One winter night during one of the many German air raids on Moscow in World War II, a distinguished Soviet professor of statistics showed up in his local air-raid shelter. He had never appeared there before. 'There are seven million people in Moscow,' he used to say. 'Why should I expect them to hit me?' His friends were astonished to see him and asked what had happened to change his mind. 'Look,' he explained, 'there are seven million people in Moscow and one elephant. Last night they got the elephant.'
This change of mind and heart (and perception of risk) - from Peter L Bernstein's astounding work Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, has many lessons for us ...
Taxing Times: 20 year anniversary of the Reform of the Australian Tax System
The Reform of the Australian Taxation System (RATS) has achieved many of its aims in attempting to make the tax system more equitable and efficient
The biggest ever shake up of Australia’s taxation system announced by the former Treasurer, the Hon. Paul Keating on 19 September 1985, has paid dividends to families 20 years on; however, companies have not faired as well, according to National Managing Partner of KPMG’s Tax Practice, Ross Doherty.
• Grand tax plan pays off for taxpayers [Keating reforms led us from tax wilderness ; Louise McBride: A taxation system that would leave everyone better off ; Let's scrap these Kafkaesque tax laws and start again ]