This blog post was submitted by Olga NoitapitsnokovnaCrikey!!! There have been some famous Australians in the news lately. First, the ATO pursues "Crocodile Dundee" for back taxes, then the deceased "Crocodile Hunter's" Zoo, and now it is after Nicholas Paspaley of Paspaley Pearls for property back taxes amounting to 1.5 million on one of his luxury residences.
Paul Hogan's reaction was a defiant, "Come and get me you miserable bastards." What a brave guy! He's such a "character". Spoken like a true Aussie who is now living abroad in the US, and I take it, never intends to return to Australia.
But somehow, I can't picture Nicholas Paspaley saying something crude and impolite like that in public, at least not while he and his family are still living on- and-off at Ramona, his posh Sydney digs in question. Nope. He has instead, apperantly hired lawyers who specialize in litigation and is using the old and still popular, "trying very hard to confuse the taxman for 10 years or more" ploy. Hey, it works sometimes, for some people.
The part that has me scratching my head (it's a very nice head too), is that the Paspaleys paid 4.3 million in 1993 for a property that is now worth 8 million (and counting if you know anything about Sydney real estate prices) and the taxman is ONLY asking for a measly 1.5 million and ONLY for period between 1997-2007----SO WHAT'S THE BIG PROBLEM WITH PAYING THAT, dude?? Do the math! I mean, all you've had to do in the last ten years is to sit back poolside (there's always a pool) and drink all the martinis you've wanted (with maybe a little walk on the beach on the side (there's a beach at this one too)) and the taxes are paying themselves plus a nice profit is still being made to boot. You'd think that retaining a gaggle of spiffy (the only kind rich people hire and always more than one) lawyers for 10 years would have siphoned off more funds than the actual back taxes. Maybe that situation should be run by an accountant some time?
I don't know how Mr. Paspaley's tax woes are going to turn out. Maybe he will win his case. If not, I hope he's not going to be stubborn about it and stand on principle or something silly like that. He's not exactly prison material. I can't find any statistics about how rich and pampered Pearlmeisters fair in such environments. But I think he would agree with Conrad Black about how surprisingly uneducated the inmates are. If there is time, he might also have to modify his fencing lessons by learning how to wield a sharpened spoon instead of a sword or something. How bloody annoying. And where to find good martinis?
A very important and serious question this blog asks, though, is how does this reflect on Paspaley Pearls? And, is trying to save 1.5 million Australian property back taxes on a luxury residence that has appreciated a whooping 3.7 million in 14 years---and ultimately out of a total of the family net worth of $620 million, really a wise thing?
---Olga
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15 comments:
Ohhhhh, so that's what that hushed up court case is about. I'm a little disappointed, frankly. I thought it was for sure going to involve scantily clad women and banned substances! This only makes him look like all the other stereotypical rich cheapskate tax evaders we so often hear about in the news.
I really like that self defence video in one of the links! It's made me rethink how very effective the delivery of a swift kick to the groin can be, especially wearing Schoeffel snakeskin and pearl stilettos.
And Professor, am glad to see that I am not the only one that has that book in my library? That's one damn good book! You just never know, do you? It's always good to be prepared. I've had mine since high school. I'm assuming you(oh, alright, "Olga"), linked to it because of the chapter on how to make prison wine?
Try saying Noitapitsnokovna ten times fast.
How do you make that wine, Slraep?
Hiya Jeremy!
Nice meeting you here!
Good God, I tried saying that even once and I think I now have a permanent speech impediment because of it.
Getting tired of that boring Napa stuff, are you? The whites are just way too oaked.
Okay, here it is---but if you are going to use the plastic trash bag method, please use the biodegradable kind. I would suggest using the extra toilet in the basement. Almost everybody that doesn't live in a trailer has one of those, and this is an excellent way to get some use out of it.
"Prison hooch can be made in your cell toilet (as long as you don't mind using other people's toilets or finding some other solution), or more often, in plastic trash bags. The recipe is simple: make a strong bag by double or triple-bagging some plastic trash bags and knotting the bottoms. Into this, pour warm water, some fruit or fruit juice, raisins or tomatoes, yeast, and as much sugar as you can get ahold of (or powdered drink mix). Now tie off the top of the bag, letting a tube of some kind protrude so the thing won't explode while it gives off carbon dioxide. Now hide the bag somewhere and wait at least three days. A week is enough.
One of the problems you have right away with making wine in prison is the difficulty getting yeast. It's a strictly forbidden item and you might not be able to get any. In this case you can improvise the by using slices of bread, preferably moldy (but not dry) and preferably inside a sock for easier straining.
If you choose to brew your wine in your cell, you'll need to hide it behind your bunk and do what you can to hide the smell. Burning cinnamon as incense is one way. Spraying deodorant around is another. Normal wine takes at least a month if not six weeks to make at all properly -- but in hell, this is all you get."
Ouch! I think I'll stick to red wine, thank you!
Are you sure you don't even want to try it out once, Jeremy? You know, it might just be the thing to change your mind about Napa wine.
Maybe the Professor wants to try it out? I know for a fact he buys cheap socks from Walmart, so there would be no lack of straining material on his part, in case the first batch didn't work out..
Does anyone know where to get some good cinnamon incense? I only ask in case Nick Paspaley or anyone else in the same situation wants to get some beforehand. It doesn't sound like it would be easy to get if one were already in prison. I can just imagine the reaction a prison newbie would get from seasoned inmates when asking around for some. That reminds me of another chapter in the book---"Don't Drop The Soap". But don't ask me to post that.
hmmmm Jeremy...you're like a bad penny that just shows up everywhere on the internet. Stick to the Pearl-Guide where you can monitor your hand selected group of hen pecked fools.
Ah! Mr. Edward Mastoloni, I presume. Are you all rested and ready to do this again?
http://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/pearling-industry-news/2899-thread-cpaa-forum.html
Still sticking to that anonymous strategy, I take it. Good luck with that!
Jeremy
At least Jeremy has the...spine to post under his own name, anonymous.
It's so much easier to be brave from a safe distance, isn't it?
Mike
aka mikehrz on the Pearl-Guide,
one of those "hand selected hen pecked (sic) fools."
Isn't posting anonymously the twenty-first century equivalent of writing on bathroom walls?
Jeremy:
How naive and self absorbed are you to actually believe that only a few select people (I have no idea what the people at Mastaloni think) think your a complete idiot. tsk tsk!
Pear-Professor: Your rants are just too funny....keep it comming.
Hi again, Mr. Anonymous!
No, you are not the first to call me an idiot. My son infers as much every time I attempt to help him with his calculus homework.
But let's see what we have here!
Anonymous poster
Insults and name calling
Intentional misspellings
Lack of hyphen in compound expressions
Incorrect usage of an ellipsis
So how many does it take before it is no longer coincidental at best?
Have you heard this saying?
Once is chance, twice is coincidence, third time is a pattern.
Take it from me, Mr. Anonymous. Having a false identity online is wonderful while it lasts, but it never lasts forever.
"Once is chance, twice is coincidence, third time is a pattern", I like this saying!
The saying I like best though is the one about manure hitting a fan.
This is the kind of thing that happens when an anonymous poster's IP is fed to the hen pecked fools for instance...
Professor, here's a headline for you:
Hand-selected and hen-pecked fools at P-G catch old fart with his internet pants down at Mastoloni.
Alright already. No more comments here!
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