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30-04-2012 12:18 On the eve of New Jersey Tax Freedom Day on May 1, Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick said the state needs to continue its focus on reducing income taxes and controlling the cost of government in order to return the state to prosperity. Bramnick was joined today at a press conference in the State House by Assembly Republican members Donna Simon, Rob Clifton and BettyLou DeCroce.

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Bramnick: Reducing Taxes is the Best Way to Keep People in NJ and Stay Competitive - Video

BEIRUT: Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri voiced support for the allocations of Parliamentary seats to Lebanese expatriates saying it would lessen sectarianism in the country, reported a local daily Tuesday.

"[I] support the allocation of 10 parliamentary seats to expatriates in the same manner that Algeria and France do and the Lebanese communities would vote for them, Berri told An-Nahar in remarks published Tuesday.

He added that the allocation would be implemented by either increasing the number of parliamentarians or allocating 10 seats for expatriates out of the current 128.

[Mixing] the MPs with others that represent expatriates reduces sectarianism and the intensity of the political rhetoric, Berri said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour has proposed that Lebanese expatriates be included in the decision-making process.

The Cabinet approved last month a mechanism to allow the Lebanese in the diaspora to vote. Under Mansour's proposal, Lebanese expatriates will be able to vote through their embassies.

The Cabinet is still discussing a draft electoral law that is based on a system of proportional representation, which Berri supports, drafted last year by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel.

The draft law has been met with criticism from both former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt.

Lebanons current electoral system is a winner-takes-all. In the 2009 Parliamentary elections, the 1960 election law was implemented which adopts the qada as an electoral district and was used in the 2009 round.

Berri has voiced support for proportional representation that adopts Lebanon as a single qada.

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Berri backs allocating Parliament seats to expats

Apple Inc. is reportedly circumventing huge tax bills by setting up offices in tax havens all around the world, to help avoid Californias present corporate tax rate of 8.84%, amongst others. In Reno, Nevada, the corporate tax rate is 0%, and Apple set up an office there, as well as business hubs in other light tax locales in Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the British Virgin Islands. The small business offices help to legally offset the global tax bill by collecting and investing in Apples huge profits $39.2 billion was raked in in Q4 2011.

According a former Apple exec who had a hand in creating the legal tax evasion tactics, the company had devised corporate strategies that take advantage of gaps in the tax code. Apples office in Reno is called Braeburn Capital, (perhaps the British Virgin Islands location is called something like Albermarle Pippin Investments), and invests some of the profits from Cupertino under Nevadas tax codes, to save some funds. Robert Hatta, former iTunes retail marketing chief for Europe, states, We set up in Luxembourg because of the favorable taxes Downloads are different from tractors or steel because theres nothing you can touch, so it doesnt matter if your computer is in France or England. If youre buying from Luxembourg, its a relationship with Luxembourg.

But, so what? Apple already pays a ridiculous amount of taxes worldwide, and their efforts on getting around some of them arent exactly uncommon or unorthodox Amazon has also gone through Luxembourg in the past. Still, with the world economy being all over the place, there will always be those who object to Apple looking for ways to avoid hefty tax bills.

Apple told the New York Times that the company has conducted all of its business with the highest of ethical standards, complying with applicable laws and accounting rules We are incredibly proud of all of Apples contributions, and noted that the corporation pays an enormous amount of taxes, which help our local, state and federal governments.

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Apple Sets Up Shop in Tax Havens Worldwide

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group said first half profit rose 5 percent to a record high as strength in its growing international operations outweighed shrinking margins at home.

Australia's top four banks raked in record profits last fiscal year and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) remains on track to continue this streak with its push into Asia starting to pay off.

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"Their Asian strategy is probably one of the highlights, that is going quite well, and I think for the first time they can show the proof in their strategy, which is a very strong positive because that's only going to get better as time goes on," said Peter Vann, senior analyst at Constellation Capital Management, which owns ANZ shares.

The growth in profits comes at a time when funding costs are still elevated, competition for deposits is fierce and ANZ feels the tight market conditions warrant raising of interest rates independently of the central bank.

Underlying first-half profit at ANZ, Australia's fourth-largest bank, rose to A$2.97 billion ($3.07 billion) from A$2.82 billion a year ago. The earnings matched the average forecast of eight analysts surveyed by Reuters.

Underlying profit strips off one-offs and investment gains and losses.

ANZ is trying to model itself on HSBC

Mike Smith, ANZ Chief Executive Officer, said the strategy was paying off with good results outside of Australia and in its internationally focused Institutional division.

Net interest margins fell to 2.38 percent overall, with Australian margins down 13 points as competition for deposits heated up and funding costs rose.

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ANZ Posts Record First-Half as Offshore Ops Grow

By Angus Whitley and Brett Foley - Tue May 01 23:28:12 GMT 2012

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ), Australias third-largest bank by market value, said first-half profit rose 10 percent on higher income from its offshore businesses.

Net income in the six months ended March 31 increased to A$2.92 billion ($3.02 billion) from A$2.66 billion a year earlier, the bank said in a statement today. It was expected to report profit of A$2.97 billion, according to the average of seven analysts estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Underlying profit from the Asia Pacific, Europe and America unit rose 21 percent from the previous six months.

Chief Executive Officer Michael Smith is cutting jobs, trimming expenses and turning to Asias faster-growing economies to help offset a struggling domestic housing market and rising funding costs. Australias central bank said yesterday that Europes debt crisis might deliver adverse shocks for some time as it cut benchmark borrowing costs at home by a larger- than-expected margin to spur economic growth.

We are managing in what could be described as a work out phase in the global economy with the situation most acute in Europe, Smith said in todays statement. This will continue to cause volatility in global markets for many years.

ANZ Bank stock has surged 17 percent this year, making it the best performer among a quartet of Australian banks that includes National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC) The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index has gained 9.2 percent.

Net loans and advances in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and America surged 32 percent from the same period a year earlier, more than four times the pace of growth in Australia, ANZ Bank said. Deposits at those offshore locations jumped 34 percent, more than double the advance at home.

At the banks institutional division, growth in profit, lending, and deposits also outpaced advances in Australia.

The result showed the value of reducing the banks reliance on Australia, which was a drag on earnings, Smith told reporters today. The profitability of lending in the banks domestic market is declining and theres a persistently lower demand for credit, he said.

The banks group net interest margin, a measure of the profitability of lending, fell 8.9 basis points to 238.3 basis points from 247.2 basis points a year earlier. The Australian business had the lowest margin, according to a presentation filed to the stock exchange.

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ANZ Bank First-Half Profit Rises 10% as Offshore Earnings Surge