Month: July 2017

Wednesday, February 4, 2009 On Tuesday, United States President Barack Obama saw two of his cabinet nominations withdraw from consideration after issues with their taxes became public knowledge. I think I screwed up. Former Senator Tom Daschle from South Dakota withdrew after it was revealed he failed to pay US$128,203 in taxes. He has since made the payment including a $11,964 interest payment. Obama had nominated him as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Nancy Killefer, whom Obama had appointed to the newly created position of Chief Performance Officer,…

Friday, July 9, 2010 NBA small forward LeBron James announced today that he will “take his talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat,” after spending six years as the star player for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Anticipation over LeBron’s future team had been simmering for weeks as NBA teams tried to lure the free agent to their rosters. LeBron had met with representatives from the Cavaliers, Heat, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, and Los Angeles Clippers. In an interview televised by ESPN, James said that the…

Tuesday, January 26, 2010 Heavy fighting has broken out in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. As troops clash with Islamic fighters the European Union has said it will train 2,000 more soldiers for the country. One major battle erupted at a base used by Burundian troops. African peacekeepers as well as local soldiers working for the transitional government fought back, according to eyewitnesses. Heavy artillery was used this morning. Soldiers in Somaliland found explosives which later went off, killing at least three people. Somaliland’s deputy governor, Mohamed Abdi Dimbil, said locals…

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has warned against a fraudulent email claiming to be from the ATO. The email, which is similar to previous scams, uses the ATO logo and has the subject line of ‘Notification – Please read’, ‘Australian Taxation Office – Please read’ or other variations. The email directs recipients to a bogus website that looks similar to the ATO website and requests credit card and personal details. “People should be wary of unsolicited emails claiming to be from the Tax Office,” says Tax…

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Fire broke out today at Egypt’s Shura Council, the upper house of the Parliament of Egypt at around 16:00 local time. The number of casualties had reached 13 by 22:30. Officials said that most of the casualties were a result of smoke inhalation and minor burns. “The fire is currently limited to the Shura Council’s second floor. We are still trying to determine the exact cause of the fire,” the official said. “Parliament is currently on summer recess and very few people would have been in…

Tuesday, February 8, 2005 Bucharest, Romania – According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Romania was the 14th most preferred country in the world for foreign companies looking to relocate their activities. This confirms Romania’s growing attractiveness for foreign investment. The study examined the conditions in sixty countries, and took into account nine categories of indices: geographical proximity, political and security risks, economic stability, legislation, taxation, labour costs and skills level, and infrastructure. The scores given to the countries ranged from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest. The final composite…

Friday, March 10, 2017 UK chancellor Philip Hammond announced his 2017 budget on Wednesday, which included a £2 billion pledge to social care and a tax hike on the self-employed. It was accused of breaking Conservative Party manifesto promises. It was announced there will be a 2% increase in national insurance contributions for the self-employed, with chancellor Philip Hammond citing worries that people were choosing to become self-employed in order to pay lower taxes and his perception of unfairness in the different rates paid by employees and self-employees. There were…

Monday, February 27, 2006 The Australian federal treasurer, Peter Costello, has announced a study to compare the Australian taxation system with those of other countries. It will include overall tax levels, as well as indirect tax, income tax and company tax systems. Mr Costello says that the results are intended to inform discussion of the future of the tax system. “The aim of the study is to provide a public document that compares Australian taxes to those in other countries. This will identify those areas where Australia leads comparable countries…