Business Briefs – April 7, 2016

Pay Taxes, Buy a Slurpee: IRS Now Accepts Taxes at 7-Eleven

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The Internal Revenue Service announced this week that taxpayers who need to make a payment in cash can now do so at 7-Eleven convenience stores.

While it may seem unusual to pay your taxes where you might otherwise pick up refreshments, it caters to a large number of Americans who do not have a bank account or credit card. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation estimates one in 13 households in the United States does not have a bank account.

The IRS said payments would be accepted at more than 7,000 7-Eleven stores nationwide.

Venezuela Orders Long Weekends To Stave Off Power Crisis

CARCAS, Venezuela (AP) – Public employees in Venezuela will take long weekends under the government’s latest bid to ease a nationwide power crisis.

President Nicolas Maduro announced late Wednesday that he would sign a decree giving state workers Fridays off for 60 days — and he urged his compatriots to increase other efforts to save power.

Officials have been warning that the water level behind the nation’s largest dam, which supplies much of the energy in the country, has fallen to near its minimum operating level. If water levels fall too low, the government will have to shut down the dam entirely, crippling electricity supply.

Siesta Alert: Spanish Parties Pledge to End WWII Time Warp

MADRID (AP) – Spain’s celebrated siesta could be facing a modern makeover.

Job hours vary greatly, but many Spaniards start work at 10 a.m. and finish at 8 p.m. Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says if he manages to form another government in an upcoming election, he will push for a new work-life balance law that would ultimately change the workday and eliminate the celebrated midday nap.

The law would include a working day that ends at 6 p.m., thus scrapping the country’s lengthy lunch-hour breaks that some use to grab a siesta.

Pacific Sunwear Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

NEW YORK (AP) – Pacific Sunwear, staggering after nine consecutive annual losses, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

But the clothing chain hopes to continue to operate its nearly 600 stores under an agreement with the private equity firm Golden Gate Capital, a lender which plans to take it private after it restructures.