Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Budget NSW: Philosophy of Bitcoin - Wisdom of Theatre

 The ethical costs of upward mobility — Jennifer Morton (CUNY) is featured on the NPR podcast Hidden Brain


The virtue of reverence, the wisdom of theater, the qualities of leadership, and more — in an interview with Paul Woodruff (Texas)


Philosophy of Bitcoin — Andrew M. Bailey (Yale-NUS), Andrew M. Bailey (Wyoming), and Craig Warmke (NIU) find that cryptocurrency is a philosophically rich topic

 

The New South Wales Treasurer, Mr Dominic Perrottet, handed down the NSW Budget 2020-21 on 17 November 2020.

It includes the following measures relating to tax.

· Lowering the payroll tax rate. The payroll tax rate will be reduced from 5.45% to 4.85% in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
· Increasing the payroll tax threshold. The payroll tax threshold is being increased from $900,000 to $1.2 million permanently from 1 July 2020.

As part of its response to COVID-19, the government announced in March 2020 that it would accelerate the increase to the payroll tax threshold to $1 million from 1 July 2021 to 1 July 2020. The government is now taking this further by permanently increasing the threshold to $1.2 million retrospectively from 1 July 2020.

· Proposed reform for transfer duty. The government will commence public consultation on tax reforms to reduce the upfront costs for property buyers. The government's proposed model would:
- give property buyers the choice between paying stamp duty upfront or opting for the smaller annual property tax
- enable people who opt-in to the system to also eliminate any land tax liability
- ensure that the current property owners who are not buying or selling are not affected
- replace the current stamp duty concessions provided to first home buyers with a new grant of up to $25,000, and
- include a property tax rate that would support and incentivise home ownership with a lower rate for owner-occupiers and higher rates for investors and commercial properties.
For more details, see the Treasury website.
· Extended land tax COVID-19 relief. The land tax COVID-19 relief for landowners has been extended to 28 March 2021 in modified form. To be eligible for relief from 1 January 2021 to 28 March 2021:
- the lease must be a retail lease
- the annual turnover of the tenant must be less than $5 million
- the tenant needs to re-establish eligibility by demonstrating a 30% decline in turnover (15% for non-profits) for the December quarter 2020.

Sources: NSW Budget 2020-21, Budget Statement, 17 November 2020, accessed 17 November 2020.

NSW Government, Historic reform could make Australian home ownership dream a reality, [media release], 17 November 2020, accessed 17 November 2020.

Revenue NSW, NSW State budget 2020-2021, [media release], 17 November 2020, accessed 17 November 2020.

 



Using games, teams, Discord, and additive grading to create an online philosophy course that fosters community and excitement— Margaret Greta Turnbull (Gonzaga) shares her “gameful” pedagogy


“Despite rumors to the contrary, arguments still work. We shouldn’t give up on them.” — N. Ángel Pinillos (ASU) with arguments and evidence for using arguments and evidence


Before the election, a few philosophers were asked to imagine what they’d wake up to the day after it — pre-election imaginings from Michele Moody-Adams, Shannon Spaulding, Neil Van Leeuwen, and Catherine Wearing


Controversy over a new statue in London intended to honor philosopher and women’s rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft — “I can’t see her feeling happy to be represented by this naked, perfectly formed wet dream of a woman”