The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act changed the law to exclude bank executives serving on regional Fed boards — known as Class A directors — from participating in the selection of those bank presidents. The change was meant to prevent banks in the regional Fed districts from selecting the official charged with overseeing their day-to-day operations.

According to Fed policy, regional bank directors aren’t supposed to have involvement in supervisory decisions, enforcement matters or bank applications.

Several executives of large and mid-size banks serve on regional Fed boards, including M&T Corp. CEO Rene Jones, a director at the New York Fed; Citizens Financial Services Inc. CEO Randall Black, who serves on the Philadelphia Fed board; and Ally Financial Inc. Chief Financial Officer Jennifer LaClair, a Richmond Fed director.

Limited Prospects

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, citing the power of the banking lobby, has expressed skepticism that Congress will be able to pass any law cracking down on banks, with the possible exception of clawing back bonuses of executives of failed banks.

He said Thursday he expects the Fed to act to increase capital and liquidity requirements and stiffen stress tests using its existing authority.

Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, a Republican member of the Banking Committee, has called for reviving legislation proposed by former Republican Senator Pat Toomey to make regional Fed presidents presidential appointees and more accountable to Congress.

“Those regional bank presidents need to be under Senate confirmation,” she said. “I’m even willing to look at more aggressive separation between the bank’s supervision role and its role on monetary policy.”

(Updates with committee staff director’s comments in fourth paragraph, adds bank leaders serving on regional Fed board in 11th.)

Afghan Student in India Wins Gold Medal, Dedicates It to Afghan Women Barred from University

March 19, 2023
Anjana Pasricha

Razia Muradi receiving a gold medal for her accomplishments in a master's course in Public Administration at Veer Narmad South Gujarat University in India.

(Photo courtesy Razia Muradi)

MUMBAI —

When Razia Muradi, a 27-year-old Afghan student, won a gold medal for her performance in a master's program in a college in India, her thoughts flashed back to her homeland, she told VOA this week.

Growing up in Bamiyan province in Afghanistan, the future looked promising. She worked by day and went to night school to complete her bachelor's degree.

“Life was peaceful and normal,” Muradi said.

“Women were free to attend university. Girls were eager to learn. Families were supportive and encouraged their daughters to pursue higher education.”

Two years ago, she came to India on a scholarship for a postgraduate course in public administration. She was among thousands of Afghans who headed to Indian colleges in the last two decades after the Taliban’s overthrow in 2001 following its first stint in power.

Like many of these young students, her goal was to return and use her degree in policymaking to take a job and help Afghanistan modernize.

All that changed abruptly when Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021. Like many women, she was gripped with dread that the country would regress into the dark days an older generation vividly remembered.

That is why it was a moment of great pride but also deep sadness when Muradi went onstage this month to accept the gold medal for achieving the highest grade-point average in her program at Veer Narmad South Gujarat University in in the western Gujarat state.

“I dedicate this achievement to all the women who do not have the opportunity that I have to study,” she told VOA. “And at some point in time, girls like me want to return this chance in some way to them. This medal is an affirmation that women can accomplish anything.”

Muradi said she sees herself as representing the women of Afghanistan deprived of education.

Razia Muradi at a summer camp in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

(Photo courtesy Razia Muradi)

In December, the Taliban banned women from attending university, dealing a second blow to female education – the group had earlier barred girls from secondary schools, depriving millions from studying beyond the sixth grade.

In the year and a half since the group swept into power, women have been removed from many jobs, must wear the full veil, and are not allowed to travel without a male relative or visit parks and gyms as the hard-line Islamists roll back women's rights and freedoms.

For Afghan women like Muradi, all hopes that the Taliban would live up to their initial promises of a more liberal rule have been crushed.

“I feel broken from inside. Everything that happened in the 1990s is being repeated. The hope with which I came to India is destroyed,” Muradi said.

“I cannot see any bright future for myself. I don’t know whether I will be able to go back and meet my family. I struggle with these thoughts all the time.”

With her country in turmoil, studying for her master’s was not easy. She worried about her family, but she said she worked to stay calm as there was little she could do except honor her luck in being among the Afghan women still pursuing an education.

“I had to manage my stress. Every time I thought about Afghanistan, I told myself that it is my responsibility to take advantage of this opportunity that other girls in my country can no longer avail. So, I must focus on my studies and build my capacity if I want to bring change in the future,” she said.

Muradi is now working on her Ph.D. in public administration from the same college, supported by a scholarship from the Indian government’s Indian Council of Cultural Relations, and she has a message for the Taliban.

“I think the Taliban need to rethink about depriving women of education. If they want to rule, they cannot ignore the women. Women will protest, at some point they will stand and ask for their rights. Otherwise, half the country’s population will be useless,” she said.

Thousands in Belgrade protest against Western-backed Serbia-Kosovo deal

Protesters shout slogans and hold signs during a demonstration against a Western-backed deal on normalizing ties between Kosovo and Serbia in Belgrade, Mar. 17, 2023.

[Djordje Kojadinovic/Reuters]

Newsroom18.03.2023 •

Several thousand people gathered in Belgrade to protest against a Western-backed deal to normalize ties between Kosovo and Serbia, which they view as recognition of Kosovo independence.

Serbia’s constitution considers Kosovo an integral part of its territory, even though it declared independence in 2008 with US and European Union backing. Bilateral ties need to be mended for Serbia and Kosovo to achieve their strategic goal of joining the EU.

Protesters held Serbian flags and banners reading “Kosovo is not for sale,” “Serbia, not European Union,” and “No to capitulation.”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is due to meet Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and EU officials on Saturday in Ohrid, North Macedonia, to discuss implementation of the deal on normalizing ties both parties agreed to last month.

“I think the deal implies that we recognize Kosovo, which is not acceptable,” said Bogdan, a 26-year-old student protestor who declined to give his last name, in an interview.

Protesters in front of Saint Sava Church in Belgrade walked to the presidency building.

“This is just the start of the protest,” said Milos Jovanovic, leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia, which was one of the protest organizers.

“It [the deal] is definitely a recognition [of Kosovo], whether you say it explicitly or whether it is implied indirectly it is still recognition and it is not acceptable.”

In 1999, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] bombed Serbia in response to the expulsion of majority Albanians by Serb forces in Kosovo.

[Reuters]

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