Carry-on baggage becomes a source of revenue
Budget airline Spirit Airways has become the first airline to charge for carry-on baggage. Starting Aug. 1, Spirit will assess travelers fees of up to $45 for every carry-on bag that doesn’t fit under the seat.
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IRS downsizes audits of large corporations
The Internal Revenue Service audited just one in four tax returns of large U.S. corporations in 2009, a lower rate than in the previous 20 years. The IRS is focusing instead on small and medium-size businesses, though larger companies are likely to owe more in back taxes.
The New York Times
Gas prices rise 4 cents a gallon
Gas prices in the U.S. have risen an average of 4 cents a gallon in the past three weeks, to $2.85 per gallon. But with U.S. stockpiles plentiful, prospects for a further significant increase in the near term are slight.
Orlando Business Journal
U.S. employees shoulder greater workloads
Forty percent of U.S. workers surveyed by MetLife said their workloads have increased in the past 12 months. That makes sense, considering that 36 percent of employers said they have put greater pressure on workers to be more productive.
Associated Press
Rising tobacco taxes trigger cigarette smuggling
Rising state and local tobacco taxes are having an unexpected consequence: rampant cigarette smuggling. New York state, which has raised tobacco taxes several times in recent years, estimates that it lost about $1 billion last year due to cigarettes being smuggled from low-tax states.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek