Somewhat of a desperation shot I grant you, but somewhat connected to the theme of some parts of the day.

It's more than half way through April. Indeed in the US it's one day after their Big Tax Day (the usual final date for filing tax returns), but that's neither here nor there.

Our financial and therefore tax year ends on 30 June, which this evening has led me to start thinking about what I need to do between now and then rather than relying on the age old tradition of playing catch up in the last couple of weeks.

I still can't believe that a coin was minted to celebrate the Taxation Office though. It's necessary; perhaps I wouldn't go quite so far as to say "a necessary evil", but I do know of more than the occasional case where they've taken diabolical liberties with the interpretation of the law. Which I may object less to if they didn't spend most of their time going after soft targets, although I grudgingly admit that they seem to be attempting to improve their performance in that area.

(Unlike their sister regulator ASIC, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, a.k.a. "The Corporate Watchpuppy". (Thank you Michael Pascoe for that one.))

I've always believed in people paying their fair share of taxes but when, during the GFC I had to sign over a cheque for $900 in pre-paid taxes which I knew that I would never owe and which would therefore simply be refunded to me in a few months' time, while almost everyone else was receiving $900 bonus cheques (which, in many cases, would have gone through the pokies at the local club) I started to understand what the late Kerry Packer was saying in his infamous quote that "If anybody in this country doesn't minimise their tax they want their heads read." It led to a slight change in attitude and approach, though not to the extent that they'll be able to get me the way they got Al Capone.

Once again, the razor sharpness of the 60mm macro makes it almost too sharp for this kind of shot. The coin doesn’t appear to be anywhere near as scratched up as that in up close and personal viewing. The macro has caught every single blemish in it. Since it wasn't an exceptionally good image anyway, I whacked a rather harsh levels adjustment layer on it to make it "rougher" and see what would happen.

Last Year