By Nicholas Yong
BBC News, Singapore
Indonesian authorities say this is aimed at protecting the island’s environment and culture.
Bali is known for its pristine beaches and surfing waves, as well its beautiful landscapes.
Official data shows that almost 4.8 million tourists visited Bali between January and November last year.
The tourist tax, which was first announced last year, came into effect from Wednesday – Valentine’s Day.
It applies to foreign tourists entering the province from abroad or other parts of the country, with domestic Indonesian tourists exempt. Travellers are urged to pay up before arrival, through the Love Bali website.
Tourism contributed some 60% to Bali’s annual GDP before the pandemic.
According to the province’s statistics bureau, Australia was the largest contributor of foreign tourists to Bali in November 2023 with more than 100,000 arrivals. This was followed by tourists from India, China and Singapore.
But misbehaving tourists in Bali have riled locals in recent years.
Last March, a Russian man was deported from Bali after stripping off on Mount Agung, believed by Hindus to be the home of the gods.
In the same month, authorities said they planned to ban foreign tourists from using motorbikes, after a spate of cases involving people breaking traffic laws.
In 2021, uproar also resulted when a three-minute video circulated of a Russian couple having sex on Mount Batur, another holy site.
Watch: What maps don’t show about this Asian nation
The announcement came on the same day that millions of Indonesians headed to the polls to select a new president and legislature. More than 200 million people over Indonesia’s 17,000 islands and across three time zones are eligible to vote.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos sells shares worth over $4bn
azon founder Jeff Bezos sells shares worth over $4bn”
By Mariko Oi & Natalie Sherman
BBC News
Multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos has sold more of his shares in Amazon, bringing the total value of sales in recent days to more than $4bn (£3.2bn).
The technology giant, which Mr Bezos founded in 1994, said he has sold 24 million Amazon shares this month.
Mr Bezos, who is the firm’s executive chair, last sold Amazon shares in 2021.
Earlier this month, the company said he was planning to sell 50 million shares over the next year, which are worth around $8.4bn at current prices.
The first sale of 12 million shares was announced in a regulatory filing on Friday, followed by an announcement on Tuesday of the sale of another 12 million shares.
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Mr Bezos has also given away shares in Amazon as part of his philanthropy, most recently in 2022.
As Mr Bezos moved to Miami in Florida from Seattle in Washington last year, he will save around $280m in tax on the $4bn worth of stock he has sold.
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Gains above $250,000 from the sale of shares or other long term investments, are taxed at 7% in Washington state. Florida does not have state taxes on incomes or capital gains.
However, he will still be liable to federal taxes as a result of selling the shares.
When Mr Bezos announced his move to Florida it prompted speculation over whether it was because of a potential tax bill he would have faced in Washington after the state approved a new tax on large stock sales.
His sales of Amazon shares come after they have risen by almost 70% in the past year.
Mr Bezos said in November that his parents had recently moved back to Miami where he spent some of his childhood and that he wanted to be close to them and to his Blue Origin space project, which was “increasingly shifting to Cape Canaveral”.https://blejermot.com/