The Taxing Wealth Report 2024 production process is coming to a close. Work on it has dominated my time over the last eight months. Writing 130,000 words has that consequence. There is still some final production work to do that is not going to happen overnight, but it is also time to think about what happens next.
Some things are known. I have two chapters of the Accounting Streams textbook to write by the end of June. That multi-university project to create a new form of text book fir accounting is going to happen. I am also in the editorial team for the rest of the twenty chapter book.
Work on sustainable cost accounting research is continuing, albeit in a quiet academic way right now.
And this week, with my colleague Andrew Baker at Sheffield I won a grant for the third-party costs of producing more than twenty training videos on tax transparency in which I will be the main talking head. These will be for use by the International Budget Project in its training programmes with tax authorities, mainly in the Global South, but I do hope they might get issued for wider use as well. Thankfully, much of the background work on this series was done as part of the bid process.
Another big potential grant bid on accounting and transparency related issues is also being discussed.
And then there is follow up on the Taxing Wealth Report, which will need dissemination.
Amidst all that, I also have an urge to write a new book. The Joy of Tax has done well, but something new is needed now. It would be great to produce something that summarises all the thinking that has appeared on this blog in the last year or two. A publisher is required. So too is a title. Suggestions are welcome, with a note of thanks in the book on offer if yours is chosen.
But immediately? Well, in the absolute immediate future I need some thinking time to get my head around that lot. The transition out of a big project always require that. Over the next few days that is what I might be doing.
Some of that might also require time looking through binoculars. There is nothing like a good walk plus a river, lake or seashore to scan, to help sort out priorities and to do some active planning. One clears the head for the other.
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Enjoy your wind down period, you certainly deserve it. I’m constantly amazed at the sheer amount of high quality work you produce, you make me feel decidedly lazy!
With regards to a title for your book, MMT: Musings on Money and Taxation. You can see why I’m a chef and not a writer!
🙂
I recommend some time doing something else. The mind has an unconscious process which goes on when we stop actively thinking. Sometimes a solution emerges seemingly out of nowhere. We can call it intuition or inspiration or whatever, but it is real. It can usually be trusted to be the right answer from my own experience and working with others.
Thanks
Zen and the art of tax?
It will be about more than tax…
If I had the wherewithall, I would consider the creation of an independent organisation/thinktank that counters the Tufton Street “thinktanks”, and provides independent advice to government, broadcast media, and the public.
Organisations have far more clout than individuals. We regularly see on TV, many representatives of said “thinktanks”, many batting above their weight.
You could help with this by sending money to Common Weal, an independent Sottish think tank which does exactly that. https://commonweal.scot/
‘Common Weal is wholly funded by individual supporters giving regular or one-off donations and from small profits from our merchandise sales.’
Slogan ‘All of us first’
I am a big fan of Commonweal
The Money Tree is not Magic.
The Money Tree or the Monkey Tree: how to fund our needs.
Debunking Fiscal Rules.
Thanks
How about ‘Paying for It’?
Answering the question of how to pay for the services and planet-saving we need, as well as showing how we are ‘paying for it’ due to ignorance of how to pay for it.
On a long list
This: https://consciousnessofsheep.co.uk/2024/03/07/ending-the-social-contract/
sounds prescient to me.
“Funding the Future” seems the obvious choice as a title to cover all the topics and may encourage more people to link it back to your excellent blog.
I had not thought of that…..
“Funding a prosperous future”
“Funding a fairer future”
“Funding the future. Fairly”
“Funding a prosperous future. Fairly.”
Thanks
☑️ Funding the future: with a social conscience
☑️ Funding the future: for people, not politicians
☑️ Funding the future: for the many, not the few
☑️ Funding the future: from birth to retirement
This is gaining momentum
The Joy of Tax 2: This Time It’s About Money
or …: This Time It’s Environmental
or … (these could also be chapter headings): This Time It’s Redistributive
or … (not sure what this means here, but it could be made to mean something): This Time It’s Personal
etc
You can probably tell that I don’t work in marketing.
I don’t think I could revisit the title …..
Why not title your book: ‘Funding our Future’ and then add something along the lines, ‘how we can afford a just and sustainable transition’ or something similar.
This is clearly moving into the lead.
I had not thought of it
Funding the Future – for generations to come.
Neat
On a possible title for a new book, may II suggest “Funding our Collective Wellbeing”. On what to focus on beyond training your binoculars on the beauty of birds… After you have taken a well deserved break, I would really appreciate your professional assessment of the economic viability of the proposals I sent you a copy of: ‘Collaborative Circular Migration’. While I know migration is not your area of expertise, I would really respect your opinion on the possible financial viability of these concepts.
Kim
Send them again sometime later next week
Richard
Or on further reflection:-
“We Were ‘Promised’ Money But Got Austerity And A Housing Bubble”
True….