Lexington residents have multiple providers to choose from, including Spectrum, Comporium and Kinetic. Heres how the best broadband providers in Lexington stack up.

OpinionJanuary 24, 20254 min readWere Living in a Dystopian Climate Thriller. It's Time to Rewrite the EndingDecades of warnings went ignored about the threats from climate change. With homes everywhere now burning, flooding and washing away, its time we start listening to scientists climate solutionsBy Peter H. Gleick edited by Daniel VerganoA motorcyclist stops to look at a burning home during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles county, California on January 8, 2025. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty ImagesBleak visions of a dystopian future offered up by science-fiction writers, TV shows and Hollywood disaster movies are no longer fiction. Real floods, droughts, wildfires and coastal storms happening nownotably the catastrophic fires that have devastated Los Angelesare a stark wake-up call. Our refusal to aggressively cut greenhouse-gas emissions isnt a problem for some distant uncertain future; it has become our present-day reality.It is time to disavow climate denial and accelerate building disaster resilience in our cities and homes.It's not as though we werent warned. Climate scientists have been sounding the alarm about growing climate risks for decades. Despite repeated warnings, we have failed to adequately mitigate or adapt to climate change. As the popular meme goes, We are in the midst of the longest, saddest, most excruciating and unsatisfying I told you so in the history of the world.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.In 1969 Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote a memo on these risks to President Nixon, warning of a Goodbye New York, 10-foot sea level rise. But he was ignored. In 1977 Frank Press, science advisor to President Carter, wrote of the scale and speed of the impending change to the climate: The potential effect on the environment of a climatic fluctuation of such rapidity could be catastrophic and calls for an impact assessment of unprecedented importance and difficulty.In 2007, at the release of the fourth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report summarizing the state of climate science knowledge, Harvards John Holdren (who later became science advisor to President Barack Obama), said: We basically have three choices: mitigation, adaptation and suffering. Were going to do some of each. The question is what the mix is going to be. The more mitigation we do, the less adaptation will be required and the less suffering there will be.Perhaps, like me, youre a fan of the many good (and sometimes bad) TV shows and movies that hint at dystopian futures where aliens, extreme geophysical events or other catastrophes wreak havoc on cities, societies or the planet as a whole. Los Angeles is a popular target in many of these films, for its iconic status and, probably, because the entertainment industry is centered there. The city is leveled in the 1974 film Earthquake, starring Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner. Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche race around L.A. as it is consumed in flames in 1997s Volcano. Tornadoes wipe out the iconic Hollywood sign and the Capitol Records building during the global climate catastrophe in 2004s The Day After Tomorrow. In the more recent Blade Runner 2049 and Syfy Network series The Expanse, massive seawalls try to protect a future Los Angeles and New York City from sea-level rise caused by climate change.Whether politicians admit it or not, the scenes we witness in real life show were now all living in a dystopian science fiction movie.Incredibly, leading policy makers and pundits continue to deny scientific reality. In 2020, after an earlier series of devastating wildfires, then president Donald Trump dismissed concerns over climate change, telling one California official I don't think science knows about global warming. It'll start getting cooler, you just watch. Five increasingly hot years later, Trump is continuing to ignore the science during the Los Angeles disaster, preferring instead to point fingers at California water policy, diversity and inclusion efforts, endangered fish and his political opponents. His major campaign funder Elon Musk has also weighed in with grossly unscientific opinions dismissing the role of climate change.Theyre wrong, and its our responsibility as scientists to say so. These fires were unambiguously influenced by human-caused climate change. Global temperatures are accelerating upward; 2024 was the hottest year in recorded history, and all 10 of the hottest years have been in the last decade, continuing a century-long trend of warming. Extreme hydrologic events, including floods and droughts, are accelerating, and Southern California is intensely dry. Los Angeles has received essentially no rainfall in over 10 months, with the driest start to a rainy season on record, parching soils and vegetation and setting the stage for extreme winds to intensify and spread the fires.Refusal to acknowledge the role of climate change must stop. It hinders efforts to mitigate climate change by cutting damaging emissions. It contributes to failures to strengthen our ability to adapt to those impacts we can no longer avoid. And it massively worsens the human suffering caused by accelerating disasters.We know whats coming, but we also know what to do. In addition to aggressively accelerating the energy transition away from fossil fuels, changing individual behavior and reducing carbon emissions from other sources, we have to expand efforts to build resilience to unavoidable impacts.That means strategies such as improving resilience to wildfires with better land management, and policy reforms, such as building with fire-resistant materials and designs, reducing vegetation around homes and restricting development in high-risk areas. Communities must toughen water systems by modernizing infrastructure, diversifying water supplies and strengthening fire-fighting. Coastal properties at risk of sea-level rise and intensifying storms will have to be protected, moved or abandoned. New construction in risky areas must be halted, despite pressure from developers to build in these areas, and any reconstruction must be to higher, safer standards and designs.It's time to listen to the science, stop listening to the deniers and work to make our dystopian future, once again, fiction.This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

OpinionJanuary 24, 20255 min readHow Reality TV Helps Explain Trumps SuccessWhat makes reality shows so popular also helps explain why Donald Trump is so popularIn May 2016 a red hat with the saying Make America Great Again was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame star of now president Donald Trump hours after he was found guilty of 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in an effort to influence the 2016 election. Jay L. Clendenin/Getty ImagesWith Donald Trump back in office, much of the world is still struggling to make sense of his appeal to so many Americans. This is especially the case now, after he became a felon, incited an insurrection and promised to govern as a dictator. How does someone so unfiltered, unrefined and dismissive of moral codes and norms end up getting elected?It may be those very things that are core to his appealTrump is not the first head of state who has capitalized on brash behavior to gain that position. He may appeal to the average voter for the very same reasons you keep watching that reality television show you love to hate: these shows delight people by giving them a look at something that feels both real and taboo. Trump is among many successful politicians who have succeeded by appearing more relatable, such as George W. Bush, who famously scored as the more appealing candidate to have a beer with in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, the authentic emotional appeal of Barack Obama or the bumbling clown image of Boris Johnson. But Trumps appeal seems different.In our experience as business professors, weve seen how business models that include seemingly repellent behavior can captivate audiencesand as a television personality, Trump has been no exception. Trump the politician has pulled from that same playbook. We have spent years studying how transgression (an act that goes against law, norms or standards), stigma and emotions affect businesses, stakeholders and even society. Trumps election had striking similarities to what we have observed in businesses based on voyeurism. That is, the anchor of his appeal is tied to how the perception of his authenticity and his transgressions fuel human emotion.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Think about reality shows such as Big Brother, social media influencers, erotic webcam and OnlyFans models and slum tourism. These are businesses that let audiences peek into things that are typically kept private. These are businesses based on voyeurismthey turn peoples curiosity about private and forbidden aspects of others lives into a product or service that generates money. Experiencing something forbidden creates a unique mix of emotionsthrill, curiosity and even discomfortthat people are willing to pay for. To succeed, such businesses balance showing enough realness to feel authentic and forbidden with avoiding crossing lines that might alienate their audience.Of course, Trump is a reality television show character turned president, and part of the success of his shows was brashnessberating hapless contestants or yelling youre fired over and over. Just as voyeuristic businesses do, Trump has positioned himself as both authentic (he tells it like it is, people say) and transgressive (he does and says things as a political leader that people in his position normally do not). In this way, Trump has cultivated a distinct persona that resonates with certain audiences and keeps them engaged amidand often because ofcontroversies. Heres how this works.Authenticity is about delivering experiences that feel real, connecting audiences with the unfiltered truth of a subject. Trumps followers often say they like it when he resists traditional political correctness and elite social norms, such as the carefully calibrated communication that is often associated with people in positions of power. Despite his wealth and high status, people see him as an authentic figure. Trumps blunt manner, frequent social media outbursts and disregard for polished speeches all reinforce this perception. That makes him seem more honest to his followers, regardless of whether or not he is telling the truth. They believe that hes acting without artifice, bringing an undiluted version of himself directly to the public, which is one half of the voyeurism puzzle. In voyeuristic businesses, the same is expected. Webcam models, for example, are perceived to bring their full personality to their performances, casting aside the tropes seen in classic pornography. Reality star actors are seen as being unfiltered and unrefinedthey are more real, even if its staged.Transgression is the other component that helps voyeuristic business succeed. And this is the quality that we were most surprised could work for a presidential candidate, a position that is governed by both explicit and implicit rules of behavior. Transgression creates value by making audiences feel part of something special, rebellious or forbidden. Trumps public statements, which many view as offensive or inflammatory, appeal to supporters who feel disenchanted with the status quo. By bucking the rules of politics and society, his followers see him as fighting against restrictions that they believe have prevented people from saying what they really think. By breaking these codes, as he takes unprecedented unilateral actions (some clearly unconstitutional), he captures attention and generates a sense of excitement, offering supporters an emotional thrill that is rare in mainstream politics. Transgression and authenticity work in tandem to create a mix of emotional responses in audiencesexcitement, shock, curiositythat keep them coming back. Trumps political actions and statements, whether policy-oriented or scandalous, tend to evoke strong emotions. Consider his actions on immigration in the first week of his current term or his rhetoric around Greenland. Whether supporters feel pride, anger or excitement, these emotions foster engagementthey are the hook that catches and holds on to the audience.By combining authenticity and transgression, Trump has cultivated a following that perceives him as both relatable and daring, someone who breaks rules and pushes boundaries in ways they admire. So one reason his appeal persists is because he offers audiences a safe way to engage with transgressive ideas, creating a space where they can defy societal norms while feeling validated in their frustrations. This strategy, rooted in the emotional complexities of voyeurism, explains why his popularity endures even as he continues to break traditional political norms. Like the businesses based in voyeurism that we studied, he crafts an experience that is both intimate and defiant, appealing deeply to a specific audiences desires and emotions.But the emotional allure of authenticity and transgressionso central to voyeurismdoes more than captivate; it distorts. In voyeuristic businesses, this emotional hook often obscures deeper realities of exploitation, inequality and ethical breaches. Similarly, Trumps emotional appeal transforms the presidency from a role of profound consequence into an ongoing spectaclemore akin to a reality TV drama than a position shaping our lives and future. This framing trivializes critical issues, distracting from the structural and personal harm and injustices that often underpin the show.What we have learned from voyeuristic businesses, however, is that the scales can tip. Emotional captivation is a delicate balance. Too much authenticity can feel raw and unpalatable, while too much transgression can repel. Over time, the emotional thrill that draws people in can begin to unravel, giving way to unease, fear or even revulsion. In the context of Trumps presidency, this tipping point might come when the emotional sugar highs of rule breaking no longer feel exciting but threateningwhen the costs of a leader who prioritizes self-interest over the common good become impossible to ignore or when the harm to the targets of his punitive policies (whether transgender people, undocumented immigrants or career civil servants) becomes undeniable. The question is: How much can society endure before this shift occurs?Our hope is that understanding these dynamics will sharpen the conversation about leadership, governance and the kinds of emotional narratives we allow to dominate our political landscape. Recognizing the parallels between Trumps appeal and voyeuristic practices is not just about explaining his rise; its about equipping ourselves to confront its consequences and being ready to fight back.This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

Xbox Series X/S sales trailing behind Xbox One in US, while PS5 outpaces PS4But hardware sales down across the board.Image credit: Eurogamer News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Jan. 24, 2025 Four years after its launch, US sales of Xbox Series X/S are trailing behind those of its predecessor, Xbox One, at the same point in the consoles' life time. Sales of PlayStation 5, however, are now firmly outpacing PlayStation 4.That's according to sales data from marketing research and technology company Circana (formerly The NPD Group) in its latest monthly report. Circana executive director and games industry analyst Mat Piscatella summarised the company's finding - covering US games and hardware spending up to December 2024 - in a lengthy post on Bluesky (thanks VGC).Commenting on some of the reports highlights, Piscatella wrote, "Through each console's first 50 months in the US market (life to date ending Dec 2024 for both Xbox Series X/S and PS5), PS5 lifetime unit sales are 7 percent ahead of PS4's pace, while Xbox Series X/S trails Xbox One by 18 percent." By comparison, Piscatella noted, "Through 38 months in the US (through Dec 2023), PS5 led PS4 by 6 percent while Xbox Series X/S trailed Xbox One by 13 percent."Newscast: our thoughts on the latest Xbox Developer Direct.Watch on YouTubeCircana's 2024 end-of-year report charts what Piscatella called a "rough" 12 months for gaming hardware, with consumer spending falling 29 percent compared to last year. On a more granular level, spending on PS5 hardware fell by 18 percent (although it remained the best-selling platform in December) while Series X/S and Switch declined by 38 percent. This drop, however, was "expected" according to Piscatella, given Switch's substantial time on the market, and PS5 and Series X/S both being "past their selling peaks".While specific hardware sales figures weren't disclosed, Sony last year revealed, amid declining year-on-year sales, 61m PS5s have been shifted since its launch in November 2020. Microsoft does not share sales figures for Xbox Series X/S, but it also previously confirmed declining hardware sales as it increasingly pushes Xbox as a hardware agnostic brand.Piscatella's full summary of Circana's latest report on US games and hardware trends can be found on Bluesky and makes for an interesting read.

Mark Zuckerberg stood up in the Senate hearing room on Capitol Hill, turned around, and began to speak. It was hard to hear him over the camera clicks. I felt the room lift behind me as bereaved parents held up photos of their dead kids, lost to suicide or exploitation following exposure to Zuckerberg's online platforms. I realized I was standing by the time I could make out any of his words. Im sorry for everything youve been through, he said.That was January 31, 2024 and less than a year later, Zuckerberg announced Meta would be abandoning fact-checkers and implementing similar policies to Elon Musk's X.This deeply craven and dangerous reversal, ostensibly to reduce censorship from Meta platforms, will make Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp even more unsafe for LGBTQ+ users. Thats why, after 13 years on Instagram, amassing 80,000 followers, and having monetarily benefited from being an influencer, I am finally leaving Instagram.I initially joined Instagram because it was what all of my friends were doing. As a young dancer featured on television shows, it was a place to build and maintain connections and community. It was also a business, a place where I could earn money for more dance training and raise awareness about causes and issues I cared deeply about. But over time, due to policy and content moderation decisions made or not made by Meta, it went from something fun and engaging to something that fueled anxiety, took over my childhood, and ultimately caused harm to me and people I love.At the end of the day, social media is a product of its environment, and the environment is getting worse. The rise in hate speech on social media has become a significant concern in recent years. Meta's decision to end its fact-checking program and ease content moderation will only add to the increase in harmful behaviors, including harassment and hate speech, especially if Zuckerberg implements something similar to Xs community notes. Giving anyone with a valid phone number and six months of a clean record on the platform the status of approved moderator, a status kept anonymous, is not enough to keep harmful disinformation and hate speech from spreading. Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news.Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!That doesnt mean members of the LGBTQ+ community should lose hope entirely. There are people fighting to hold technology companies accountable and to make online spaces better. Its important that young LGBTQ+ people know that there are people, like my colleagues at Heat Initiative, fighting for Big Tech to clean up their act, so that isolated members of the LGBTQ+ community arent forced to turn to dangerous online experiences when their in-person community fails them. The unfortunate reality is that, right now, the LGBTQ+ community is harmed disproportionally more on these platforms than their peers. Zuckerbergs actions will only accelerate the risks that young LGBTQ+ people face on Metas platforms.Lennon Torres protesting an an Apple store for the Heat Initiative.Credit: Photo by Johnny MakesIronically, Metas new policies seem likely to hurt their business too. In his announcement, Zuckerberg parroted language that has been used by Musk to justify the elimination of safety measures on X, but those decisions have proven to be terrible for Xs business. When Twitter became X and it immediately shifted away from a place people could connect and keep up to date to a cesspool of illegal and harmful content, users and advertisers fled. Zuckerberg should take note, especially since he said himself that its likely we will see a similar uptick in harmful content on Metas platforms.But no one in the LGBTQ+ community should be under the illusion that social media or the newest technology will inherently increase connection or belonging. At least not without thorough protections. After I saw that even Apple CEO Tim Cook, a so-called LGBTQ+ advocate, donated $1 million dollars to the Trump Inauguration and sat directly behind the now president as he took the presidential oath, I was reminded again that technology CEOs are focused only on protecting their power. That unsettling realization and Zuckerbergs announcement left me asking myself if I will keep using these platforms. Our LGBTQ+ community must come to terms with the fact that tech tycoons like Zuckerberg, Musk and Cook dont have our best interests at heart. Ever.Ultimately, we have to reckon with the fact that Metas new policies are just the latest in a long line of decisions that have put LGBTQ+ users at risk on their platforms. To know they have a ton of hate speech on their platforms, are building algorithms meant to addict young users to their products for life, and are actively moving to ensure less content safety, I can't sit idly by and use their platforms. Zuckerberg is taking the company in a fundamentally dangerous direction.Related StoriesIt is so clear to me that the young and wild toxic relationship of my youth was not with a romantic partner or friend, but with Mark Zuckerberg and the products he has built to imprison and profit off of our attention. And like many exes do, he sticks around uninvited and I am certainly done giving him a pass.Join me. Its time to delete your Instagram.Lennon Torres is an LGBTQ+ advocate who grew up in the public eye, gaining national recognition as a young dancer on television shows. With a deep passion for storytelling, advocacy, and politics, Lennon now works to center the lived experience of herself and others as she crafts her professional career in online child safety at Heat Initiative, aiming to bridge the gap between online safety and LGBTQ+ representation through intentionally inclusive strategies. Lennons LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennon-torres-325b791b4/

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Companies that want to build AI voice into their products are rushing to work with ElevenLabs, the startup that develops synthetic voice technology like voice cloning and dubbing tools. Now ElevenLabs is turning up the volume on its business with a huge series C raise, just a year after a sizable series B.The New York startup has closed a Series C of $250 million at a valuation of between $3 billion and $3.3 billion, multiple sources tell TechCrunch. The round is being led by ICONIQ Growth, several people said. Andreessen Horowitz, one of the lead investors in the companys $80 million Series B in January, 2024, was another name mentioned as a potential investor in this round. ElevenLabs, ICONIQ Growth and Andreessen Horowitz did not respond to our request for comment.For months, investors have been scrambling to invest in ElevenLabs after a blockbuster period of growth for the company, with its AI audio technology getting used everywhere, TechCrunch was the first to report in October.On the back of a strong funnel of business, sources tell us that ElevenLabs was initially looking for funding at a $4 billion valuation. But a $3 billion valuation is still triple the unicorn valuation that the company landed with that year-ago Series B. One source said the company has been preparing to announce the round this month so official confirmation may come any day now.ElevenLabs fundraise comes after a strong few years both for the company and the wider industry. The company was founded in 2022 by Mati Staniszewski and Piotr Dabkowski who respectively previously worked at Palantir and Google. Childhood friends from Poland, the pair were inspired by the poor quality of dubbing in the American videos they watched growing up, and they saw an opportunity to use AI to develop something better.Their idea was a clear example of right idea-right time. As generative AI services have become more advanced, multimedia has come to the fore, and there has been a growing interest in building applications that include sound and video alongside GenAI text services.ElevenLabs released its first beta product in January 2023, and by the time it had raised its Series A of $19 million in June 2023, it had gone viral.Some of that growth has not been without controversy, with stories of fake news being created with its tech. But as ElevenLabs has developed a raft of detection tools and other safeguards to prevent misuse, it has emerged as a key partner for enabling speech-based services for an increasingly high-profile number of businesses.Its technology, usable via an API and priced at a number of usage tiers, covers a wide range of use cases: translating text to speech (in multiple languages), cloning voices, changing voices in an audio track, creating entirely new voices; alongside other voice editing tools.Customers include other technology platforms such as Syntheisa, the text-to-video startup that works with businesses and itself announced a fundraise of $180 million earlier this month; publishing giants like Washington Post, Harper Collins and Bertelsmann, which says 36 businesses are using ElevenLabs tech in their content creation; and gaming companies, among others.Usage has led to a rapid rise in sales. In October, sources told us that ElevenLabs annualized recurring revenue (ARR) had grown from $25 million in 2023 to $80 million. Two people in November estimated that its ARR was likely closer to $90 million. If the latter figure is accurate, a $4 billion valuation would have put its valuation multiple at 44 times ARR; in the end it seems the deal has been done at a slightly more moderate multiple of 37 times ARR.For some context on that number, these are not the most exuberant valuations at the moment: investors appear willing to pay as much as 50 times ARR for the fastest-growing generative AI companies.Anysphere, the maker of a popular AI-coding assistant Cursor, has received multiple unsolicited offers valuing the company at about $2.5 billion, which translates to about 52 times ARR, TechCrunch reported in November. The company has seen its revenue grow from $4 million annualized recurring revenue (ARR) in April to $4 million a month as of last month. (ARR is commonly calculated by multiplying the latest monthly revenue by 12.) However, by the time the deal, which was led by Thrive at a valuation of $2.5 billion, was announced earlier this month, Anysphere had reached $100 million in ARR, The New York Times reported. That implies that the company was valued at 25 times ARR.ElevenLabs more temperate multiple may be a function of the companys competitors, which include a plethora of startups but also giants like Google and OpenAI.Other past backers of the company have included Sequoia, Credo Ventures, Concept Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Disney, and nearly two dozen high-profile angel investors.

Elon Musks X has started expanding the rollout of its dedicated vertical video feed to users around the globe just days after its debut in the U.S., TechCrunch has exclusively learned and confirmed with the company.On Friday, TechCrunch spotted the new feature had appeared in various regions outside the U.S., including India, Australia, and some European markets. An X spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch the global rollout of the vertical video feed was currently underway. The new feature is accessible through a dedicated tab in the X app, where it has a prominent placement next to the Grok button. The spokesperson also confirmed that the rollout is specific to iOS, meaning Android users need to wait a bit longer. (The company did not share an exact timeframe for the Android launch.)Earlier this week, X released its vertical video feed in the U.S. amid uncertainty around TikToks future in the market as a result of the TikTok ban. Enforcement of the ban is currently on pause as President Trump extended the deadline for TikTok to make a deal that would cede some control to a U.S. entity, if not a full divestment of its U.S. operations, to protect national security interests. In addition to providing entertainment, the new video feature also allows X to display ads after users scroll through a few short videos. This helps the company generate additional revenue by keeping users engaged with the video content a strategy common across social networks, including Instagram, TikTok, and others. Video experiences have become a key focus for X in general. Last year, the platform launched a standalone TV app to show videos from creators and organizations. X also enabled users in 2022 to scroll through short videos by tapping on a video in the timeline and swiping it up.

Detail of MEADOWS. Photo by Ineta Armanaviit. All images courtesy of Severija Inirauskait, shared with permissionFlowers and Butterflies Stitch Messages of Hope into Crumpled Metal and Corroded BarrelsJanuary 24, 2025ArtSocial IssuesKate MothesOn the sides of rusted barrels or crushed steel spheres, Lithuanian artist Severija Inirauskait-Kriauneviien(previously) applies delicate reminders of resilience. Using cotton thread, the artist cross-stitches vibrant flowers and butterflies onto facets of corroded metal, merging materials that appear to have little in common.Where metal is rough, strong, and utilitarian, embroidery is tender, soft, and decorative. Inirauskait-Kriauneviien taps into these diametric characteristics in her continuing examination of war. A large metal ball titled OFFSIDE, for example, represents the worlds cumulative conflicts. It is like a huge disaster with a small embroidered butterfly that is like a small, fragile sign of hope, she says.Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) (2023), metal and cotton thread. Photo by Modestas Eerskis and Ineta ArmanaviitThe small nation of Belarus separates Lithuania from Ukraine, where the impacts of the ongoing Russian assault reverberate across the region. The war is very close to us, the artist tells Colossal, so we cant relax and just think about life. Incorporating insects and blooms, steeped in symbolic references to compassion, generosity, and care, Inirauskait-Kriauneviien suggests that despite humans destructive actions, hope perseveres.Find more on the artists Instagram.Offside (2024), metal, and cotton threads. Photo by Enrika SamulionytDetail of Offside. Photo by Enrika SamulionytOFFSIDE (2024)MEADOWS (2023), metal barrels and cotton, 360 x 40 x 20 centimeters. Photo by Ineta ArmanaviitDetail of MEADOWS. Photo by Ineta ArmanaviitTimeless Fragility (2022), oil barrel lid and cross stitch, 60 centimeters diameter. Photo by Ineta ArmanaviitNext article

A cross-party group of MPs has branded the governments newly announced independent review of HM Treasurys controversial Loan Charge policy a farce, now details of the inquirys scope are known.The government pledged to conduct an independent review into the policy, which has saddled thousands of IT contractors with life-changing tax bills, in the Autumn Budget at the end of October 2024.Computer Weekly reported at the time that news of the proposed review had been warmly welcomed by campaigners, who have been calling for a fresh inquiry into the Loan Charge for several years.On Thursday 23 January 2025, the government confirmed the review has been commissioned, with Treasury secretary James Murray, also publishing a statement in Parliament that Ray McCann, a former HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) assistant director (who also previously served as president Chartered Institute of Taxation), has been tasked with overseeing it.Murray also confirmed the focus of the inquiry will be on investigating the barriers preventing individuals in-scope of the Loan Charge from resolving their cases with HMRC, and finding ways to help them do so.The reviews aim is to bring the matter to a close for those affected, said a government statement on the matter, while also ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.The reviewer [McCann] is being asked to draw on the available evidence and expertise, engaging with stakeholders as appropriate, to consider in detail the settlement terms available [to those] who have not yet settled and paid their tax liabilities in full to HMRC, and whether HMRCs settlement and debt management processes sufficiently take into account their ability to pay and behaviours, said the government statement.[It will also look into] how that population could now be encouraged to reach a resolution with HMRC; and what decisions would be required to ensure that, as far as possible, any new settlement proposals were properly targeted whilst not imposing significant additional administrative burdens upon HMRC.Now the details of the review are known, HM Treasury and the chancellor Rachel Reeves are facing a wave of criticism, led by a group of cross-party MPs who make up the Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).A major point of consternation for the group is that the inquiry will not place the legislation underpinning the policy under investigation, and it has raised concerns about how independent the review will truly be.This is on the basis that it is being overseen by a former senior figure from HMRC, who will as confirmed by the government pass on his findings to HMRC and HM Treasury for review before its contents is released publicly.What is the Loan Charge policy?The Loan Charge policy was introduced as part of an ongoing anti-tax avoidance campaign by HMRC, designed to counter the surge in the number of loan-based remuneration schemes in operation.The policy was put forward by HM Treasury during the 2017 Budget as means of recouping billions of pounds in unpaid taxes the UK government claimed contractors avoided paying by opting to be paid in the form of non-taxable loans rather than receive a conventional salary.The policy terms initially stated that any contractor who participated in a loan-based remuneration scheme between 6 April 1999 and 5 April 2019 would be in-scope of the policy, and would be expected to pay back any and all tax they avoided while enrolled in these schemes.The total amounts of unpaid tax HMRC said they owed are what is referred to as the Loan Charge.An independent review of the policy, published in December 2019, concluded the timeframe the policy covers should be shortened by 11 years, so that only individuals who enrolled in schemes after 9 December 2010 would be included.HM Treasury and HMRC must make all possible efforts to support the review teams work by providing them with any information that they request in a timely fashion unless there is a legal reason not to, said the government.The final report will be shared with HM Treasury and HMRC before publication, who may be asked to provide factual comments on it. This will include reviewing the use of any statistics provided by the departments.The statement added: Information provided by HM Treasury and HMRC to the review team and factual comments provided on draft reports will be published after the review has concluded.In a statement to Computer Weekly, Greg Smith MP, co-chair of the Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness APPG, said: The supposed review starts by justifying the Loan Charge and it makes clear that it will not change the position people are in, nor review the legislation and whether it was fair and justified.The APPG and its members wrote a letter to the chancellor in December 2024, sharing their take on what areas the proposed review should cover, including a detailed look into the circumstances that led to so many contractors enrolling in loan-based remuneration schemes in the first place.The letter calls on the government to make sure the review is genuinely independent, with no involvement at any stage from HMRC, HM Treasury or government as a whole once it is established.This demand is on the back of concerns raised by a previous iteration of the APPG back in June 2020, following the publication of the last independent review commissioned by the government into the policy,about its findings being shaped by direct interference from HMRC and HM Treasury.The APPG made clear that the review must be led by someone independent and not staffed by HMRC and Treasury officials. Instead, the government has appointed a former senior HMRC official to lead it and staffing it from the two government bodies responsible for the whole Loan Charge fiasco, added Smith.This is not the review that was promised nor the review that is so desperately needed, and the APPG will continue to push for a genuine inquiry into this scandal.The APPG is far from alone in taking issue with the reviews narrow scope, with campaigners from the Loan Charge Action Group (LCAG) also similarly dismayed at HMRCs involvement in its creation.LCAG spokesperson Steve Packham described the review as a complete betrayal that stands to add to the mental anguish of those who have spent years in HMRCs crosshairs, being pursued for six-figure tax payments that they have no means of paying back.As previously reported by Computer Weekly, the policy has been linked to at least 10 suicides so far.We are deeply worried about the impact on mental health that the announcement of this sham non-review will have, with 10 suicides already, said Packham. It is clear that the HMRC and the Treasury will do all they can to avoid the truth coming out and having a genuine review, but the Loan Charge Action Group will continue to expose the reality of the Loan Charge scandal.According to figures previously disclosed by the APPG, it is thought that there are around 40,000 people that are still to resolve their Loan Charge cases with HMRC.The circumstances and reasons that led to so many people participating in loan-based remuneration schemes are complex, and can in part be linked back to the roll-out of the IR35 tax avoidance rules at the turn of the century.It is known that loan-based remuneration schemes were positioned and promoted as an HMRC complaint way for contractors to side-step the IR35 rules that risked increasing their tax liabilities. It is also anecdotally claimed that individuals were advised to join these schemes, often by seeking employment through umbrella companies, by respected tax barristers.Its further claimed some contractors were reportedly told they would be unable to work for certain end-hirers unless they agreed to be paid in loans.For all these reasons, the contractors now being pursued by HMRC for backdated income tax payments claim they are victims of mis-selling and are facing financial ruin for agreeing to be part of an arrangement that trusted sources assured them was safe and compliant to participate in.The fact the people who marketed these schemes are being excluded from the review is also another pain point for LCAG, said Packham.The review fails to include looking at HMRC, who conceived the Loan Charge to give themselves carte blanche to pursue victims of mis-selling [and] it deliberately avoids looking at the role of scheme promoters who made millions from mis-selling these arrangements, said Packham. Instead, the government has chosen to let these people off scot-free.Crawford Temple, CEO of independent umbrella company assessment organisation Professional Passport, also expressed his disappointment at the governments decision to focus the review on making those caught in scope of the Loan Charge policy pay-up, rather than dig into the reasons why these schemes were allowed to proliferate and ensnare so many people at the time.I am incredulous that the Treasury and governmentare ducking their responsibility to solve the glaring problem which is to pursue the promoters of the schemes, he said.Particularly as loan-based remuneration schemes remain a fixture of the contracting market to this day, despite HMRC allegedly having all the data they need to stamp them out, he added.HMRCs inaction is fuellingnon-complianceand this review is one-sided,seeking to recover money from the Loan Charge victims when it should be focusing on the architects of the schemes, said Temple.Thegovernmentisavoidingchasing downthe promoters of these corrupt schemes and appearsto be building arguments to persist with, in my opinion, theflawed strategy of seeking recovery from the workers.The criminals will escape punishment and be allowed to thrive and continue to run their illegal practices, duping unwitting contractors into signing up for their illegal schemes.This was a good opportunity to conduct a proper review into the scandal and itfalls way short. The brief to Ray McCann is skewed.Computer Weekly contacted HM Treasury for a response to the points raised in this story, but no response was forthcoming by the time of publication.However, Treasury secretary Murray in his statement to Parliament announcing the review said it is the governments view that it is right that those who did not pay the right amount of income tax and National Insurance are required to resolve their affairs with HMRC and that accepting otherwise would be contrary to the decisions of the courts and would be unfair to the vast majority of taxpayers who have never used these schemes.He added that the government does recognise that concerns continue to be raised about the Loan Charge, particularly where the size of liabilities owed by some of those affected and their ability to pay the tax they owe in a reasonable timeframe is concerned.This is the second independent review commissioned into the Loan Charge, with the first concluding more than five years ago. It was overseen by ex-National Audit Office (NAO) chief Amyas Morse, and focused on ascertaining if the policy was the most appropriate way to tackle disguised remuneration.In the immediate aftermath of its publicationin December 2019, the government announced a couple of amendments to the Loan Charge policy, including one that pledged to write off the tax bills of 11,000 people previously caught in its scope.It achieved this by cutting 11 years off the original 20-year period the policy covered and by cancelling the Loan Charge for any individuals who previously disclosed to HMRC that they participated in a scheme on their tax returns if the agency failed to act on this information.The review also prompted the government to revise the policys repayment terms by making it possible for those in-scope to pay back what they owe over several tax years instead of one.While these amendments were initially welcomed, misgivings about its contents began to surface months later,with tax advisers and contractors claiming the proposed changes did not go far enough.And, this time around, it seems the new government could find the outcome of its review similarly reviled at the time of its conclusion. Presently, this second inquiry is expected to conclude in the summer of 2025, with the government expected to publish a response to it by the time of the 2025 Autumn Budget. As stated, the APPG have already begun calls for another inquiry into the policy, with Dave Chaplin, CEO of contracting authority ContractorCalculator, echoing the sentiments of the APPG that the governments approach to investigating the Loan Charge is similar to its handling of the Post Office scandal.Whilst I initially welcomed the launch of the government-titled Independent Loan Charge review, it turns out when you look at the terms of reference, you discover that it bears no resemblance to the title. It should be renamed the Whitewash review, he said.The government are engaging in misinformation and cover-up, a clear abuse of power, firmly in the same sort of Post Office scandal territory.Read more about the Loan ChargeTens of thousands of IT contractors have been saddled with life-changing tax bills as a result of a controversial, retroactive government policy and the fall-out from its introduction has been likened to the Post Office IT scandal.After campaigners called for HMRC to pause all of its Loan Charge enforcement activity until the governments independent review of the policy is complete, Computer Weekly has learned that the agency is accepting requests to pause settlements.