Spain Launches Free Train Tickets Throughout Autumn, Thanks To a Windfall Tax (euronews.com) 26
Some train journeys in Spain will be free of charge from 1 September to 31 December. From a report: The scheme, announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on 12 July, applies to short and medium distance trains run by the national rail operator Renfe. It is open to all nationalities, including international tourists. Free tickets are available on all Renfe commuter trains (Cercanias and Rodalies) and mid-distance regional lines covering journeys of less than 300km (Media Distancia routes). The 100 per cent discount is only available on multi-trip tickets, not singles. Travel on other services, including long distance trains and those operated by other companies, will not come under the measures. This could mean free train travel between cities like Barcelona and Seville or Madrid and Bilbao -- if you are willing to commit to buying a season ticket. Although the tickets are free, a deposit of $10 or $20 is required to take advantage of the offer. You must have made at least 16 journeys by the end of December for this to be refunded.
Got mine (Score:3)
Got mine yesterday. Free trains until January, yay!
The nearest station is about 100 yards from my place.
Only the air is free (Score:1)
All this means is the spanish taxpayer is picking up the bill. I wonder how popular itll remain if taxes have to go up.
Re:Only the air is free (Score:5, Informative)
If you RTFA, you will find out that the scheme will be funded by a new windfall tax on banks and other megacorps, i.e. those directly profiting from inflation. Those corporations can then choose to cut their margins and avoid the windfall tax, or not do that and pay the tax.
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Those corporations can then choose to cut their margins and avoid the windfall tax, or not do that and pay the tax.
In other words: Pay out bonuses to the big wigs.
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Nothing more or less than the government committing armed robbery.
It's that or let the corporatists hold the people hostage, since they control everything. You want corporations to keep merging and not getting broken up? This is the obvious consequence.
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This is democracy in action, and a legitimate use of power.
Democracy and "legitimate use of power", are two separate things.
What's to stop the majority from saying "we'll tax everyone earning more than $1,000 per month at 99.99%". I can tell you what stops them here in the U.S.: the 2nd.
In Spain, and all of the EUSSR of course, that's not an option. That's why you get 73% income "tax" (read: robbery) in France.
Just call it what it is. The majority robbing a minority using "democracy" as a cloak.
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If you RTFA, you will find out that the scheme will be funded by a new windfall tax
In normal speech, that would be called "you're making more profit than the government wants you to, so we'll use our weapons monopoly to take it away from you".
Fine by me. The companies did nothing to create those profits, so fuck 'em.
Nothing more or less than the government committing armed robbery.
Whereas energy companies putting up the cost of basically everything is what exactly? Charity?
Like I said - fuck 'em.
Re: Only the air is free (Score:1)
So those corporations will now raise rates to compensate for the new taxes, causing inflation. Still shouldâ(TM)ve just returned the taxes to the tax payer rather than subsidizing yet another semi-private corporation.
Re:Only the air is free (Score:4, Interesting)
I wonder how popular itll remain if taxes have to go up.
I expect free trains (paid by taxes) will remain popular for just as long as the free state healthcare of Spain... forever, if people find it useful. But anyway this measure does not need tax increase, it was funded by the tax revenue from the higher prices of the energy this year.
Several cities in nearby countries have chosen to have free public transports (e.g. the cities of Calais and Dunkirk in north of France; there is also public debate in Geneva in Switzerland). Free transports are a good option for medium-sized cities where the public transports are underused and lose money anyway. They do not lose much more money by being free, but the average usage numbers and therefore the usefulness to the local citizenry increases dramatically.
Spain likely chose regional trains ( 300 km) for the reason that these these connections are very well known to lose money, but cannot be closed because they are important to poor commuters. So they expect higher usage and higher usefulness while not having to spend much on this programme.
Long distance trains paid by the travelling businessmen are the cow milk, they will not switch to free.
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You can add the entire country of Luxembourg to your list.
Spinlaunch? (Score:1)
My mind was reading Spinlaunch first... Headline did not make sense...
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Good job :)
This will NOT result in tax increases (Score:3)
I know not reading TFA is a timeless and honoured Slashdot tradition. Also, not reading TFS is very common.
But no teading TF TITLE?!
COME ON PEOPLE!!!
The title of the article is, literally: "Spain Launches Free Train Tickets Throughout Autumn, Thanks To a Windfall Tax"
As in: We already received more taxes than we expected, let's give some back to our population via free conmuter trains, and reap the benefits of less contamination, and more goodwill.
For a similar usage in private/capitalist industries, google "extraordinary dividend"
Heed your own advice (Score:3)
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You might want to try reading that title again. It says "windfall tax" not "tax windfall" and the two are not the same. A windfall tax is a new tax specifically implemented by a government to capture more tax revenue from a sector of the economy (in this case banks and energy companies) that is suddenly making a lot more money i.e. this was paid for by raising taxes, exactly as it says in the title.
You sir, are absolutely right
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It's justified because those "energy companies" are actually fossil fuel companies that are raking it in due to the high price of gas. The boss of a British energy firm said they had more money than they knew what to do with. Well, we have a few ideas...
Like how about subsidising some free public transport to offset the massive environmental damage your company does, hopefully with lasting effects as people discover what they can do with the rail network.
You have to remember that in much of Europe people th
17 trips for the price of 16 is NOT free (Score:3)
Even 2 for 1 is not free. 2 for 1 is 50% off of two trips. 17 trips for the cost of 16 is a 6.025% off discount, when buying in bulk.
6.025% off is nothing. NYC subways give a deal where unlimited trips cost for 1 week costs the same as 12 trips. Worst discount there is 8.333%
This is not due to a tax windfall. This is not going to create inflation.
This is barely even a mild sale to encourage greater use of their trains.
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Even 2 for 1 is not free. 2 for 1 is 50% off of two trips. 17 trips for the cost of 16 is a 6.025% off discount, when buying in bulk.
6.025% off is nothing. NYC subways give a deal where unlimited trips cost for 1 week costs the same as 12 trips. Worst discount there is 8.333%
This is not due to a tax windfall. This is not going to create inflation.
This is barely even a mild sale to encourage greater use of their trains.
That is not what this is. You're not paying for the 16 trips - you're getting the deposit for the free season tickets back after you complete them. The trips themselves are free whether you get your deposit back or not.
https://www.renfe.com/es/es/gr... [renfe.com]
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17 trips for the cost of 16 is a 6.025% off discount, when buying in bulk.
Dear god did you understand anything in the summary at all? Don't answer that, your post already shows you didn't. You pay for 16 trips. If you make 16 trips or more you get it refunded. That is literally the last line in this embarrassingly short summary.
This is not due to a tax windfall.
They literally are using the windfall tax to pay for this system.
There's literally not a single thing in your post correct. I don't know why you bothered making it.
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It's explained at the end of the paragraph: you pay a deposit, and only get it back if you make sufficient trips.
They did that here in Sandy Eggo last year (Score:2)
Great PR that, neither of us has ridden the trolley since.
Then again, we went to Seaport Village, the Midway, and the Farmer's market. For free. We both took books so the delays weren't like we don't read while