― The Light Between Oceans
Interviews with people born in the 1820s
The government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
Kim Jong-un's Rolls-Royce shows sanctions are 'a bit of a joke'
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may be under international sanctions - but that did not stop him turning up for a meeting in a brand new Rolls-Royce.
A black dog stalks the public service
CRISIS IN CONFIDENCE: Alarming new research for the IPAA National Conference has revealed the black dog stalking the public services of Australia as their unique professional obligations are afforded less respect than in the past.
Minister reveals ‘personal relationship’ with dept head, both step aside
TASMANIA: The secretary of the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, John Whittington, could face an investigation over a “personal relationship” with the minister, Sarah Courtney.
Using AI to support better government decision-making
TECHNOLOGY: How do you generate useful analytic insights using artificial intelligence to support decision-making for government?
The future of regulation: principles for regulating emerging technologies
Sweeping technological advancements are creating a sea of change in today’s regulatory environment, posing significant challenges for regulators who strive to maintain a balance between fostering innovation, protecting consumers, and addressing the potential unintended consequences of disruption.
Challenges emerging technologies present to traditional regulatory models, ranges from coordination problems to regulatory silos to the sheer volume of outdated rules.
Below is Deloitte’s set of principles for the future of regulation
Adaptive regulation: shift from regulate and forget to a responsive iterative approach
Regulatory sandboxes: prototype and test new approaches by creating sandboxes and accelerators Outcome based regulation: focus on results and performance rather than form
Risk weighted regulation: shift from one-size-fits-all regulation to a data driven, segmented approach
Collaborative regulation: align regulation nationally and internationally by engaging a broader set of players across the ecosystem. Source: Deloitte, Principles for regulating emerging technologies
Anthony C. Infanti (Pittsburgh), Our Selfish Tax Laws: Toward Tax Reform That Mirrors Our Better Selves (MIT Press 2018):
Most
of us think of tax as a pocketbook issue: how much we owe, how much
we'll get back, how much we can deduct. In Our Selfish Tax Laws, Anthony
Infanti takes a broader view, considering not just how taxes affect us
individually but how the tax system reflects our culture and society. He
finds that American tax laws validate and benefit those who already
possess power and privilege while starkly reflecting the lines of
difference and discrimination in American society based on race,
ethnicity, socioeconomic class, gender, sexual orientation and gender
identity, immigration status, and disability. Infanti argues that
instead of focusing our tax reform discussions on which loopholes to
close or which deductions to allow, we should consider how to make our
tax system reflect American ideals of inclusivity rather than
institutionalizing exclusion.
Can a book about tax history be a page-turner? You wouldn’t think so. But Give and Take is
full of surprises. A Canadian millionaire who embraced the new federal
income tax in 1917. A socialist hero, J.S. Woodsworth, who deplored the
burden of big government. Most surprising of all, Give and Take reveals that taxes deliver something more than armies and schools. They build democracy.
Wall Street Journal, IRS Internal Watchdog Faults Vigilance on Nonprofits' Political Activities:
The
IRS is still struggling with its role policing nonprofit groups’
political activities, the tax agency's inspector general said in a new
report [Review of the Processing of Referrals Alleging Impermissible Political Activity by Tax-Exempt Organizations (2019-10-006) (Oct. 4, 2018)].
Who killed reform? I know who Hacking Jim Did ...
GARNAUT vs COSTELLO: The age of reform is apparently dead, but there isn’t much agreement about who killed it.
Where to for the Australian Public Service
PETER WOOLCOTT: The APS needs to become more politically astute in its advice to ministers, the commissioner says in his first major address.
Article on the Klein/Defraud Conspiracy Deployed by the Special Counsel Against Russian Targets
Swiss Dispute Sharing Data with U.S.
Swiss-US tax data transfer method 'violates law' (SWI swissinfo 10/7/18), here. The article is short.
France Take UBS to Court on Cross-Border Evasion for French Taxpayers
The much anticipated French trial of UBS for its cross-border tax evasion scheme for the French has started. Cross-border evasion is basically the same as U.S. offshore evasion through Swiss banks. Here are some articles and excerpts:
Inti Landauro and Emmanuel Jarry, Swiss bank UBS on trial in France over alleged tax fraud(Reuters 10/8/18), here. Excerpts:
Krebs on Security: “Most of us have been trained to be wary of clicking on links and attachments that arrive in emails unexpected, but it’s easy to forget scam artists are constantly dreaming up innovations that put a new shine on old-fashioned telephone-based phishing scams. Think you’re too smart to fall for one? Think again: Even technology experts are getting taken in by some of the more recent schemes (or very nearly
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