Thursday, December 13, 2018

ATO releases corporate tax data

Experience is the best of school masters, only the school fees are heavy.
— Thomas Carlyle, born in  1795

If you tell a novelist, 'Life's not like that', he has to do something about it. The poet simply replies, 'No, but I am.'
— Philip Larkin, who died in 1985

Reflections of Prague




When it comes to corruption, a one size fits all approach works best

Federal MPs, their staff and public servants will be breathing a sigh of relief.


Federal government commits to anti-corruption commission
BREAKING: The Morrison government has announced its model for a federal anti-corruption body to be called the Commonwealth Integrity Commission, and proposed a new criminal offensive for public sector corruption.
Today the ATO has published information about Australia’s corporate tax system, which continues to build a picture of the tax affairs of the largest companies operating in Australia

One in four of Australia's largest companies paid no tax last year

But many are tearing through their losses, setting Australia up for a multi-billion dollar windfall


 THE ABSOLUTE WORST TYPO YOU’VE SEEN ALL YEAR:


Everything Under Is a Dark and Mesmerizing Story About Fate


The 27-year-old author, Daisy Johnson, pulls off several marvels at once in her debut novel, which made the Man Booker Prize shortlist.

“For taking great risks in pursuit of greater truths, for the imperfect but essential quest for facts, for speaking up and for speaking out, the Guardians — Jamal Khashoggi, the Capital Gazette, Maria Ressa, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo — are TIME’s Person of the Year…” The article includes a section on each of the subjects, as well as a video. It is truly heartbreaking

American Exorcism


Priests are fielding more requests than ever for help with demonic possession, and a centuries-old practice is finding new footing in the modern world.

When he was six years old, Cody Sheehy got lost in the woods near his home in Oregon. Rather than panic or hunkering down to await rescue, Sheehy hiked more than 15 miles over 18 hours to a nearby town, finding himself in the process.

Cody believes that he was changed by getting lost. “Over the course of your life, you push through a lot of physical barriers,” he says. “As you grow older, your first coach helps you break through barriers, and maybe in the military you learn to push through barriers or maybe in your first hard job. As a little kid, I had this opportunity to be tested and learn that there really aren’t any barriers. I think a lot of people figure that out. They just might not figure it out at six.”  

 It’s a great story and a sharp rebuke of today’s helicopter parenting, not letting kids do their own thing, etc. I wonder about something though. We would think a lot differently about this tale if he hadn’t survived. If it had been a couple of degrees colder or if those coyotes had been a big hungrier or if he’d have turned a different way on that road, he might have died. Sheehy’s story is an example of  survivorship bias. We hear of his adventure and how it transformed his life only because he survived, but it’s possible that nine out of ten kids in similar situations don’t survive…and we hear those tales only briefly and locally, not as features in national magazines.











US Supreme Court Tax Ruling Worries Art Dealers

The need to assess sales tax is now dictated by what is known as an “economic nexus”, meaning that if a vendor’s sales reach a certain threshold (which varies by state), then it has enough of an economic presence there to justify the need to pay taxes. What could prove most problematic for dealers is that many states define the nexus differently. – The Art Newspaper

'Operation Devil Horns' by Michael Santini and Ray Bolger - Washington Times

Scientific American – A new report documents suppression of science, denial of climate change, the silencing and intimidation of staff: “…In a new report, Science Under Siege at the Department of the Interior, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has documented some of the most egregious and anti-science policies and practices at the DOI under Secretary Zinke



LIE OF THE YEAR


On Tuesday, Poynter-owned PolitiFact announced its "Lie of the Year," an annual tradition going back 10 years. PolitiFact editor Angie Holan explained to readers why everyone in the fact-checking community takes the word "lie" seriously, and why this time of year is one of the only times you'll ever hear someone from PolitiFact use that term.


"Fact-checking is about precision in language — reporting what we know to be true or false as best we can tell," she writes. "That can be straightforward, but intention is a grayer, less certain. How do we know that the person speaking knew it wasn’t true? Sometimes, right or wrong, the speaker really believes it to be accurate. And sometimes there are reasonable differences over the substance of a claim and what it means."




PERSON OF THE YEAR: THE GUARDIANS


Donald Trump, first-runner up. That's the call from Time Magazine's editorial team in naming the 2018 Person of the Year.


"This year we are recognizing four journalists and one news organization who have paid a terrible price to seize the challenge of this moment: Jamal Khashoggi, Maria Ressa, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, and the Capital Gazette of Annapolis, Md.," wrote Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal in his piece about how the magazine made the decision. "They are representative of a broader fight by countless others around the world—as of Dec. 10, at least 52 journalists have been murdered in 2018—who risk all to tell the story of our time."


Read the full story on the journalists and news organization honored here


‘Six keys to success’ with whole-of-government digital service platforms
DIGITAL: Government agencies should stop building bespoke systems that only serve their own purpose, according to the DTA's new strategy-within-a-strategy.
Building a pan-Australian approach to safety and infrastructure resilience
PUBLIC SAFETY: Public safety and critical infrastructure agencies should consider developing a pan-Australian data infrastructure, similar to our academic research community, to empower a suite of new digitally driven services, according to a recent expert seminar in Canberra. (Partner article)

Recruit smarter: what works to beat unconscious bias
RESEARCH: A two-year pilot implemented for the Victorian state government found simple strategies can have a huge practical effect in overcoming unconscious bias.

Leading in the digital age – new online program
PARTNER EVENT: Equip yourself with the mindset, skills and tools for leading digital transformation. Program starts on 25 February 2019. Limited seating so sign up now. 
Working with MOs in a time of political volatility: webcast recording
ON DEMAND: A recent webcast hosted by The Mandarin and supported by Objective discussed the nexus of the minister, executive, department and the various agency portfolios. View the highlights. (Partner link)
More Fiction: Biggest UK companies pay £84bn in tax 


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