IT’S ONLY SLEEPING: Dormant Volcano in The Caribbean Just Came Back to Life, Causing Evacuation Warnings.
GST: How a midnight tax grab becomes lasting reform |
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The West Australian by Max Blenkin |
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Friday 1 January 2021 |
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Cabinet documents for 2000 reveal the extensive effort conducted in the lead-up to July 1, 2000 to prepare the nation for John Howard’s ‘great tax adventure’. |
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Politico: When workplaces went remote and suddenly Zoom allowed co-workers new glimpses into one another’s homes, what New York Times writer Amanda Hess dubbed the “credibility bookcase” became the hot-ticket item.
…Books by the Foot, a service run by the Maryland-based bookseller Wonder Book, has become a go-to curator of Washington bookshelves, offering precisely what its name sounds like it does.
More generally, the service exists for hotels, showrooms, movie sets and so forth. Just tell them your theme…by color or content.
Luvvie Ajayi isn't afraid to speak her mind or to be the one dissenting voice in a crowd, and neither should you. "Your silence serves no one," says the writer, activist and self-proclaimed professional troublemaker. In this bright, uplifting talk, Ajayi shares three questions to ask yourself if you're teetering on the edge of speaking up or quieting down -- and encourages all of us to get a little more comfortable with being uncomfortable
"Get comfortable with being uncomfortable" by Luvvie Ajayi at TED Women
A new Google?, or at least how to top the old one
Ted Gioia’s favorite albums of the year list, always interesting for the number and variety of sonic worlds under consideration
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Did Bob Dylan Sell The Copyrights To His 600 Songs To Avoid A Higher Capital Gains Tax Rate In The Biden Administration?
- Bob Dylan’s Catalog Sale Highlights A Tax Advantage For Songwriters
Washington Post op-ed: Bob Dylan’s Genius Was Rewarded by the System — and the Tax Code, by Charles Lane:
[Bob Dylan] just sold the rights to “Blowin’ in the Wind” and 600 other songs to Universal Music Publishing Group for a reported $300 million. Added to his previously reported net worth of $200 million, the transaction implies that Dylan will reach his 80th birthday on May 24 as a half-billionaire.
This is a tribute to his genius and, on the whole, to a political and economic system that rewards artists whether they merely entertain multitudes — or inspire them to march against that same system.
Nevertheless, some socially conscious musician could write a song protesting the Dylan deal, because of what it reveals about that engine of irrationality and inequality known as the U.S. tax system.
A cardinal defect of the system is highly favorable treatment of capital gains relative to ordinary income. The top rate on the former stands at 20 percent; on the latter, it is 37 percent.
This is no simple twist of fate, but the result of long-term retreat from a 1986 tax reform bill that had equalized the rates at 28 percent. The 1986 bill did so on the sensible grounds that workers and capitalists both contribute to prosperity.
Francine J. Lipman (UNLV), Humanizing the Tax System: What National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson Did For America's Kids and their Families, 18 Pitt. Tax Rev. ___ (2020):
At their core, taxpayer rights are human rights. They are about our inherent humanity. — Nina E. Olson
The federal income tax system does not exist for statutes, regulations, codes, enforcement, assessments, collection, redistribution, procedures, publications, liens, levies, refunds, liabilities, litigation, compliance, or even revenue. At its core, the federal income tax system exists for people. People like you, me, and all our loved ones including spouses, partners, parents, kids, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, grandparents, grandkids, friends, and neighbors. The people who eat at our tables and sleep under our roofs. The tax system is about current and future generations who live and work in America, and even those who don’t but have the coveted prize of U.S. citizenship. It is about our shared vision of ensuring the well-being of all people, young, old, Black, Brown, White, Asian, Native, multiracial, religious, atheist, agnostic, male, female, transgender, straight, queer, or nonconforming. It is about ensuring that the people of and in America have what they need to survive and thrive, especially those who are vulnerable for any reason or no reason at all. Tax systems, like other government institutions, should be designed and administered to make life better for everyone. Because “we the people” are America, the beautiful, the federal tax system serves us. This is the truth that Nina E. Olson laid bare during her eighteen years of service as the longest-serving National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA).
I threw together a quick post on tax havens and the Brexit deal on Christmas Eve, noting that the UK’s tax havens were likely to
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Dürer May Not Really Have Written That Famous Lament On Martin Luther’s Arrest
“Considered one of Dürer’s best-known writings, the Lament on Luther could instead have been the work of a contemporary monk that was slipped into the artist’s diary, possibly for political reasons, according to what the National Gallery describes as ‘very convincing evidence’.” – The Guardian
Via LLRX – Financial Sources on the Internet 2021 – Marcus P. Zillman, new guide comprises a list of actionable financial resources from the U.S. and abroad, organized by four subject areas: Corporate Conference Calls Resources, Financial Sources, Financial Sources Search Engines, and Venture Capital Sources. Content includes: sources for news and updates on business, corporations and marketplaces; sources from the NGO/IGO sectors; data, databases and charts; search applications; resources for investors and money management; and market analysis tools.
Ireland and Brexit: the Good News
On Christmas eve the Brexit deal was done and the Irish breathed a sigh of relief. Even so, not all in Ireland would agree with Irish Times columnist David McWilliams assessment that the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was ‘the best news for Ireland in 100 years, couldn’t have worked out better for us!’ – especially those who make a living in the fishing and long-distance haulage industries.
SKYNET SMILES: DeepMind’s New AI Masters Games Without Even Being Taught the Rules.