So-obviously-I am not against political parties; if I were, I would be against democracy itself. I am simply against the dictatorship of partisanship. To be more precise, I am against the excessive influence of parties in the system of political power. Where the political system-and thus the state itself-is too dominated by parties, or too dependent on them, the consequences are unfortunate.
Weekly SSRN Tax Article Review And Roundup: Speck Reviews Chaim's The Common Ownership Tax Strategy
‘It is a joyous day’: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich freed in a prisoner swap with Russia
Fifth Circuit Reversal of Count of Conviction Based on Statute of Limitations May Permit the Reversed Count Conduct as Relevant Conduct for Affirmed Count
In United States v. Boswell, ___ F.4th ___ (5th Cir. 2024), CA5 here and GS here, the Court reversed Boswell’s conviction for bankruptcy-fraud conviction (Count One) and affirmed his conviction for tax evasion (Count Two).
Federal Tax Procedure Book 2024 Editions on SSRN
The 2024 versions of the Federal Tax Procedure Book are now posted on SSRN. SSRN still has to approve them, but those interested can view or download them in the interim. See here.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 called out for ‘worker surveillance’
The Register: “Microsoft Dynamics 365 provides “field service management” that allows customers to monitor mobile service workers through smartphone apps – allegedly to the detriment of their autonomy and dignity. According to a probe by Cracked Labs – an Austrian nonprofit research group – the software is part of a broader set of applications that disempowers workers through algorithmic management. The case study [PDF] summarizes how employers in Europe actually use software and smartphone apps to oversee field technicians, home workers, and cleaning staff.
It’s part of a larger ongoing project helmed by the group called “Surveillance and Digital Control at Work,” which includes contributions from AlgorithmWatch; Jeremias Adams-Prassl, professor of law at the University of Oxford; and trade unions UNI Europa and GPA. Mobile maintenance workers used to have a substantial amount of autonomy when they were equipped with basic mobile phones, the study notes, but smartphones have allowed employers to track what mobile workers do, when they do it, where they are, and gather many other data points.
The effect of this monitoring, the report argues, means diminished worker discretion, autonomy, and sense of purpose due to task-based micromanagement. The shift has also accelerated and intensified work stress, with little respect to workers’ capabilities, differences in lifestyle, and job practice..”
See also Spyware turned this Kansas high school into a ‘red zone’ of dystopian surveillance
Supreme Connections
ProPublica: “Every year, the Supreme Court’snine justices fill out a form that discloses their financial connections to companies and people. Using our new database, you can now search for organizations and people that have paid the justices, reimbursed them for travel, given them gifts and more.”
Data is also searchable using specific data: Most Mentioned – Universities, law firms, nonprofits and other organizations that appear most often on the justices’ forms; Browse by Category – Explore the justices’ connections by the type of organizations they’ve listed…
”The bulk of the data we used came from the Free Law Project, which maintains a database of more than 35,000 financial disclosure recordsfor federal judges, justices and magistrates, most of it dating back to 2003. These disclosures, which federal employees are required to file each year under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, are maintained by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The law, however, requires most of them to be destroyed after six years, making many disclosures from earlier years hard to find. Our disclosures cover most of those filed since 2003, as well as some financial information disclosed by some justices during their Senate confirmations in 1990, 1991 and 2000.”