The Guardian has reported this morning that: The big six US tech firms have been accused of “aggressively avoiding” $100bn (£75bn) of global tax over
Second commissioner tells big four accounting firms that ATO closely watching behaviour
These two plays echo with our times. Social networks are an open agora where everyone’s opinion has the same weight. Opinions are the great influencers of our century. How long will real journalists and honest scientists have voices strong enough to be heard over the mayhem of unruly tweets and intellectual dishonesty? Seen from my European corner, the battle seems lost in the US. Sandwiched between an opinionated trash TV, a president who spouts nonsenses on a daily basis and loud fundamentalist Christians, is there room left for rational thinking? If Galileo came to visit the 21st century, wouldn’t he be distraught to see creationism taught in some schools?
But Europe is not out the woods either. These are hot topics here too. The fact that theatre directors pick these plays proves that it is a preoccupation. J’accuse, the film about the Dreyfus Affair made 0.8 million of entries in two weeks. (4th in the French box office) It is the breathtaking relation of the Dreyfus trial and the long way to his rehabilitation. It sure doesn’t show France into a favorable light, something Proust describes thoroughly under the apparent lightness of society life. Zola and Voltaire are pillars of our national Pantheon because they fought for someone trialed and condemned, not fort their acts but due to the biased functioning of the courts. Dreyfus for Zola, Calas for Voltaire. J’accuse coming out in 2019 is not a coincidence. We see extremists raise their ugly heads again and it is a cold reminder of what happens when they worm themselves into the workings of administrations.
It all comes down to safeguarding the concepts of the Age of Enlightenment.
It sounds like a police state effort. An author makes an attempt to assist a pseudonymously named prisoner publish a memoir. The effort is scotched by the authorities. The police spring into action raiding the cell of that prisoner, and that of his brother. All take place without the knowledge of the Australia media or public.
After a secret trial of a secret prisoner, the sentence was delivered — you guessed
Just thirteen words are all there are on the public record to note one of the most extraordinary episodes in Australian legal history.
Key points:
- Witness J was a prisoner who was tried, sentenced and imprisoned in secret
- The former military intelligence officer worked in various parts of the sprawling military and defence network
- He has been accused of acting so dangerously he was imperilling lives and national security
A 33-year-old Sydney man has been sentenced at the Mt Druitt Local Court today after pretending to be a tax agent and charging several people a fee to lodge their tax returns, only to then steal their refunds.
Thieving fake tax agent stopped by ATO
Thieving fake tax agent stopped by ATO
The ATO, the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) and NSW Police received complaints about Mr Benjamin Cox
A 33-year-old Sydney man has been sentenced at the Mt Druitt Local Court today after pretending to be a tax agent and charging several people a fee to lodge their tax returns, only to then steal their refunds.
As a result of his actions, Mr Cox received a two and a half year prison sentence to be served in the community by way of an Intensive Corrections Order. He was also ordered to pay over $13,000 in compensation to the ATO and his victims, and has had $22,000 worth of his assets seized.
Mr Benjamin Cox pretended to be a tax agent to more than 1,000 people, charging $100 for his services and using their myGov login details to submit income tax returns on their behalf. He also stole $12,866.62 worth of refunds by having them directed to his personal account.
Mr Cox advertised his services through Facebook and Gumtree, targeting vulnerable people in the community who were unfamiliar with the Australian tax system.
- The ATO and TPB are working closely to identify and put a stop to unregistered preparers. People pretending to be tax agents often promise refunds that are too good to be true or provide discounted services much cheaper than legitimate registered tax agents.
- Another tell-tale sign to look out for is that unregistered preparers often use a taxpayer’s personal login details to access their ATO Online account through myGov to lodge tax returns. A legitimate tax practitioner will never ask for your myGov credentials – they use dedicated ATO Online services to lodge returns for their clients.
The ATO, the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) and NSW Police received complaints about Mr Cox and he was promptly arrested after a joint investigation into his activities.
ATO moves to break up $1bn Optus megadeal - iTnews
Scott Morrison announces overhaul of the Australian Public ...
Scott Morrison swings axe through public service
The Australian
Scott Morrison has announced a dramatic shake-up of the public service that will see five department heads axed and the number of ...
PAINTING HOUSES: The Irishman Arrives on Netflix
PRIVACY: Now even the FBI is warning about your smart TV’s security. “Beyond the risk that your TV manufacturer and app developers may be listening and watching you, that television can also be a gateway for hackers to come into your home. A bad cyber actor may not be able to access your locked-down computer directly, but it is possible that your unsecured TV can give him or her an easy way in the backdoor through your router.”
Banks told to hand over Donald Trump's tax records
A US appeals court has handed President Donald Trump another defeat in his bid to keep his financial records secret.
IR-2019-194, Treasury, IRS Issue Final Regulations on New International Provision, the Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax (Dec. 2, 2019)
IR-2019-193, Treasury, IRS Issue Final Regulations on the Foreign Tax Credit (Dec. 2, 2019)
Wall Street Journal, Treasury Eases Minimum-Tax Burdens on U.S. Multinationals:
U.S.-based
multinationals will be less exposed to certain U.S. taxes after the
Treasury Department issued new rules implementing two major pieces of
the 2017 tax law.
The
regulations, unveiled on Monday, will help ease the burden of two
separate minimum taxes that were designed to put a floor under corporate
tax collections. ...
At Bloomberg, 'Everybody’s nightmare come true'
How does a media company cover its boss when that boss is
running for president? That’s the challenge for Bloomberg as it covers its CEO
and founder Michael Bloomberg. As soon as Bloomberg announced his candidacy for
president last week, Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait put out a
memo saying the news service would cover the 2020 campaign, but there was a
caveat that seems to go against everything a journalism company should stand
for.
Micklethwait wrote, “We will continue our tradition of not
investigating Mike (and his family and foundation) and we will extend the same
policy to his rivals in the Democratic primaries. We cannot treat Mike’s
Democratic competitor differently from him.”
But they are treating President Donald Trump differently. The
media company reports on the president, leading Fox
News’ Howard Kurtz to say, “On what planet is that fair?” Kurtz is right.
The company’s stance is that Trump is an elected official and
its policy on Bloomberg could change if he actually becomes the nominee.
CNN’s
Brian Stelter interviewed Kathy Kiely, the former Washington news director
for Bloomberg Politics who quit her job at the publication in 2016 when
Michael Bloomberg took steps toward running for president. On Sunday’s
“Reliable Sources,” she said, “I felt that that wasn't ethical and it was just
an untenable situation for me as the assigning editor to be in. Unfortunately,
they've had four years to think about this and they haven't come up with a
better solution. I'm really sorry to see this.”
One current Bloomberg
reporter told Stelter that Bloomberg running for president is “everybody’s
nightmare come true.”- This story was published last week, but it’s worth a read if you missed it. Salinas, California is just an hour south of Silicon Valley, so housing costs have risen to a level similar to the Bay Area. Low-income housing has disappeared. Maybe that’s why nearly half of all elementary school students in Salinas are homeless. Writing for The California Sunday Magazine, Brian Goldstone with must-read story of the homeless (and working) families in the area known as the “salad bowl of the world.”
- “A ruthless Mexican drug lord’s empire is devastating families with its grip on small-town USA.” Amazing work by the Louisville Courier Journal and writer Beth Warren.
- Florida governor Ron DeSantis used to be on Fox News all the time. Not anymore. The Tampa Bay Times’ Steve Contorno explains why.
- Wait, an old FCC ruling is being used to justify the Dayton Daily News to printing just three days a week? Nieman Lab’s Joshua Benton with the excellent breakdown.
Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg’s Firm Fights IRS in Court During White House Bid:
The
case pits the Internal Revenue Service against Bloomberg LP over the
financial-data company’s claim that it qualifies for a deduction for
domestically produced software. The lawsuit in U.S. Tax Court centers on
whether Bloomberg leases or licenses its flagship product as software
to customers, which would allow it to get the deduction, or provides an
online service, which wouldn’t.
