The Australian Tax Commissioner, Michael Carmody, received an Order of Australia (AO) medal in the Queen’s Birthday honours list. In addition he is highly respected by his international peers and the ATO is recognised as one of the world’s best tax administrations. It was only a few months ago he was rated number six of the most influential members of the tax industry globally, in the UK magazine Tax Business: Gong for Michael Coup de Commish
Swoops by the Australian Crime Commission and the Tax Office on a clutch of law and accountancy firms, plus numerous others of "interest" around town, have given rise to much indignity, not to mention indignation. This is the first phase in a bold operation by these agencies to track down the players in various offshore schemes and to recover up to $300 million that should have been paid in tax, but wasn't At last, the Tax Office is on the front foot
Michael Carmody has been Commissioner of Taxation since January 1993, his seven-year appointment having been renewed in January 2000 Raids tip of the iceberg: tax chief doing his bit for Australia
Eye on Politics & Law Lords: ID crime Sages, spooks and scions
News that one MP has had 26 mistresses shouldn't surprise us. Power-hungry alpha males are always more likely to stray Mind of an Adulterer
Fellow-author Karl May - who'd earlier been imprisoned for impersonating German secret service agents and policemen - gained fame for 'wild west' genre novellas, presented as autobiographical although he didn't venture west to the English Channel. Adoption of a false persona didn't inhibit sales, which were above 50 million copies after 1912.
'Louis de Rougemont' (1847-1921), aka Louis Grin, gained fame for journalism about his travels - which apparently did not extend much beyond the Reading Room of the British Museum. He was exposed after enthusing over the marvellous "flight of the wombat", implausible given that wombats are burrowing creatures with the aerodynamic qualities of a bag of cement. He was more successful than Jean Christoph de Lancourt de Brenil, supposed companion of Jack London, master of 25 languages, war hero, equestrian, aviator and long distance walker.
Across the Atlantic 'Yellow Kid' Weill successfully posed as a major investor from Chicago, borrowing executive offices in several banks. His victims were then invited to the bank to meet that institution's CEO, duly being impressed by the surroundings and handing over large amounts of cash.
Perhaps more sadly, is the story of Jean-Claude Romand, who murdered his family when he could no longer maintain the fiction - as he had assiduously done for most of his adult life - that he was a senior World Health Organization bureaucrat.
• The Tax Office has shown its fangs ID theft and fraud before the dot [Crime Czechlist: Timeline; Princeton's Andrew Moravcsik explains the meaning of the European "no" A category error; the law has an even bigger ass ... ]
• · Federal Treasurer Peter Costello is preparing to crack down on the NSW and West Australian governments over their refusal to cut state taxes in return for the GST revenue Costello in GST crackdown on states ; Seemingly innocent requests over boozy lunches has ended in a jail term for a 25-year veteran of the Australian Taxation Office Fall of a veteran tax man ; Ten Stories the World Should Hear More About ; Human rights investigators cite "Persistent and credible" reports of torture at Guantanamo
• · · Que? Carr 'risking environmental legacy' ; Peter Slipper visited Thailand and Laos just weeks after the federal election for a fortnight-long taxpayer-funded trip that included just three days of official meetings Junket justified, MP says ; VIRGIN Money is set to shake up the $750 billion superannuation industry, offering its signature low- frills product aimed at the youth market Virgin puts sizzle into super ; A bold solution to Japan's floundering economy: 68 American-style law schools. Small world, big ripples
• · · · NSW Liberal leader John Brogden has accused John Howard of being too cosy with the nation's Labor premiers and creating the "perfect storm" where federal and state governments can successfully blame each other for their problems. Mr Brogden says the Prime Minister is letting down his state colleagues as they toil away in opposition by praising Labor leaders, especially NSW Premier Bob Carr PM letting state Libs down: Brogden ; More from presidential candidate and actor Michael Moriarty ; DNC finds no evidence of widespread election fraud in Ohio. In Ohio Vote, Woes, Yes, Fraud, No
• · · · · The Great Live 8 Debate ; Live 8 ; to Be Largest Global Broadcast' ; Every year the State of Israel goes into hysterics when the water level of Lake Kinneret dips below the red line Will water be the crude oil
• · · · · · The CIA says Iraq is now a terrorist training ground ; But not to worry: Evangelicals are building a base in Iraq ; Terrorism globally is big business. It also is rapidly becoming a new science; How thinking of terrorists as pirates can help win the war on terror