Tax Evasion - What would you do?

Week 7 – Oral Presentation by Rae Horton

The basic speech structure demonstrates the old proverb for speakers:

Tell them what you are going to say, say it and tell them again what you have just said (Adler and Rodman 2003, p.349).

Think of an oral presentation being similar to an essay as having an introduction, a body or main section and a conclusion or closing. 

In your introduction you may wish to use visuals or other aids as a way of getting your audience’s attention.  According to Costigan (2014, p.3) the introduction should ‘create interest and grab the audience’s attention’ whilst establishing credibility and introducing your thesis.

Eunson (2012, p.353) suggests making only ‘three to five points in the body’ of your presentation.  The conclusion summarises where you would recapitulate material from the introduction and body.  You may also consider using something dramatic at the finish to leave your audience with something to think about.

Oral Presentation
Visual Aid:  Power Point presentation

Transcript of Oral Presentation  

Audience:  The following presentation is to an audience of accounting students who are about to graduate and go out into the workforce.  The topic being discussed is tax evasion and the question being asked is “What Would You Do?”

The consequences of tax evasion are serious including large fines, prosecution, jail terms, loss of business reputation and serious family stress.  According to the Australian Taxation Office, since 2006 fines totalling more than $14.45 million have been imposed, and reparation orders of $56.77 million were obtained for serious fraud (Australian Government 2014).

A recent report by the Tax Justice Network Australia, which is an international group focused on investigating tax avoidance, states that almost a third of companies listed on the ASX 200 pay only 10 per cent or less corporate tax (Morgan 2014).  It is estimated that the Australian Government is missing out on $8 billion per year in annual revenues (Tax Justice Network Australia 2014).  The corporate tax rate is 30 per cent, yet James Hardie and Westfield Retail Trust pay zero tax and further, Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox pays only 1 per cent tax.  

The following scenario demonstrates the difference one poorly considered decision can make.  Roger has just graduated from university and is about to start a new job as a Graduate Accountant for an accounting firm in the city.  He soon becomes aware of a series of arrangements his boss is setting up for his clients which are centred on schemes originating in the Bahamas (Australian Government 2014).

The Bahamas is a known tax haven and that means clients are getting away with paying either very little tax or no tax at all.  In fact, the Tax Justice Network Australia (2014) reported that ‘last financial year a massive $47 billion flowed from Australia to secrecy jurisdictions.’

At this point Roger has a decision to make.  Does he speak up – or say nothing?  

What would you do? 

To conclude, tax crime results in serious consequences.  Sentences have become more severe as the courts and community recognise the seriousness of tax crime.  More importantly, in some cases sentences for Tax Agents have doubled in recent years (Australian Government 2014).

References:

Adler, RB & Rodman, G 2003, Understanding human communication, 8th edn, Oxford University Press, New York

Australian Government n.d. ‘Tax matters – what would you do?’, viewed 2 December 2014, www.taxmatters.gov.au/whatwouldyoudo
‘Prosecutions and penalties to date,’  viewed 2 December 2014, www.taxmatters.gov.au/ourprosecutionrecord

Costigan, L 2014, ‘ Lesson 7 – Oral presentations.’  CQUniversity Australia

Eunson, B 2012, C21 Communicating in the 21st century,  3rd edn, John wiley & Sons Australia Ltd., Milton

Morgan, E 2014, ‘One third of top Australian companies pay less than 10pc tax: the Australian government is missing out on $8b per year,’ ABC news, viewed 2 December 2014, www.abc.net.au/news/

   

The Importance of Nonverbal Communication

Week 8 - Nonverbal communication: understanding yourself and others

Much research has shown that nonverbal communication can convey a stronger message.   Nonverbal communication such as our facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture, and tone of voice is that which speak the loudest.  For me personally, nonverbal communication can be intentional such as smiling when receiving a compliment or unintentional such as blushing when receiving a compliment.

When we interact with others we are constantly giving and receiving nonverbal signals.   We are sending strong messages out to others through all of our nonverbal behaviours.  How loud or softly we speak, the way we sit, how close we stand to others, our facial and body gestures, the intensity and the amount of eye contact we make, are all communicating strong messages, whether they be positive or negative.  Further, often a person may say one thing and the nonverbal signals are saying something completely the opposite.

Many nonverbal behaviours are universal and certain expressions have the same meaning around the globe such as a smile or laughter being a signal of positive emotions (Adler & Rodman 2003, p.157).  However Eunson (2005, p.235) does not agree with this and states that smiling or laughing can signify tension or unhappiness in some cultures given the situation.  I can identify with this as I remember when my sister and I were 11 and 10 years old, after returning home from netball my mother told us that our grandmother had just passed away.  I stood frozen and my sister let out a giggle.  I remember at the time thinking, how can anyone laugh over the death of someone.  It was only until I was older that I realised that this was the way in which she could cope with the sad news.

The meaning of certain gestures varies amongst cultures.  For example, in Australia it is shown as being a positive if we show our thumb upward (or two thumbs up) to somebody because it means “great” or “like” on Facebook etcetera.  But in other cultures it can be seen as a rude insult.

Eye contact in most cultures is considered to be a very important type of nonverbal communication and in fact we are taught to “look people in the eye.”  You can communicate many things to someone by the way you look at them such as interest, honesty and affection.  However, in cultures such as Asian, Middle Eastern and Native American, eye contact is considered to be quite disrespectful or rude (Vermont Department of Health, n.d.).

Touch and space are also ways in which we communicate and some forms of greetings could be an indicator about our attitudes towards personal space. For example in Japan it is usual to bend towards each other, which is without body contact and in Australia it is usual to give a handshake.  While in the Netherlands it is usual to give kisses (three) on the cheeks, a rather close way of greeting that could make people feel quite uncomfortable.

Kossen, Kiernan and Lawrence (2013, p.256) state ‘nonverbal communication can be an unreliable form of communication’ due to it being interpreted differently by different observers.  However, as Eunson (2005, p.232) suggests, ‘nonverbal communication can be a very powerful tool in understanding ourselves and others.’   

To conclude, people can interpret nonverbal communication differently and while some signals may be easier to decode than others there are still differences in people’s personalities and culture.  Being aware of the nonverbal cues and signals that we send and receive should improve our ability to communicate more effectively.

Finally, we can also see the funny side of our nonverbal cues:  Click the link below to view the importance of nonverbal cues as told by “Friends”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvEci5Bjgd4

References:

Adler, RB & Rodman, G 2003, Understanding human communication, 8^th edn, Oxford University Press, New York

Eunson, B 2005, Communicating in the 21^st century, 1^st edn, John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Milton

Klawans, K 2013, ‘The importance of nonverbal cues as told by “Friends”’, viewed 17 December 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvEci5Bjgd4

Kossen, C & Kiernan, EF & Lawrence, JE 2013, Communicating for success, Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest.

Vermont Department of Health n.d. ‘Cultural Differences in non-verbal communication’, viewed 17 December 2014, http://healthvermont.gov/family/toolkit/