The Australian federal government’s digital ID programme, which was launched six years ago, is over-engineered and has cost too much for what has been delivered, according to the government’s former chief information officer, Glenn Archer.
Archer – who was closely involved with the early days of the digital identity programme as chair of the government authentication governance committee – also told InnovationAus.com that he “despairs” of the lack of progress on the myGov portal linked to the identity verification system and that the decision to outsource much of the work on it was a “huge mistake”.
‘Not a lot to show’ for Australia’s $400m digital ID programme, says former government CIO
Read more: Australia launches public consultation on digital identity programme
Australia’s commitment to amend its tax law will bring relief to Indian IT companies
The ATO has long been criticised for setting its sights on, and relentlessly pursuing, ‘hard working Aussies’ while at the same time, turning a blind eye to the fact that large corporations and multinational organisations get away with paying little-to-no tax.
Only weeks ago, a report by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) revealed that the ATO had failed to collect billions of dollars in unpaid superannuation on behalf of employees – although such a failure can amount to a criminal offence.
Large multinational companies and the wealthy elites often spend large sums of money to create and register instruments to minimise and even avoid paying tax altogether, and they are also able to use their vast resources to stretch out their disputes for years on end – costing Australian taxpayers millions in the process.
For example, in 2019 Google finally paid its massive $481.5 million tax bill after battling the ATO for ten years before doing so. Other international companies such as Microsoft and Apple also took years to settle up.
ATO Investigates 40,000 Aussies Over Alleged Tax Fraud Scheme
Jan Cameron fights ATO over tax on Bellamy’s sale
Keith Robert Johnson, 74, was charged with two counts of defrauding the Commonwealth and 13 counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception following an Australian Federal Police-led investigation.
It is alleged the Maptek founder avoided paying income tax for 15 years by failing to disclose overseas trust assets in his income tax returns between 1999 and 2013.
Story of Missing Gold and traders
2022 World Changing Ideas Awards “Every year, Fast Company’s World-Changing Ideas Awards honor the innovative ways businesses and organizations are tackling the biggest challenges of our time. Amid the seemingly endless stream of disastrous news, these awards provide more than 1,000 reasons to feel some hope. One thousand fifty-three, to be exact. That’s the total number of honorees that our judges chose to recognize from the nearly 3,000 applications we received.
This year’s honorees are a reminder that, every single day, countless indefatigable problem solvers are addressing the world’s most urgent challenges. They are devising new ways to improve healthcare, to cultivate food, and to fight misinformation.
They are electrifying more vehicles, including the best-selling truck in the U.S., off-road ones like jet skis and snowmobiles, and the rickshaws that help drive local economies in much of the world. They are decarbonizing urban buildings, expanding the reach of renewable energy with solar panel shingles that can be nailed onto a roof, and devising a lamp powered by seawater that can charge electronic devices. They are building a movement to divest pension plans from fossil fuels and creating campaigns to urge climate action. Some are elegant technical innovations, like a 2-nanometer chip that could quadruple cellphone battery life and cut the carbon footprint of data centers. Others are new strategies that aim to improve the way society functions: rectifying overly harsh prison sentences; helping workers fight for rights; providing a basic income to financially strapped mothers.
Every one of this year’s honorees represents an idea that can help change the world for the better. The ideas we’re honoring this year are as varied as the problems we continue to face—from income inequality to the proliferation of false information—but what these bold new solutions share is a refusal to accept that our big problems are intractable. The 39 winners and hundreds of other finalists—selected by Fast Company’s editors and reporters—are more than just distinct and random glimmers of hope: Taken together, they illuminate a path to a better future.”
Tech Republic – A spinning hollow circle is a great way to suggest the passing of time in a PowerPoint show. “Susan Harkins shows you how to make this simple animation. I’ve been seeing a lot of the blue churning circle on streaming sites. Instead of thinking about how to improve my internet speed, I began to create the effect in Microsoft PowerPoint in my head. It’s extremely simple and a great way to suggest the passage of time. In this PowerPoint tutorial, I’ll show you how to use a gradient fill to make a hollow circle spin. The remarkable thing about this technique is that it requires only one shape and one animation..”
Via Moira Donegan – @MoiraDonegan[Columnist covering gender and politics @guardianUS] – “Matthew Hale, the 17th century English jurist approvingly cited by Alito in the draft Dobbs opinion, is the creator of “Hale instructions,” text that was read to juries in rape trials for centuries cautioning them not to believe women. The practice was ended in the US in the 70s. This is a retweet of @emilybell [Prof + Director – Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Columbia J School], May 3: “Alito’s draft heavily references English legal precedent, including that of famed jurist Sir Matthew Hale who, it should be noted, had at least two women executed for witchcraft and wrote a treatise supporting marital rape..” Show this thread
Lewis, Sebastian, Precedent and the Rule of Law (27 10, 2021). 41 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 873 (2021), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4077240 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4077240
“Courts may reason using precedents in various ways, but not all of them satisfy the rule of law. This article provides two ways that are compatible with this ideal, and one which is not. In doing so, the article aims to explain the practice of following precedent in law, and offer criteria for evaluating its value. Two claims are defended. First, courts always have a reason to decide precedent-governed disputes by following precedent. This reason is a minimum requirement of the rule of law, because in some cases this reason may be reinforced in the form of an obligation. Second, depending on whether courts have a reason or an obligation to follow precedent, two modes of precedential reasoning may be identified. The article provides them in detail. The modes, together with the considerations that are reasons in favour or against them, provide a valuable philosophical foundation of precedent-following law.”
MakeUseOf: “If you’re into crypto, Web 3.0, and NFTs, a crypto browser is just what you need.If you’re into crypto, Web 3.0, and NFTs, a crypto browser is just what you need. bitcoin gold coin in front of blue screen Web browsers stand as our gateway to the wide and wonderful internet in our day-to-day lives.
Of course, many of us prefer to use market leaders, like Google Chrome, Safari, or Firefox, but there’s now a new kind of browser out there that could prove incredibly useful for those interested in crypto, NFTs, and all things DeFi. So, what exactly is a crypto browser, and what can it offer you?…”
