“Positive thinking” has turned happiness into a duty and a burden, says a Danish psychologist Quartz
David Herzig updates his list of Tax Professors on Twitter (Surly Subgroup)
Serious Fraud Office needs funding boost, warns OECD
UK House of Commons Debate - Money Laundering: British Banks
Amazon wins $1.5 billion transfer pricing dispute in US Tax Court
Read the US Court Judgement in AMAZON.COM, INC. & SUBSIDIARIES, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE
Read Oxfam Report: Opening the vaults: the use of tax havens by Europe’s biggest banks
MPs slam 'dismal' cost savings of government procurement body
Moretech procurement from small business. The federal government wants to allocate 10% of its $9 billion annual tech budget to small “entrepreneurial” players in the market, says the Assistant Minister for Digital Transformation
Oz companies fume as Enetica outage enters its second day
Jon Baron, Blockchain, Accounting and Audit: What Accountants Need to Know (Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting Blog)
Jim Maule, Tax Return Preparation as a Side Job. “The plaintiff opened her case by saying, ‘I’m a tax preparer and I’m an adult entertainer. So I dance full time and I do taxes seasonally'” Here in Iowa, it usually is a good idea to keep your clothes on this time of year.
Amazon.com scored a big victory Thursday against the IRS in a case that the company says could have cost it about $1.5 billion [Amazon.com v. Commissioner, 148 T.C. No. 8 (Mar. 23, 2017)].
Google Blog: ““Where are you now?” and “What’s your ETA?” Whether you’re heading to a party or meeting up for dinner, you probably hear questions like this pretty often from family and friends. Soon Google Maps users worldwide will be able to answer those questions in just a few taps, without ever leaving the app. On both Android and iOS, you’ll be able to share your real-time location with anyone. And the people you share with will be able to see your location on Android, iPhone, mobile web, and even desktop…”
Carl Davis, Taxing the Gig Economy (Tax Justice Blog). “Our ever-changing economy demands that lawmakers update our tax laws to keep pace.”
Rise of the Robolawyers
How legal representation could come to resemble TurboTax
Veronique De Rugy, Don’t Let Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders Kill Tax Day (Reason.com):Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), think that is one time too many. They want the Internal Revenue Service to prepare tax returns on behalf of taxpayers instead of leaving it as an individual responsibility.
This idea is pitched as a “simplification.” And, to be fair, the complexity of our tax code is undeniable. It results in tax-compliance costs that can reach nearly $1 trillion annually, according to my colleague Jason Fichtner. However, the solution to this complexity isn’t to add to the opacity of the system and make the cost of government even less visible to those picking up the tab. There’s already too much of that.
Who's Buying Bitcoin? Demand Persists Amid Fork Fears - CoinDesk
William Byrnes (Texas A&M) & Robert J. Munro (Texas A&M), Background and Current Status of FATCA, in LexisNexis Guide to FATCA & CRS Compliance (5th ed., 2017)
Digital identity: DTA reveals one exchange to rule them all
21ST CENTURY HEADLINES: Europe’s first sex robot brothel FORCED OUT of base as prostitutes complain of competition. “Lumidolls – a pun on a Spanish slang term for prostitute – is believed to be the first such brothel to open in Europe after similar venues in places like Japan and China were hugely popular.”
David Kamin (NYU) & Brad Setser (Council on Foreign Relations), House Plan's Bad Math: Over-Estimates of Revenue from a Border Adjustment:
One
of the largest revenue raisers in the House Republicans’ framework for
business tax reform is a “border adjustment.” However, projections of
revenue from the border adjustment overstate revenue in two ways.
New York Times, Sorry, a Robot Is Not About to Replace Your Lawyer:
Impressive advances in artificial intelligence technology tailored for legal work have led some lawyers to worry that their profession may be Silicon Valley’s next victim.
There is no such thing as robot lawyers, and even if there were, they are not coming to take jobs away from human lawyers.
Instead, lawyers should think about how best to work with and harness the potential of software and artificial intelligence to propel their practices forward while bridging the access-to-justice gap.
Those were the main takeaways in a wide-ranging Friday morning panel discussion at ABA Techshow featuring Ross Intelligence CEO Andrew Arruda, IBM Global Chief Information Security Officer Shamla Naidoo and FastCase CEO Ed Walters. The three gave a brief history and overview of artificial intelligence, while dispelling some myths and cautioning those in attendance to temper their expectations as to what AI can and can’t do.
- Wall Street Journal, Robot Privilege: From Bezos to the Big Mac, Technology Kills Jobs But Can Create Even More