“If you want better books, cancel all awards, follow no leaders. Write as well as you can; never as others tell you.”
Al Capone belongings fetch more than $3 million at auction
I am not evading tax, in any way shape or form, now of course I am minimising my tax and if anybody in this country doesn't minimise their tax they want their heads read, because as a government I can tell you, you're not spending it that well, that we should be donating extra," Mr Packer told the room back in 1991.
Kerry Packer's former accountant shares secret tax tips
As billionaire developer Phillip Dong Fang Lee and his wife Xiaobei Shi were being assessed by the tax office last year amid what has amounted to a claim for $278 million, their Terrey Hills Golf and Country Club was pocketing more than $700,000 in JobKeeper benefits.
The federal government grant coincided with a bumper year for the exclusive club, whose total profit for 2020 was $2.9 million, compared with a loss of $3.72 million the previous year.
Terrey Hills Golf Club scores JobKeeper windfall as tax man tees off on billionaire owner
Business whispers: how Treasurer Josh Frydenberg squandered $40bn on JobKeeper
Speaking on Accountants Daily Insider, ATO assistant commissioner Sylvia Gallagher acknowledged that the ATO and the tax profession might not have had the best of relationships at times but assured practitioners that it was working hard to improve the experience for them.
‘Not us versus them’: ATO opens up on relationship with accountants
Under the law, taxpayers are guilty until they prove themselves innocent.
That means the burden to prove you don't owe the ATO money rests with you, and there's no obligation on the tax office to give you reasons for its decision.
The ATO has made some improvements to the way it deals with small businesses aftera joint Fairfax-Four Corners investigationexposed aggressive debt collection tactics.
But the agency still has immense powers that put it at an advantage over ordinary Australians during tax disputes.
The ATO can legally raid your bank accounts and call you in for interrogations at short notice.
US-style taxpayer bill of rights could help Australians fighting the ATO over alleged debts
Taxingq Times: Tragic Toxic Teams
Independent Commission Against Corruption Why is Icac examining the public and private lives of Gladys Berejiklian?
BNN Bloomberg Google tests ways to showcase breaking news in Twitter-like move – “Alphabet Inc.’s Google is trying to make search more of a go-to destination for breaking news and live events – moving directly onto Twitter Inc.’s turf. In recent years, Google has placed a carousel of links to news sites at the top of search results for certain events such as the recent negotiations in the U.S. Senate over the debt limit. The company is working on plans to showcase more relevant data and features in search on a range of timely breaking news topics, such as big-ticket sports games, awards shows and natural disasters, the company confirmed. That’s a field where Twitter has excelled, despite competing efforts from Google and Facebook Inc. Google recognized this several year ago. In 2015, it cut a deal with Twitter to run tweets at the top of search results for newsy topics. The Information earlier reported Google’s move, which is called Big Moments inside the company. Still, the effort is an experiment and Google isn’t saying how it may affect the way tweets are displayed in searches of breaking news events. After the coronavirus pandemic struck in early 2020, Google overhauled its search results for issues around COVID-19 to make visuals and data from medical authorities more prominent, rather than its standard web links. That strategy inspired internal efforts to bring a similar approach to other news topics, according to a Google spokesperson…Even though Google has spent years curating news results in search, the company has argued repeatedly that it should be treated as a web platform, not a publisher…Google’s spokesperson wouldn’t comment on its partnership with Twitter. A Twitter spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why Did It Take Scientists So Long to Fully Understand Genetics and Mendel’s Laws? Literary Hub
Business whispers: how Treasurer Josh Frydenberg squandered $40bn on JobKeeper
It turns out the very business lobbyists who stood to benefit most from JobKeeper were regularly advising the Government on JobKeeper. How $40bn was squandered and the role of corporate spinners Business Council of Australia and AI Group
Independent senator Rex Patrick, who supports the Greens clawback legislation, said that the six-month report was “written by public servants whose duty is to serve the public, but who have worked for the benefit of the government”.
Break Into Tax: Talking Tax Careers With The Tax Chick
BiT's first-ever crossover episode: Break Into Tax + Amanda Doucette, host of The Tax Chick Podcast! Like us, Amanda likes to make information and resources more accessible and tackle tax topics with humor. The BiT video contains information and extras not in the 30-minute podcast & vice versa! Find the podcast episode at https://thetaxchickpodcast.transistor...(available on all major podcast streaming sites).
Amanda Doucette is a self-proclaimed foodie, spin class and Pilates enthusiast, and a tax lawyer in Canada. She fell into the practice of tax law despite having a life-long hatred of spreadsheets, math, and numbers in general. She hosts both The Tax Chick Podcast and The Tax Chick Blog.
Plea Deal with Russian Bank Founder for Tax Perjury Requiring Payment of More than $500 Million
I previously reported on the Indictment of Oleg Tinkov and move to extradite him. U.S. Taxpayer Renouncing U.S. Citizenship Indicted And Extradition Started (Federal Tax Crimes Blog 5/11/20), here, where I discussed the DOJ press release. I noted in the blog that the indictment charged two counts of tax perjury, § 7206(1), although, as his overall conduct was described, it seems that there could be other counts as well for which the grand jury could approve a superseding indictment. Tinkov has now pled to a single count of tax perjury. DOJ Press release “Founder of Russian Bank Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud: Admits to Concealing More Than $1 Billion in Assets when Renouncing U.S. Citizenship and Agrees to Pay More Than $500 Million Penalty” (10/1/21), here. I tried to access the plea agreement on PACER (Dkt Entry 25), but the link said, “You do not have permission to view this document.” I suppose it is under seal. When it is unsealed, it will be available on PACER (fee required) and, likely soon thereafter, free on CourtListener, here.
Smart Parrots Need More to Keep Their Minds BusyTreeHugger
Medical News Today How has social media affected mental health during the pandemic?: “On a global scale, social media can be a way for people to gather information, share ideas, and reach out to others facing similar challenges. It can also be an effective platform to relay information quickly during a national or worldwide crisis. This global reach is what has made social media a critical communication platform during the COVID-19 pandemic. As government health organizations used it to relay recent findings on prevention and treatment, social media became more than a place to post the latest vacation photos — it became a hub of pandemic-related information. But has the use of social media during the pandemic negatively impacted mental health and well-being? Or has it had the opposite effect? In this Special Feature, Medical News Todaylooks at what research says about social media use and the COVID-19 pandemic to reveal how it has affected mental health. We also spoke with two experts about this complex topic…”