Dick Smith offers defence story bounty, page

Dick Smith offers defence story bounty

news.smh.com.au

Cashed-up entrepreneur Dick Smith has offered $50,000 from his own pocket for the journalist who writes the best investigative story of a costly defence procurement blunder.

Mr Smith is so incensed about the failed $1 billion Seasprite helicopter deal he has launched a personal crusade to find out more.

The Seasprite contract was signed in 1997 and was supposed to deliver 11 helicopters, to operate from navy frigates.

(visit the link for the full news article)


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[edit on 23/6/2008 by Mirthful Me]

I thoink its great that someone is taking the government to task over this and I think it also represents the abismal failure of journbalists and the mainstream media to even do their jobs correctly. When you get to a point where you have to offer $50 000 to someone to actually find out whats going on because no journos will means we are seeing the death of journalism.

news.smh.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

Originally posted by primamateria
If anyone has any information about this, links or even possible contacts or ideas on where to get some insider info please post here as I wouldn't mind having a shot at writing this story.

Here is one from this morning....
Talk about putting your money where your mouth is

www.abc.net.au...

Dick Smith threatens ATO with tax downgrade

Posted Sat Jun 21, 2008 10:00am AEST

Famed philanthropist Dick Smith has written to the tax commissioner threatening to minimise his tax.

The letter was in response to a notice from the Australian Tax Office which said his taxes were likely to come under greater scrutiny.

Mr Smith says he made the threat because he is angry the Federal Government lost billions of dollars in taxpayer funds when the Super SeaSprite helicopter project fell over.

"I'm basically stirring them up down there and saying if you're going to lose a billion dollars of our money, which could have paid for a brand new Royal North Shore Hospital, tell us what errors were made so they're not going to be made again," he said.


And this



www.news.com.au...



Dick Smith says he'll 'do a Kerry' on tax
Article from: The Australian

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By Dennis Shanahan

June 21, 2008 01:58am

* Tax office tells Dick Smith he'll be scrutinised
* Famous philanthropist is furious
* He threatens to become a legal tax minimiser

DICK Smith, who every year gives $1 million to charity and pays more than $1 million in tax, has threatened to "do a Kerry Packer" and become a massive tax minimiser.

The famed philanthropist, aerial adventurer and face of a thousand Dick Smith brands has told the Australian Tax Office he is considering becoming the "greatest legal tax minimiser in the history of Australia".

An angry Mr Smith has protested directly in a letter to tax commissioner Michael D'Ascenzo about a billion-dollar bureaucratic bungle, after receiving advice from the tax office that he would be subjected to closer scrutiny, The Australian reports.

Mr D'Ascenzo sent a letter and brochure to Mr Smith, as someone who "effectively controls $30 million or more in net wealth", about the ATO building "an open and co-operative working relationship" with him and his tax advisers.

The letter said that "given your position of influence in the community, it is important that you don't take unacceptable risks when it comes to tax". It also warned that, as part of a long-term crackdown on wealthy Australians, "our scrutiny of your tax affairs and the assistance we can provide may greatly increase".

The commissioner's letter, headed "Wealthy and wise - A tax guide for Australia's wealthiest people", and the brochure called "Wealthy Australians and tax compliance", prompted the threat from Mr Smith to change his attitude to paying tax.

"In the past, I have been proud to pay a lot of tax - even if more than that required by law - because I have received great satisfaction from knowing that I'm paying for some of the great things we have in Australia," Mr Smith said in a letter to Mr D'Ascenzo. "That view has now changed."

Mr Smith cited the words in 1991 of the late Packer, once Australia's richest man, that "if anybody in this country doesn't minimise their tax, they want their heads read".

Read more on this story at The Australian



Here is that story......

www.theaustralian.news.com.au...



I'll do a Kerry Packer on tax: Dick Smith

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Dennis Shanahan, Political editor | June 21, 2008

DICK Smith, who every year gives $1 million to charity and pays more than $1 million in tax, has threatened to "do a Kerry Packer" and become a massive tax minimiser.

The famed philanthropist, aerial adventurer and face of a thousand Dick Smith brands has told the Australian Tax Office he is considering becoming the "greatest legal tax minimiser in the history of Australia".

An angry Mr Smith has protested directly in a letter to tax commissioner Michael D'Ascenzo about a billion-dollar bureaucratic bungle, after receiving advice from the tax office that he would be subjected to closer scrutiny.

Mr D'Ascenzo sent a letter and brochure to Mr Smith, as someone who "effectively controls $30 million or more in net wealth", about the ATO building "an open and co-operative working relationship" with him and his tax advisers. The letter said that "given your position of influence in the community, it is important that you don't take unacceptable risks when it comes to tax". It also warned that, as part of a long-term crackdown on wealthy Australians, "our scrutiny of your tax affairs and the assistance we can provide may greatly increase".

The commissioner's letter, headed "Wealthy and wise - A tax guide for Australia's wealthiest people", and the brochure called "Wealthy Australians and tax compliance", prompted the threat from Mr Smith to change his attitude to paying tax.

"In the past, I have been proud to pay a lot of tax - even if more than that required by law - because I have received great satisfaction from knowing that I'm paying for some of the great things we have in Australia," Mr Smith said in a letter to Mr D'Ascenzo. "That view has now changed."

Mr Smith cited the words in 1991 of the late Packer, once Australia's richest man, that "if anybody in this country doesn't minimise their tax, they want their heads read".

Mr Packer, who was accused of paying no personal tax, said the Government wasn't "spending it so well that we should be donating extra".

Mr Smith said in his letter: "I didn't agree with this statement at the time, but I certainly do now."

Mr Smith yesterday told The Weekend Australian he and his wife had donated $1 million a year to charity and "I still pay more than $1 million a year in tax".

"I'm not in the rich list, but I am well off and have never complained about paying tax," he said.

The Sydney businessman said he changed his attitude because $1 billion of taxpayers' money was lost in the failed Super Seasprite helicopters project.

"Michael, do you understand that $1 billion could have given us a completely new Royal North Shore Hospital (in Sydney)?" Mr Smith asked the commissioner in his letter.

"I

[edit on 22/6/2008 by mungodave]

Continued as i run outta space......



Mr Smith said in his letter: "I didn't agree with this statement at the time, but I certainly do now."

Mr Smith yesterday told The Weekend Australian he and his wife had donated $1 million a year to charity and "I still pay more than $1 million a year in tax".

"I'm not in the rich list, but I am well off and have never complained about paying tax," he said.

The Sydney businessman said he changed his attitude because $1 billion of taxpayers' money was lost in the failed Super Seasprite helicopters project.

"Michael, do you understand that $1 billion could have given us a completely new Royal North Shore Hospital (in Sydney)?" Mr Smith asked the commissioner in his letter.

"It could increase pensions to people who are suffering at the moment and be put to better use in thousands of ways.

"Why shouldn't I minimise my tax in every way I can see when I see the waste that is taking place from decisions made by your fellow bureaucrats in Canberra?

"At the present time, I don't have any offshore funds or trusts. I don't even have a foundation for making my donations - even though I have been continuously told that it would be more tax-effective to do so."

Mr Smith said his tax advisers were the "most conservative that you could ever get" because he told them he would hold them accountable for any advice they give him that resulted in legal action from the ATO.

"This results in advice being so conservative that no doubt there are times I pay more tax than I should," Mr Smith told the commissioner.

"In the past, I was happy to do this, but not any more. I can tell you I am considering becoming the greatest legal tax minimiser in the history of Australia."

Mr D'Ascenzo did not comment when contacted by The Weekend Australian yesterday.

In 2000, after then Labor MP Mark Latham accused Mr Packer of offensively losing $34million in Las Vegas casinos while not paying his share of tax, the owner of the Nine Network struck back.

Mr Packer told The Australian in 2000 that his companies in the previous 10 years had paid more than $2 billion in government fees, charges and taxes.

"Over the last 10 years, in government charges, whether they be licence fees, income tax, payroll tax, levies on spectrum, we have paid as a corporation in excess of $2 billion," he said.

As for his personal income tax, Mr Packer said he had always paid "what I am told to pay" by his accountants.

"I pay a lot more tax than they give me credit for," he said. "There are no tax schemes involved in my tax, and I pay tax. Whatever the accountants tell me that I've got to pay, I pay it.

"My motto basically is: never complain, never explain. But this has now become so absurd that I have to answer it myself."



www.theaustralian.news.com.au...

Mungo

reply to post by nexusmagazine

---

Sorry but they will ot go to jail as there is something in the system where you can reveal your source about the defence and not get jailed but you will have a bad rep for the rest of your life and find it hard to get a job anywhere.

As for a billion dollars missing maybe a bit more research in defence projects will show you that they didn't lose any money at all as they put in place a clause on all military contracts saying the winning tender will pay a fine per day that the company doesn't deliever the items to them.

The media has already spoken about this.

Mr Smith said the winning journalistic piece would be judged on content and accuracy, and would have to be factual and fair.Businessman Dick Smith has threatened to become Australia's greatest tax minimiser if the government is not held to account over the failed Super SeaSprite helicopter project.But major technical difficulties and safety concerns led to years of delays. The contract was finally cancelled this year without the helicopters being delivered.
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Gillberk

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