Social Media: Threat to or Tool of Authoritarianism? Businesses that began operating after July 1 last year, which had not submitted their first tax return when JobKeeper launched and do not submit a business activity statement to the tax office because they turn over less than $75,000 and fall below the GST threshold, were not able to supply a tax return or activity statement upon application.
Don Harwin goes from backbencher to overseeing backflip
More than 6,500 applications for JobKeeper rejected due to ineligibility or fraud, ATO says
HBR – “…Given the growing weight of social media’s influence on society, the key question is whether social media will become a sentinel against systematic oppression and injustice, effectively posing a serious challenge to authoritarian regimes. In the case of China, while social media may not have the power to cause a regime change, it will, in coming years, challenge the government’s ironclad authority and lack of accountability to its people. This clearly manifests in times of crisis, most recently, with the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak…Automated censorship driven by cutting edge research in machine learning and artificial intelligence can be just as counterproductive. Contrary to popular opinion, Chinese surveillance is not the black-and-white image of evil, oppression, and ruthless efficiency suggested by George Orwell’s dystopian totalitarian state in his book, 1984. Human ingenuity in using allusions, abbreviations, and other linguistic devices has allowed criticisms of the government to get past censors: a simple example is “Wuhan,” a censored word on some platforms which replaced with an abbreviated form,“wh,” can no longer be detected. Just as veiled critiques of the government have filtered through censoring software, articles and videos spreading misinformationabout the virus have utilized similar techniques in getting past censors. Thus the wreckage left behind by censorship procedures is a combination of frustration and mistrust
Mining Company Obliterates Sacred Land in Australia Foreshadows Distressing Events in the American Southwest Counterpunch
Flu Virus With ‘Pandemic Potential’ Found in China BBC
Our dream run over COVID has come to an end
Australia awoke last week to the strains of Spike Milligan’s poignant refrain, “I’m walking backwards to Christmas.” Continue reading
40 Times People Ordered Things Online But Received Something So Awful, They Just Had To Share (New Pics) Bored Panda
Mentees interviewing their mentors - AD v BC — a new series at PEA Soup
Dhammika Dharmapala (Chicago), Do Multinational Firms Use Tax Havens to the Detriment of Other Countries?:
The use of tax havens by multinational corporations (MNCs) has attracted increasing attention and scrutiny in recent years. This paper provides an exposition of the academic literature on this topic. It begins with an overview of the basic facts regarding MNCs’ use of havens, which are consistent with the location of holding companies, intellectual property, and financial activities in havens. However, there is also evidence of significant frictions that limit MNCs’ use of havens. These limits can be attributed to non-tax frictions (such as the legal and business environment in different jurisdictions), to tax law provisions limiting profit shifting, and to the costs of tax planning. There is evidence consistent with the relevance of each of these channels.
Arthur Cockfield (Queen's University), Walter Hellerstein (University of Georgia) & Marie Lamensch (Institute for European Studies), Taxing Global Digital Commerce (2020)
Tanzanite: Tanzanian miner becomes overnight millionaire BBC
Siberian heat wave is a ‘warning cry’ from the Arctic, climate scientists say Reuters
Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues June 27, 2020 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: How to make sure Google automatically deletes your data on a regular basis; Wrongfully Accused by an Algorithm; Library officials warn: Stop microwaving books to kill COVID-19; and Making .gov More Secure by Default.
Judge Dyson, moving in the lower circles of hell
If Dyson Heydon is guilty of the sexual harassment allegations made against him, most people would agree that he deserves what he gets.Continue reading
What will happen when the robots go into business? — at the intersection of artificial intelligence, business ethics, and political economy
The third annual “Young Philosopher Award” contest was held online this year — the Irish Times reports on the event
Why Hong Kong residents are buying prime London properties the Times
What Are China’s New Market Demands After COVID-19? Jing Daily