Sure, the glossy magazines are leaking prestige, power, page counts, and glamour. But the allure remains, and James Wolcott can't get too many tales from the editors' desks... Sir James
The most asked question – in Australia – is “What’s for dinner tonight?” Not different to the questions asked in Mittleurope!
The most asked question – in Australia – is “What’s for dinner tonight?” Not different to the questions asked in Mittleurope!
Mercedes’ autonomous Future Bus just drove through Amsterdam --- passengers got home on time for dinner ...
Back up your MEdia Dragons: Google’s deleted an artist’s blog, along with 14 years of his work ...
News from the Profession. Accountants Are Becoming Hoarders (Megan Lewczyk, Going Concern)
TaxGrrrl, The Infiltrator: Drugs, Dirty Money, and Deep Cover
Back up your MEdia Dragons: Google’s deleted an artist’s blog, along with 14 years of his work ...
Speaking of age, they sat beneath the floorboards for decades – silent, fermenting witnesses to aristocratic opulence, Nazi rule, cold war espionage and American fortune hunters Vino of Burcak fame:150 year old wine found in Czech castle to be auctioned
News from the Profession. Accountants Are Becoming Hoarders (Megan Lewczyk, Going Concern)
TaxGrrrl, The Infiltrator: Drugs, Dirty Money, and Deep Cover
Peter Reilly, Nevada Corporation Exists Under IRS Name For Decades. “Here is a little tax tip. If you owe money to the IRS, do not send your check to Department of the Treasury – Internal Revenue Service, 3338 Gypsum Rd, Reno, NV. That particular entity is a registered domestic corporation in the state of Nevada.”
Roger Ailes is out at Fox News
*A Passport of Convenience
*Citizenship for Sale
Documents obtained by the ABC under a Freedom of Information application
show Stuart Ayres' office contacted shipbuilder DCNS a week before they
were publicly announced as the successful bidder for Australia's next
generation submarine project.
No, we’re not in a ‘post-fact’ era
Out of some 14,000 banks found in the Panama Papers Nordea was the eleventh most frequently mentioned - more than 10,000 times, reports SvD Nordea claims complete innocence - despite 10000 mentions in the Panama Papers
David Brunori, Using the Tax Laws to Mess With Markets Really Doesn’t Work (Tax Analysts). “A system based on a broad base and low rates will further economic growth. A complicated, costly carveout for some businesses will not.”
Russian-Ukrainian journalist Pavel Sheremet killed in his car in Kiev
Roger Ailes is out at Fox News
*A Passport of Convenience
*Citizenship for Sale
"As journalists continue reporting on the Great Dissembler, they need to be just as skilled and persistent at what they do. They should not let Trump, or any candidate, get away with lying to citizens." — Margaret Sullivan in The Washington Post
Owen Smith Accepted £60000 From 'Industrial Scale' Tax Avoidance Firm
The New South Wales Trade Minister sought a meeting
with a French shipbuilder during a highly sensitive period days before
his federal Defence Minister partner handed the company a $50 billion
contract, then cancelled with no explanation causing embarrassment to
State Government officials.
Key points:
- Minister requested a snap meeting with management at their Paris headquarters
- Meeting was cancelled for "unavoidable reasons"
- Defence Minister said she did intervene or asked her department to set up the meeting
Minister Stuart Ayres' cancelled meeting with French shipbuilder DCNS 'embarrassed Government'
No, we’re not in a ‘post-fact’ era
Out of some 14,000 banks found in the Panama Papers Nordea was the eleventh most frequently mentioned - more than 10,000 times, reports SvD Nordea claims complete innocence - despite 10000 mentions in the Panama Papers
David Brunori, Using the Tax Laws to Mess With Markets Really Doesn’t Work (Tax Analysts). “A system based on a broad base and low rates will further economic growth. A complicated, costly carveout for some businesses will not.”
Russian-Ukrainian journalist Pavel Sheremet killed in his car in Kiev
After the stunning collapse of the Department of Justice’s case, will any lessons be learned? [Dan Levine and David Ingram, Reuters; my take earlier]
Washington Post, Is the IRS Getting Back At An In-House Critic?:
Read the Deal Explore the full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, along with convenient chapter summaries, on Medium.
SINCE the launch of the Silk Road five years ago, dark-web markets have represented a shadowy and much-maligned corner of the internet. And the secretive nature of such sites makes them difficult to study. But last year a researcher using the pseudonym Gwern Branwen cast some light on them. Roughly once a week between December 2013 and July 2015, programmes he had written crawled 90-odd cryptomarkets archiving a snapshot of each page. The Economist has extracted data from the resulting 1.5 terabytes of information for around 360,000 sales on Agora, Evolution and Silk Road 2. There are, inevitably, flaws in the data. Mr Branwen’s scrapes probably missed some deals….”
Three hundred and twenty days ago, the Internal Revenue Service launched an investigation of one of its own lawyers over things he allegedly told media outlets, including The Washington Post, about a multibillion-dollar corporate tax credit scheme involving a source of energy informally known as black liquor.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which examines criminal allegations, questioned William Henck on Sept. 11, 2015, wrote a report and gave it to the IRS chief counsel to decide whether any wrongdoing took place.
Then nothing.
Henck is still waiting to find out what the inspector general recommended — and what, if anything, the IRS is going to do about it. He was told by the inspector general’s office that its report, completed at least six months ago, can’t be shared with him. The matter now rests in the hands of the IRS chief counsel. The IRS has declined to comment on the matter, and the Treasury, which oversees the IRS, said it is up to the agency and would not comment.
Kulture Vulture Infographics via Raconteurs such as MEdiaDragon PWC on why we need tax transparency
Chilcot report: UK oil groups feared losing out on deals
A current article says the government has arrested two people for praising the coup on social media.
With this report, Europe is stepping up to the plate on the fight against tax evasion and tax havens. We’re setting clear demands for increased accountability, effective deterrents in the form of markedly increased sanctions for tax havens, banks, tax advisors and companies, and we’re calling for increased European and international cooperation on this hugely problematic issue
European Parliament votes against tax evasion
Questions and Answers: EU Anti-money Laundering Directive
IRS investigating Facebook's Ireland asset transfer
Shell takes sacked UK workers overseas service tax breaks
UN calls UK to account over impact of unjust tax laws
Proctor & Gamble's Rome Offices Are Under Investigation for Tax Avoidance
In recent months, two related concepts have leapt to prominence in political discourse: the Prime Minister's stress on innovation and smart manufacturing, which is supported by the Opposition, and the idea that Australia may be in the process of moving out of being just a middle-level power. John Azarias: Aim to be Switzerland of Asia, with more jokes
The Lysicrates Foundation
Bishop, Turnbull pull big names for ScoMo's debut
Ontario Securities Commission Announces Office of the Whistleblower Launch Date and Appoints Chief
"... the first paid whistleblower program by a securities regulator in Canada"
Simon claimed that his attorneys failed to adequately investigate the workings of the TurboTax software he used for the returns charged as a basis for the tax perjury counts. Specifically, his claim is with respect to the Schedule B foreign account question. Apparently, the attorneys made a failed attempt by trial subpoena to get testimony from a TurboTax representative but that representative did not testify for some unexplained reason. Simon claimed that the TurboTax representative would have explained that TurboTax would not have printed a Schedule B in the absence of interest income exceeding $1,500. But, as noted above, the Schedule B is required even with interest income of less than $1,500 if there are foreign accounts exceeding $10,000. But, Simon claimed, TurboTax did not ask about foreign accounts and hence did not prepare a Schedule B. This line of testimony, had it been presented, presumably would have gone to both the tax perjury charges based on the supposed answer to the Schedule B foreign account question and as to whether he willfully failed to file the FBARs for the respective years. Bottom line, however, Judge Miller says that there was evidence in the record that established that, if Simon had answered TurboTax's questions about foreign accounts correctly, TurbotTax would have printed out Schedule B with a correct "yes" answer and alerted Simon to the FBAR filing requirement. Judge Miller concluded:
His attorneys reasonably decided not to press the issue and stopped investigating the workings of TurboTax. When an attorney begins investigating an issue and correctly surmises that it won't come out in his client's favor, that attorney's decision to cease the investigation is itself a strategic choice entitled to deference.And, in any event, even if error there was, it was not prejudicial to Simon because the jury heard the defense through other sources, including the Government's closing argument. Simon Redux ineffective assistance if all else fails:Turbotax and software
Unlocking Economic Advantage with Blockchain, .P. Morgan or Oliver Wyman, July 2016. “There is a growing realization that distributed ledger technology — popularly known as blockchain — will bring a radical shift in the way we think about financial assets and the way the financial industry will operate in the future.
Basically, the defendants marketed offshore trust schemes intended to fraudulently evade U.S. tax for the clients entering the schemes. The defendants were charged with several of the various tax crimes that the Government can trot out for such schemes Third circuit affirming conviction: Offshore tax havens
Peter Reilly, Nevada Corporation Exists Under IRS Name For Decades. “Here is a little tax tip. If you owe money to the IRS, do not send your check to Department of the Treasury – Internal Revenue Service, 3338 Gypsum Rd, Reno, NV. That particular entity is a registered domestic corporation in the state of Nevada.” David Brunori, Using the Tax Laws to Mess With Markets Really Doesn’t Work (Tax Analysts). “A system based on a broad base and low rates will further economic growth. A complicated, costly carveout for some businesses will not.”
Paul Dibb: ASIO sting the ultimate betrayal