Fake Notes

[Fulvio]

Did anyone see this article this morning?

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/australias-100-notes-to-be-tracked-to-help-fight-organised-crime-and-cashforwork-economy/news-story/553e15422d936b84ba3044255e9f7e89

Paywall.

But googling it works.

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AUSTRALIA'S disappearing $100 notes, many hoarded under the beds of pensioners and stockpiled in China, would be tracked by a hi-tech nano-chip under a plan flagged by the man appointed to crack down on the black economy.

Tax guru and barrister Michael Andrew has outlined the controversial option, plus a proposal for an expiry date on the currency, to help fight organised crime and the cash-for-work economy.

In an exclusive interview with News Corp Australia, Mr Andrew, appointed by the Federal Government to the Black Economy Taskforce in December last year, revealed Chinese citizens were taking the Australian $100 note back to their homeland because they trusted Australian currency.

He also pointed the finger at Australian pensioners, saying too many were hiding money under their bed to escape the assets test.

Over the coming days, News Corp Australia will outline the challenges and some of the solutions to the estimated $40-50 billion cash economy, costing the Budget about $10 billion in revenue and $3 billion in welfare payments.

Mr Andrew, a former global head of KPMG and current Board of Taxation chairman, said there should be 14 $100 notes for every adult in Australia but there were fewer than that in circulation.

"You see a lot of Chinese don't trust their banking system so they like to take Australian dollars back to China,'' he said.

Crime gangs preferred $50 notes and foreign migrants the $100 note.

"I'm working with the Reserve Bank and Austrac to get a better understanding of where our notes are. Clearly there's a section of this that is organised crime. One of the options we would have is putting an expiry date on these notes. You could put a trace on some of these notes to see where they would go. You can use nano technology to put little chips in so you could then trace it."

He said there needed to be a cultural shift in Australia.

The community had to understand that hardworking Australians, who played by the rules, would be slapped with higher taxes to pay for the essential services the community expected if the problem was not addressed, he said.

That message is being directed at the young, Baby Boomers and pensioners.

"We're seeing $100 notes used by pensioners because there's an assets-based test at the moment and they like to keep a fair bit of cash under the bed."

Mr Andrew's final report is due in October.

[gnome]

Thanks, also. I haven't seen a hundred in years , remember they're green ish

[Hercules]

Did anyone see this article this morning?

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/australias-100-notes-to-be-tracked-to-help-fight-organised-crime-and-cashforwork-economy/news-story/553e15422d936b84ba3044255e9f7e89

Paywall.

But googling it works.

I can easily get around the paywall, but here's a slightly different version you can get for free:

http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/cash-crackdown-boss-floats-nanochips-in-notes/news-story/05db2212948c7d02e822532de63c170d

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THE man charged with cracking down on the "black economy" has revealed how he would like to keep track of your $100 and $50 notes.

Hi-tech nano-chips would be implanted in Australia's "disappearing" cash under a plan floated by Michael Andrew, the head of the federal government's Black Economy Taskforce.

Speaking to The Courier-Mail, Mr Andrew said too much cash was being hoarded under pensioners' beds and stockpiled as a trusted currency in China.

Estimates for the size of Australia's so-called black economy vary from $23 billion to $50 billion. The government claims tax avoidance through cash payments costs the budget up to $10 billion in revenue, money that could go towards funding welfare and other services.

In the May budget, the federal government announced an extra $32 million funding for the Australian Taxation Office to fund its cash crackdown, which it expects to bring in an extra $589 million in revenue over the next four years.

According to Mr Andrew, who will hand down his final report in October, there should be 14 $100 notes for every adult in Australia but there are fewer than that in circulation. While criminals prefer the $50 note, as the Reserve Bank pointed out in its defence of cash last year, foreign migrants and pensioners prefer $100s.

"You see a lot of Chinese don't trust their banking system so they like to take Australian dollars back to China," he told The Courier-Mail. "We're seeing $100 notes used by pensioners because there's an assets-based test at the moment and they like to keep a fair bit of cash under the bed.

"I'm working with the Reserve Bank and Austrac to get a better understanding of where our notes are. Clearly there's a section of this that is organised crime. One of the options we would have is putting an expiry date on these notes.

"You could put a trace on some of these notes to see where they would go. You can use nano technology to put little chips in so you could then trace it."

Last year, a report by UBS recommended Australia scrap the $100 note. According to UBS, benefits may include "reduced crime (difficult to monetise), increased tax revenue (fewer cash transactions) and reduced welfare fraud (claiming welfare while earning or hoarding cash)".

Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm at the time criticised the cash crackdown proposal, saying "the only people who are distressed by the cash economy are the government and the public servants who want to spend taxes".

"The incentives for a cash economy would be a lot reduced if taxes were a lot lower," he said in December. "It's a reaction to the level of taxes we pay."

Earlier this year, Revenue and Financial Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer defended the move, saying "we don't believe in a self-help approach to tax reform".

"We think it should apply and be fairly represented across everybody," she said. "There are always going to be people who try and avoid their tax, and [for] those in the cash economy it's much easier to avoid detection.

"This comes at a time where we're experiencing rapid technological change. A lot of people under 40 don't really carry that much cash around anymore, but even despite this we have seen an increase in the number of $100 notes in distribution.

"I don't know too many people who walk around with $100 notes, I certainly haven't sighted one in a long time, but the point is that there is clearly an issue that we need to grapple with."

Thanks, also. I haven't seen a hundred in years , remember they're green ish

That's perfectly fine by me, but I can't understand why people use that as an excuse to withdraw them. The banks only give out $100 notes upon request, so if people think the $100 note is unpopular, they really need to ask themselves why they're too lazy to walk into a bank and get one. If they'd rather go to an ATM, that doesn't change the situation, because the ATMs could easily be modified to dispense $100 notes.

[redlock]

I wonder how the ''advanced nano-tec'' would react if one puts such a note into a mico-wave oven

If Chinese are indeed hording Australian cash because they don't trust their banking system would be it a wise move to make Australian banknotes unattractive (nano chips for tracking; limited life-span) for people in China? What would happen to the Australian economy if the chinese suddenly get rid large amounts of Australian money? (I am not an economist, so I don't know whether that would be good or bad).

Tax evation is a problem in most countries. But getting rid of high denomination  banknotes will not solve the problem. People will find other ways -- especially criminal organisations.

[Hercules]

I really don't like the idea of tracing them with microchips and limiting their life span, because [a] it's an invasion of privacy, it devalues my banknote collection and [c] it limits my autonomy.

Firstly, I think it's none of their business how many banknotes I have in my collection, just like it's none of their business how many DVDs I have. Secondly, if someone hacks into the government's computer system and discovers how many banknotes I have, they could use that information to rob me. Thirdly, I use my banknote collection as an emergency backup system, so if I run out of money in my bank account and need money urgently, I can just spend some of my banknotes. That would not be possible if the banknotes had a limited lifespan, so it would leave me financially vulnerable, not just to the banks, but to any future dictator. Thus, I think it's a really dumb idea to track banknotes, unless it's a simple scanning of the serial numbers whenever they pass through the banks. :ok:

[Fulvio]

I really don't like the idea of tracing them with microchips and limiting their life span, because [a] it's an invasion of privacy, it devalues my banknote collection and [c] it limits my autonomy.

And you think they care about any of that?

Look at what they did in India and the UK, just for starters. This is going to become the norm rather than the exception, because its a great scam to simply declare that money isn't money anymore. It becomes 100% profit for the issuer, which just happens to be the same mob making the rules.

Of course what they fail to grasp is that we now have cryptocurrencies which they cannot control. And as soon as the general public cotton on, all the early adopters are going to become insanely rich overnight.

[Unicorn]

Does this little fella have crypto currency? :zomby: Or does it just mean that there is currency of the crypto? (It's getting late .... best I could do ....)

[Fulvio]

Coins from the Crypt.

[gabby]

Does this little fella have crypto currency? :zomby: Or does it just mean that there is currency of the crypto? (It's getting late .... best I could do ....)

You funny

[drakesterling]

I really don't like the idea of tracing them with microchips and limiting their life span, because [a] it's an invasion of privacy, it devalues my banknote collection and [c] it limits my autonomy.

And you think they care about any of that?

Look at what they did in India and the UK, just for starters. This is going to become the norm rather than the exception, because its a great scam to simply declare that money isn't money anymore. It becomes 100% profit for the issuer, which just happens to be the same mob making the rules.

Of course what they fail to grasp is that we now have cryptocurrencies which they cannot control. And as soon as the general public cotton on, all the early adopters are going to become insanely rich overnight.

There is an embarrassing video doing the rounds of George Brandis, Australia's top lawyer, explaining how the State would not track the "websites" we view, but would only keep a record of the "web addresses" we visited. I for one did not quite understand him, but I suppose he must know what he's talking about because he's a trusted Government official.

I'm waiting for the clocks to strike thirteen any moment now.

[Pedro]

George Brandis, Australia's top lawyer

:laughingneqw:

Pedro

[Hercules]

There is an embarrassing video doing the rounds of George Brandis, Australia's top lawyer, explaining how the State would not track the "websites" we view, but would only keep a record of the "web addresses" we visited. I for one did not quite understand him, but I suppose he must know what he's talking about because he's a trusted Government official.

I think what they're recording is the web domains, but not the individual pages we browse within those domains. Thus, if we go to the Australian website, they'll know that we've been there, but they won't know which articles we read. Mind you, it wouldn't be hard for them to get the Australian to hand over that data if they still have it. :ok:

[Fulvio]

George Brandis, Australia's top lawyer

Good old Curious George. Did you see the campaign to forward him every email and web page people had? If he's that nosey, he'd probably enjoy the flood of emails filling up his mailbox.

Seriously though, the malicious intent of those in power cannot be underestimated. Regardless of how much bullshit they spout about what they plan on doing, the fact is that data, once linked, cannot be unlinked. And then its only a matter of time before some bureaucrat decides to apply data matches in ways unintended originally.

Look no further than the privacy legislation bullshit. The intent was to protect us from unwanted intrusions. But the reality is that it really serves to protect corporations and governments from being questioned. And its actually increased rather than diminished the surveillance.

I tellya, a cave in the blue mountains is looking better by the day... :dodgy:

[JeffH]

I tellya, a cave in the blue mountains is looking better by the day...

New Zealand sounds like an attractive alternative to me.

[Hercules]

I tellya, a cave in the blue mountains is looking better by the day...

New Zealand sounds like an attractive alternative to me.

As long as there aren't any other hezards.