iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

New working paper: the Norwegian wealth tax was a huge success. The "exodus" of wealthy people never happened (less than 100 individuals left). Tax revenue increased by 71.5%. No changes in business activity or investment. www.nber.org/papers/w35854

Taxing Entrepreneurial Wealth: Evidence from
Norway, 2021-2025
Marius A. K. Ring
WORKING PAPER 35854|
DOl 10.3386/w35854
ISSUE DATE October 2026
Whether imposing higher taxes on business owners adversely affects business activity by constraining investment and inducing capitalist flight is a central question in the ongoing debate on how to tax the ultra wealthy. To shed new light, I exploit a series of related Norwegian reforms during 2021-2024 that increased dividend tax rates, removed migration-related capital gains tax loopholes, and nearly doubled the effective marginal tax rate on business wealth. These reforms spurred international debate and, allegedly, an "exodus" of Norwegian billionaires (Financial Times,
2023). While I document clear effects on migration, these responses are concentrated among the top 0.1% of the wealth distribution and mostly confined to 2022 and 2023. My results indicate that at most 100 individuals left due to the reforms. I find no evidence of significant outmigration or reduced inflows of startup founders or inventors. I estimate that absent any outmigration, wealth tax revenues would have increased by 75% from 2021 to 2024. Reform-driven outmigration lowers the revenue gain to 71.5%. My findings further show that outmigrating owners' firms remain economically active and do not reduce investment. In a broader set of analyses, I examine whether business outcomes are affected, regardless of whether owners outmigrate, since firms may reduce investment both due to liquidity constraints or distortions to owners' savings decisions. I compare firms owned by Norwegian individuals subject to the wealth tax with firms owned by foreigners and other tax-exempt entities. By merging historical ownership data from Orbis with the Norwegian shareholder register, I perform these analyses on both Norwegian and foreign-domiciled firms.
Across settings, I find no evidence that Norwegian-owned firms pay out more dividends or invest less after the reforms,…

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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 19/09/2026

Some people appear to believe the implication of this post is "Rishi Sunak is good" or "Rishi Sunak was a good PM". It is very much the opposite: that's what makes it embarrassing.

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Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I really hate the framing of these stories as "an AI agent broke out and hacked something." No, an inadequate sandbox meant that a powerful and unpredictable computer program was set loose on the open internet by the company that designed it. The agency isn't with the "AI agent", it's with the firm

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Fred is Done. How could we have the audacity to tax his extraordinary gambling wealth just because he wants to live and run a business here? He's going to close his shops people! Nothing to do with moving gambling completely online of course. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

giftarticle.ft.com

UK’s top taxpayer says he would ‘not wish to be reborn’ in Britain

Betfred founder Fred Done threatens 500 shop closures over tax rises that have left him fearful for the UK’s prospects

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Gareth Dennis @garethdennis.uk · 18/09/2026

The DfT just posted this self-congratulatory propaganda on Facebook. This is horseshit. Battery trains have a very minor role to play as a transition technology, but in the foothills of a seismic energy crisis, swapping one form of energy dependency for another is crap politics and worse planning.

a big photographic poster style picture with the text "Electric or battery electric trains? Battery is better. Here's why."

Electric trains are powered by overhead lines or a third rail. Compared to diesel, electric trains are:
1. faster - they accelerate and decelerate quicker
2. quieter - there are no motors, reducing vibrations
3. lighter - increasing capacity, reducing stress on rails
4. emission free - helping us reduce our reliance on diesel

Battery-electric trains use the
Overhead lines or a third rail to also charge a battery. They:
Use existing power lines - reducing the need for new infrastructure and allowing investment elsewhere
Avoid complex upgrades - like building new infrastructure on uneven land, which is costly and takes longer
Avoid disruptions to services - caused by infrastructure upgrades & repairs

Battery-electric trains can be charged at train stations and on electrified lines.
Trains then run on non-electrified portions of the network.
This technology can help spread the benefits of electric trains to more communities, much sooner.

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Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

How is this news? billionaire oil person says uk needs to drill more and tax less, though, of course, he‘s actually in Monaco. And he would do more in the uk if the state subsidised him more. Dear BBC, that‘s like me saying the uk‘s problem is underpaid law profs. www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.com

Billionaire Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he has lost confidence in UK

Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe tells the BBC he thinks the country is "on the slide" and calls for more investment in the North Sea.

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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Everyone still using X is using a website that produces and distributes CSAM. It is disgusting and immoral and nobody has any excuse for not being fully aware at this point.

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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

NEW Why holding a placard is a terrorist act, while causing disruption in a balaclava is not The mess caused by ministers and the police not taking terrorism law seriously By me at @prospectmagazine.co.uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

Recent events in England now reveal the practical difference between terrorists and protesters. It would seem that terrorists peacefully hold placards and get immediately arrested, while protesters wear black uniforms and balaclavas and disrupt infrastructure and do not get arrested.

How did we get into this mess? How have we placed ourselves in the position where terrorism legislation is used to detain and prosecute peaceful protesters, while those adopting the terror tactics of private armies seem to be free to do as they wish?

The reason is that for some time British politicians have not taken terrorism legislation seriously, and that ministers have got into the habit of misusing terror laws for easy targets.

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Marina Purkiss @marina-purkiss.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

HORRIFIED Judge rules that privately owning AI-generated child sexual abuse material is protected by the 1st Amendment WTF 1) This normalises child sexual abuse 2) This feeds the depravity - where do you think that leads? 3) WHAT do they think these AI models are trained on?

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William Dalrymple @willdalrymple.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

An essay I've just written for @nytimes on why Big Tech is the 21st Century’s equivalent of the East India Company: "What It Would Take to Dismantle the Most Powerful Companies in the World" www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | What It Would Take to Dismantle the Most Powerful Companies in the World

A playbook to curb the growing power of Big Tech.

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Alex Selby-Boothroyd @alexselbyb.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

This is getting out of hand

Tube map but with America Water instead of Canada Water. Hilariously.

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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Large part of UK’s water network was installed 130 to 150 years ago. Thames Water infrastructure has average age of 79 years; industry average 56 yrs. 40% of TW assets are over 100 years old. Its IT systems date back to the 1980s. Since privatisation, water companies paid £88.4bn in dividends.

leftfootforward.org

The case for nationalisation of water companies

England’s privatised water companies are leaders of predatory practices. In 1989, the industry was privatised for £7.6bn and had no debts. It joined Chile and a few US states&...

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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

A large part of rightwing discourse consists of denying other people's suffering.

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Alom Shaha @alomshaha.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Other parents live vicariously through their children by pushing them to become good at sports or music or whatever. I am doing the same by encouraging my children to stay up late watching TV all summer.

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[No//Thrones] @krakoan-lorax.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Diarrhea in the lettuce, glass in the popsicles, E. Coli in the berries, screw worms in the beef, salmonella in the chicken & eggs, listeria in everything else. Man I love deregulation. Libertarianism is such a great philosophy.

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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 19/08/2026

This stopped me in my tracks. An independent study by @qmul.bsky.social has found that after ULEZ was introduced, children’s lungs grew faster in Central London and have now caught up with children outside of the capital. Incredible.

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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Robin Williams warned the US about Donald Trump and his links to Miss America Pageants and underage girls in 2012. Really should have listened.

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Steve Chambers @planningtransport.co.uk · 18/08/2026

Tail wagging the dog on station densities. It isn't planning if houses are tied to service frequencies. It would be planning if you uplifted the service frequency to serve the new houses. Unserious country. simonicity.com/2026/08/17/m...

simonicity.com

Mark-Up Of Final Version of NPPF vs Draft

Here’s one we prepared earlier: . By “we” I mean my colleague Archie Hunter, for which thanks (although any errors are mine – please do just use this as an indicative guide). It’s interesting to se…

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I don't know who needs to hear this, but an economy controlled by a handful of oligarchs isn't a "free market."

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Boo-tros Boo-tros Ghoulish @dlbowman76.com · 08/08/2026

It is sobering to contemplate that in fewer than five years, the directives of about half a dozen very wealthy men have effectively ruined the most effective research tools ever devised by human civilization.

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Jj92 @3627003.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

This aged well.

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Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, "Is it normal that you as the BBC have done as many report as you have done, on an academic? Is that normal?" BBC Newsnight, "That's a reasonable question to ask" - then doesn't answer 🤷‍♂️

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 14/08/2026

This is the coverage of Arday **just in the Telegraph** in the UK. This is only the first four pages of results, just in one outlet.

Ä14
Jason Arday found dead
2 hours ago — Mr Arday was found •unresponsive• at an address in Battersea. south London. on Froy
afternoon. He was uter pronounced dead at the scene. A Read rnore
Jason Arday says he was an illiterate, mute child. His .
6 hours ago — Jason Arday says he was an i&erate. mute child. Cambridge's youngest-ever black
professor in 2023. Arday attended from the age of four to 11
r— mm-WI 3
A PhD is no longer a sign of brilliance — take it from Dr Arday
1 day aeo — Juon Arday resigns from the Unwersity of Cambrdge after The Telegraph reports he had
falseb• claimed to have pubåshed a book
We are all Jason Arday now
S days ago — Jason Arday resons from the University of Cambridge after The Telegraph reports he had
falsew cGimed to have published a book Aug 7.2028. Read more
Cambridge professor claimed he was on Seven Up..
2 Aug 2026 — He was not bom until 1985. Prof Arday is at the centre of a row about academk
plagiarism after The Tekgragh that he had been accused
The Jason Arday 'memoir' that now appears to be more .
7 days ago — Instead of tales of triumph over adversity. the now-fomer Cambridge professors
autob"qraphy is a case study in self-rnythobgising,
Arday failed to mention 'months-long coma' in autobiography
8 days ago — Jason Arday toz publishers he was k•ft a three-month coma fohwhg a car gash. but
never wrote about the ordeal his memoirs_
Jason Arday is living proof that you reap what you sow
6 Aug 2028 — The Cambridge professor feed plagiarism alegations and made fantastical clä'ns about
his life. so what did he expect woUz happen? Read rmre
ÄIO
Arday 'accused student of Miite privilege' after she
4 days ago — Forrner Cambrdge professor alleged* htplied that Roehamptm student was racist after
cornplaint about essay SOOre.
Jason Arday is rnerely a symptom of the Leffs corruption
Aug 2026 — Lab-curs on school standards is on the same toxic assumptions that created his
academic career.
Cambridge hired Arday after 'listening to black stu…

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Slim Jim @slimjim002.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

The Guardian has posted 23 articles on Jason Arday in just 14 days! I think you should be forced to hold an independent internal investigation into your conduct. You have clearly influenced what has happened here.

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clive henry @clivehenry.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

seeing lots of: ‘the press should have known better…’ but most of ‘the press’ don’t give a shit, they just want clicks, and now, hurrah, they can write even more words about what a terrible tragedy it all is. and then the death will be blamed on the grand scourge of our age, ‘woke’

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Twlldun @twlldun.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

The only real conclusion I would draw is maybe we should all think a bit more about how our culture uses the phone screen to separate us from the idea there are people on the other side. This is not a new observation. This is not something I’ve been particularly good at myself, either.

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Justin Zimmerman @jztidecat.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

The far right media harassment campaign against Black professors finally led to someone’s death. That’s on the university for sensationalizing what should have been a private investigation and everyone else that contributed including many academics that actively played into their hands.

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Nadine Batchelor-Hunt @nadinebh.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

No, that is not the alternative The alternative was treating like a normal news story, and not a trial by media - one that was so clearly turbocharged by Arday’s ethnic and social background and the growing resentment in the establishment in the UK of having more black people in high places

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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 14/08/2026

Cambridge University should have known better, Fleet Street should have known better, the people hungrily absorbing every bit of news about it, making newsrooms feel like they had to keep going with it as a story, should have known better, horrible horrible horrible

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Michael Legel @mjlegel.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Math is not about someone who is naturally "talented". Math is a skill that can be learned to a reasonable degree. Same for physics and other science subjects. It’s hard to learn anything when everybody is saying it is too difficult.

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Supertanskiii @supertanskiiii.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Jadon Arday found dead. I hope all those racist bastards are happy with themselves for driving a young black man to his death. You essentially achieved an indirect lynching. God, I fucking hate what this country is becoming. news.sky.com/story/jason-...

news.sky.com

Jason Arday, former Cambridge university professor, found dead after resigning following plagiarism row

A former University of Cambridge professor who resigned following accusations of plagiarism has been found dead.

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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 14/08/2026

The coolest technology in a heatwave? Trees. Every tree planted today helps create a cooler, greener and healthier London tomorrow. We've already planted more than 640,000 trees since 2016, and we're continuing to grow and protect our urban forest to help London adapt to hotter summers.

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Dan Davies @dsquareddigest.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

tbh "don't have a barbecue there's a good lad" is actually a pretty good message to be sending out to everyone on Friday night before the hottest driest weekend of the August holidays. If we were Australia or something we would be used to this but we're not; this is adaptation

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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

They should do that government warning thing when the Wordle is really hard and offer a first letter or something.

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Karim Palant @karimpalant.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

He’s only been PM three weeks and he’s sliding into everyone’s DMs

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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Afternoon. [Note the date]

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fesshole 🧻 @fesshole.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

I've only ever owned 1 suit, which I bought 19 yrs ago. Wife is buying me a new one. Asked her if she could buy 1 without the fake jacket pockets. She asked what I meant. Showed her the pockets didn't open. She pulled out the thread & opened them. 19 years man, what an idiot.

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Martin Heneghan @martinheneghan.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

He’s been prime minister for five minutes and he’s already playing with the emergency alert.

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Gareth Dennis @garethdennis.uk · 14/08/2026

Whilst there's no firm evidence to connect the Lewes and Wickford derailments, there are a lot of circumstantial factors that mean it wouldn't be unlikely for there to be a common cause. Do please pay close attention to that wording, though.

an aerial view of derailed and overturned vehicles on a set of tracks

a view down the tracks towards a derailed train, there is very little ballast built up as a shoulder on both tracks

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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

The euphemism for Great Depression just dropped.

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Abilu Tangwa. @abilutangwa.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

We built modern society on a single, unspoken commandment: Thou shalt grow the GDP forever. We optimized everything for this number. But we forgot one critical detail. The denominator is fixed. 🧵👇

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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

We are bankrupting our young people and saddling them with mountains of debt even before life has opened up to them. Wealthy families will pay it off. Most will have this financial albatross round their necks for years.

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