Philosophy without a philosopher in sight

Governments are like underwear. They start smelling pretty bad if you don't change them once in a while.

— Margaret Murray, born in 1863

 DON’T YOU DARE BE THE FIRST TO STOP CLAPPING AFTER STALIN’S SPEECH ...

Multiple battlefronts as China takes on the world

The Middle Kingdom is now engaged in simultaneous diplomatic, military and trade disputes across the world. Where will it end?

Even Independents can be bought by the Chinese liberation Army printed money 'Difficult to believe': Malcolm Turnbull renews calls for Nick Xenophon to declare work for Huawei

The case for banning Chinese-owned app TikTok

 

UK asks Japan to replace Huawei in 5G networks: report

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ATO records ‘biggest 1 July ever’ with 640% spike

Over 1.7 million Australians have now lodged their tax returns in the first two weeks of the new financial year, leading the ATO to issue a cautionary note on trending mistakes with early lodgements.

Dealing with disruption: Tax time and COVID-19

 Coronavirus: UK 'faces tax rises or spending cuts'

Office for Budget Responsibility - Fiscal sustainability report  July 2020(14 Jul 2020)

• State Aid: EU Commission recommends not granting financial support to companies with links to tax havens (14 Jul 2020)
  
• UK Tax gap of £31bn shows downwards trend (10 Jul 2020)
• HMRC says benefits of Rishi Sunak’s job retention £1,000 bonus scheme ‘highly uncertain’ (10 Jul 2020)
• OECD: International community continues making progress against offshore tax evasion (8 Jul 2020)
  
• Pandemic of tax injustice in Ukraine  (8 Jul 2020)
• It's a matter of fairness': squeezing more tax from multinationals  (8 Jul 2020)
• Rishi Sunak backs down over tax on employer-bought Covid- 19 tests  (8 Jul 2020)
• Ruling in EU Apple tax case due next Wednesday   (8 Jul 2020)
• Dutch MEP Paul Tang to chair new tax subcommittee  (8 Jul 2020)

The postcodes where our highest income earners live

In the Sydney suburb with the highest taxable income, residents earned $242,428 on average, new data from the ATO shows

A tale of two taxi definitions - practical approach prevails as FBT exemption applies to ridesharing trips

A spate of scandals has put accounting firms in the U.K. on the back foot. The collapse of Carillion Plc, and subsequently Thomas Cook Group Plc, have been among cases that raised questions about auditing standards at the so-called Big Four firms. In response, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers have agreed to separate their auditing and consulting departments by 2024 to avert possible conflicts of interest, a move that critics say doesn’t go far enough.

How U.K. Audit Scandals Pushed Big Four Toward Split

Philosophy without a philosopher in sightTimes Literary Supplement

It’s everyone’s job to influence hiring, retention and promotion

No matter what role you have in an organization, you have agency over whom you work with.

Australian of the Year James Muecke forced to give up surgery ... - ABC

It’s Too Late For Good-Faith Debate Online Anyway

“Blaming people on the internet — as most of us are, helplessly — for not engaging in ‘good-faith debate’ doesn’t just misdiagnose the problem; it’s stunningly naïve. Have you met the internet? … Political discourse has been warped less because of ‘cancel culture’ or ‘illiberalism’ than by the way social media platforms have been poisoned, like wells, that poison us in turn.” And, argues Lili Loofbourow, it’s not the left that’s ultimately at fault. – Slate

The Science of Hoarding

When I'm at the gym watching trashy TV on the treadmill, I fluctuate between various guilty pleasures. There's usually a rerun of "Sex and The City" or an episode of the Kardashians show. But if I'm really lucky, I'll stumble across an episode of Hoarders on TLC. People who are so fucked up, that they make me feel normal. Yes, it's voyeuristic and slightly nasty, but it's also fascinating.

That picture on the right? That's people trying to get into the Collyer brothers' apartment who died in their crap-filled NYC apartment. 

Pacific Standard's article about the psychology of hoarding is excellent.