Datamined PBE files suggest that the Steel Valkyries skin line might return in 2022.
The Steel Valkyries is a popular skin line with skin like Gun Goddess Miss Fortune and Dreadnova Gangplank. A new leak suggests that there could be more Steel Valkyries skins coming this year.
The Steel Valkyries are a series of alternate universe skins. This alternate universe contains both the Steel Valkyries skin line in addition to the Dreadnova skin line. There are a total of seven skins in this universe, five of them are Steel Valkyrie skins, and two of them are the Dreadnova skins.
Currently, Miss Fortune, Renata, Kayle, Kai’Sa, and Morgana are part of the Steel Valkyrie banner. Darius and Gangplank are part of the Dreadnova banner. The Steel Valkyrie banner consists of only female champions, and the male champions fall under the Dreadnova banner.
Big Bad Bear, a well-known leaker in the League of Legends community along with ByDanngel, has data mined some interesting information from the PBE (Public Beta Environment). They found some data regarding The Steel Valkyries skin line and what champions might be getting the skins. Furthermore, they also revealed that a Steel Valkyries VS Dreadnova event could be coming this year.
Image Credit: Big Bad Bear
The data mined information contained a chat log which suggests we could be getting a Camille skin called “Commander Camille.” There were a few more containing chat logs about other Steel Valkyries skins.
(1x) Y03 – Principality – Irelia?
(1x) Z01 – Orion – Leona/Pantheon/Varus?
(1x) S02 – Anubis – Nasus?
(1x) X09 – Zephyr W/ AI Operator (Experimental) – Janna?
Steel Valkyrie Irelia, Leona, and Janna, along with Dreadnova Pantheon and Nasus, are speculated to be revealed in the chatlogs. However, it is not sure which skins will be released as we do not have any solid information regarding the matter.
It is not confirmed yet, but Commander Camille is believed to be a Legendary skin. Which would make it Camille’s first legendary skin for her. The Steel Valkyrie Irelia skin could be a Legendary skin as well.
The chat logs also tease Steel Legion/Crownguard Garen & Lux. Whether it will be a new skin or a reference to the old skin is still unknown. They might also try incorporating the Steel Legion skin line into the Steel Valkyries universe.
Steel Valkyries Skins Release Date
We currently do not know when the new Steel Valkyries skins will be released, but the skins should come out within 2022. We will cover more details about the skin when it comes to PBE, so make sure to check us on Twitter.
Timo Werner is on the brink of leaving Chelsea to rejoin RB Leipzig, sources have told ESPN.
The 26-year-old is expected to arrive in Germany for a medical ahead of a permanent move thought to be worth in the region of €30 million, although various performance-related add-ons are yet to be finalized.
– Mixed performances for Chelsea new boys against Everton – Tuchel: Alonso wants to leave Chelsea – Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
Werner is keen to kick-start his career ahead of the World Cup in Qatar after a disappointing two-year spell at Stamford Bridge.
The Germany international joined Chelsea in 2020 for €50m, opting not to take part in Leipzig’s rescheduled Champions League quarterfinal against Atletico Madrid — delayed due to COVID-19 — to give himself more time to adapt to English football.
Werner started well, scoring eight goals in his first 12 games up to mid-November, but managed just four more for the rest of the campaign as a loss of form and confidence set in.
Chelsea signed Romelu Lukaku for a club-record €115m last summer in a fresh challenge to Werner, but head coach Thomas Tuchel began to favor Kai Havertz as his central striker.
Although Lukaku has now returned to Inter on loan, Chelsea beat Everton 1-0 in their first game of the Premier League season with Havertz leading the line.
Tuchel’s side are in the market for another forward, and Barcelona’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is among those under consideration.
Werner was completely left out of the Chelsea squad for the match against Everton as talks with Leipzig continued.
He has scored 23 goals in 89 appearances for Chelsea and although Tuchel is thought to be reluctant to part with the forward given the wider pressure to strengthen the squad, there is recognition the midseason World Cup has heightened the player’s fears over a lack of regular action .
It’s been revealed former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro met with then fair trading minister Eleni Petinos weeks before a building ban was lifted for the developer for whom he has been working since leaving parliament.
Key points:
John Barilaro attended a meeting with Eleni Petinos and representatives from Coronation Property
Mr Barilaro, who previously worked for the development company, says he wasn’t employed by them at the time of the meeting
Ms Petinos says she had no say in a work ban over one of Coronation’s projects
The meeting with Ms Petinos — who was sacked from cabinet last month — threatens to cause further headaches for the New South Wales government amid the ongoing inquiry into Mr Barilaro’s appointment to a lucrative US trade job.
After resigning from politics in October 2021, Mr Barilaro took a job with Sydney-based developer Coronation Property.
At the time, the company’s Merrylands Road development had been hit with a stop-work order.
On June 2 and June 21, 2022, former Small Business and Fair Trading Minister Ms Petinos met with Coronation Property representatives, with Mr Barilaro present at the latter meeting.
The stop-work order was then lifted on July 4, 2022.
The revelations come after Ms Petinos filed notes in her ministerial diary about the meetings.
Mr Barilaro said the function on June 21 was to celebrate his appointment as the state’s Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner (STIC) to the Americas, which he later drew from.
The recruitment process for that role is now at the center of a parliamentary inquiry.
“I attended a social engagement with the former minister to celebrate my appointment to the STIC Americas job,” Mr Barilaro said in a statement.
“I was no longer an employee of Coronation.
“I did not meet with the minister during my time with Coronation.”
Ms Petinos says the revocation of the stop-work order had nothing to do with her and was a decision made by the Office of the Building Commissioner.
“The issuing and revocation of stop-work orders is a matter for the Building Commissioner, not the minister,” she said.
New South Wales Building Commissioner David Chandler abruptly quit in late July, telling the public he thought the time was right for a “reset”.
The state opposition now wants to see Mr Chandler’s resignation letter after reports his relationship with Ms Petinos had soured.
Debate on a motion to compel the government to hand over a copy of the letter is expected on Wednesday.
Ms Petinos was sacked from her ministerial appointment last month over bullying allegations, which she denies.
Yesterday, Premier Dominic Perrottet was pressed about the fresh revelations concerning Mr Barilaro.
“Premier, what action will you take to investigate revelations … that John Barilaro met with the [then-]Minister for Fair Trading while representing his then employer, Coronation Group, after Mr Barilaro told the parliamentary inquiry yesterday that no such meeting occurred?” Labor MP Sophie Cotsis asked in parliament.
Mr Perrottet replied that he would seek the “requisite advice”.
A modder doing some “request work” on the 28-year-old Super Nintendo game ‘Super Punch-Out!!’ discovered some unknown cheat codes for the game, allowing players to manually select opponents and even allow a second player to control the AI.
Unlisted Cheats, which is a twitter-account specializing in “secrets nobody heard about until now,” discovered two additional cheat codes for Super Punch-Out!!, a Super Nintendo boxing game.
Previously, the only cheats known for the game included a sound test mode and a Japanese name input cheat.
Cheat codes, for the uninitiated, are a sequence of inputs via a controller that unlock bonuses or “cheats” for games.
These cheats ranged from the useful (extra lives, invincibility, and so on) to the hilarious (If your game doesn’t have Big Head Mode, you’re doing something wrong.)
Cheat codes were prevalent before the advent of the internet, but newer releases usually don’t have them anymore.
The first newly-discovered cheat unlocks a Mega Man-styled Stage Select screen, allowing the player to select any opponent from the game at will.
This cheat can be activated by holding R and Y on Controller 2, followed by pressing A or Start on Controller 1.
Once activated, the second cheat can be put in. Selecting a fighter of choice will bring you to their details page, which is where you can put the next sequence in. Hold down Controller 2’s B and Y buttons, followed by pressing A or Start on Controller 1. This allows the second controller to control the opponents, which are normally CPU-driven.
The codes were likely created as a way to “debug”, or discover and fix errors within the game, but users in the Twitter thread theorise that they could have been attempting to implement a two-player mode.
Eurogamer tested this sequence on the Nintendo Switch Online version of the game and found that it does work, and others have described the cheats working on the SNES Mini console as well.
It is unfair to pick out one player from Manchester United’s dire opening display under Erik ten Hag but Lisandro Martínez seriously struggled against Brighton. These are, of course, the earliest of days for the new centre-back but he will have to learn fast. The diminutive Argentinian is a footballer the manager knows well but there are question marks over his stature. There will be serial aerial bombardment this season of the type he failed to deal with against Brighton, with Danny Welbeck rising highest above him when missing a close-range header in the second half. Martínez might also have conceded a penalty when bundling over the same player in a performance that did nothing to suggest the 24-year-old can help plug United’s leaky rearguard. Jamie Jackson
two
Klopp let down by senior players
Jürgen Klopp threw the question of whether Virgil van Dijk had actually committed a penalty-conceding foul on Aleksandar Mitrovic to the press corps. He also wondered aloud whether Jordan Henderson had been fouled in the buildup to Mitrovic’s first goal. He still had few quibbles about escaping Craven Cottage with a point. “It’s my responsibility to find out why,” he said. His experienced players of him had been most guilty. Mitrovic terrorized Van Dijk, Fulham’s striker also reintroducing those questions about Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defending. The full-back flinched as Mitrovic crashed in on the back post. Henderson struggled with Andreas Pereira and João Palhinha in midfield, Roberto Firmino flopped in attack. The positive was Darwin Núñez’s energy reviving Liverpool after replacing Firmino, aided by two former Fulham players in Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho. Might Liverpool’s old guard be suffering a hangover from last season’s disappointments? A tight, World Cup-truncated schedule will soon reveal all. John Brewin
3
City keep opposition on toes
Erling Haland of Manchester City. Photograph: Harriet Lander/Copa/Getty Images
Kalvin Phillips has been shown how to play in Manchester City’s midfield but not by Rodri, the man in theory ahead of him in the pecking order, but by Kyle Walker. The right-back repeatedly wandered off the flank into space in the middle of the park. He would get the ball and play short passes to keep City’s attacks going. The Premier League champions enjoyed 77 per cent of possession as they eased into the new campaign. It was another reminder of the surprises Pep Guardiola can implement within his tactics. It is a regular sight to see full-backs crop up in irregular places. While showing the team can adapt to the arrival of Erling Haaland, knowing that he will make his clever runs, City are constantly evolving on a game-by-game basis. They have adjusted in the final third and will keep teams on their toes with innovations across the pitch. A marker has been laid down. Will Unwin
4
Martinelli could be back-up for Jesus
It took three months for Gabriel Martinelli to get off the mark last season but only 20 minutes to open his account this time around. His header from him at Selhurst Park was well taken and it was a reminder that, for all the excitement around Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal have another potentially explosive Brazilian forward in their ranks. It is easy to forget Martinelli has only just turned 21; he tends to be deployed on the left but rotated positions with Jesus to good effect during the first half and there is a strong sense his long-term future from him lies down the middle. While many Arsenal fans crave a backup centre-forward to take the load off Jesus and Eddie Nketiah, Martinelli would surely be able to fill that position adeptly if needed. For now there is plenty to like about the instinctive relationship the Brazil teammates appear to have struck up. Nick Ames
5
Burn shines under pressure
Sven Botman cost Newcastle £35m from Lille this summer but the much admired 22-year-old Dutchman was made to wait to make his debut at centre-half until stoppage time as Eddie Howe opted to stick with Dan Burn as his left-side, left-footed central defender alongside Fabian Schär. With Botman also left-footed the consensus was that the former Brighton defender would be the player to make way but, as Newcastle beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at St James’ Park on Saturday, Burn made it clear he will not give up his place of him without a fight. Arguably only the midfielder Bruno Guimarães shone brighter than Burn, with the latter earning Howe’s technical-area applause after, at one point, dispossessing Forest’s accelerating forward Brennan Johnson with copybook timing and composure. Schär, meanwhile, broke Forest’s resistance courtesy of a stunning 25-yard shot before Callum Wilson’s clever goal sealed victory. louis taylor
Antonio Conte rarely looks that content with life but the Italian’s demeanor after Tottenham’s impressive comeback against Southampton was an indication of the progress made over the summer. While three new signings – Ivan Perisic, Clément Lenglet and Yves Bissouma – were given only late cameos, by which time Spurs were 4-1 up. Conte knows that a bench that was missing the suspended Richarlison but also included Fraser Forster and Djed Spence now has the depth to compete on all fronts. “The message was very clear that we’ve signed new players to improve our squad because our squad was really poor last season and the Champions League spot was a big achievement,” he said. “Our first goal was to improve the squad, not just players physically but also mentally. We wanted the right players for my philosophy.” Ed Aarons
7
Tuchel: Sterling can lift flat forwards
Chelsea’s Kalidou Koulibaly. Photograph: Jon Super/AP
A rare win at Goodison Park, a clean sheet plus fine debuts from the summer signings Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and latterly Marc Cucurella left Thomas Tuchel content on the opening day, although he seemed unsurprised and unperturbed by Chelsea’s lack of creativity. “We were joking at half-time saying maybe it is a typical Chelsea game – we win 1-0 and Jorgi scores with a penalty,” the manager admitted. So it proved. Despite Sterling’s probing, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz were anonymous while 16 corners and a host of inviting free-kicks failed to trouble Everton’s injury-hit defence. “I think Raheem will lift Kai and Mason and Pulisic up,” said Tuchel. “Because the center of our formation is in the three centre-backs and the two number sixes it is a deep formation in which you rely heavily on the two wing-backs. We didn’t have enough from the wing backs to create more freedom for the inner players. From there we go.” Andy Hunter
8
It’s a new dawn for Leicester
As Leicester City prepare for what could be a new era, how much will they miss Kasper Schmeichel? Their captain of recent times had started every opening game of the season for over a decade before his move to Nice last week. Danny Ward, his patient deputy for the past four years, performed well in the 2-2 draw with Brentford, but the dynamic clearly changes for Brendan Rodgers’ team. Schmeichel was a very vocal and impassioned figure, and a great shot-stopper. But Leicester’s horrendous record at conceding from set-pieces last season indicates gives Ward has the chance to help the team improve. “He was very assured and strong and we looked strong at set-pieces,” Rodgers said. “He’s our No 1 goalkeeper – he’s got the No 1 shirt and [he offered] presence, command of the box [and was] very good with his feet.” peter lansley
9
Elland Road can be a fortress for Leeds
Leeds won only four games at home in the Premier League last season, including three against the teams that were relegated. They stayed up on the final day and will want to avoid a similar struggle this time around. In order to do so, they will need to improve their form at Elland Road. “The good thing about last year is that we found some important points in away matches but we didn’t win enough at home,” Jesse Marsch said. An opening-day victory over Wolves, thanks to Rodrigo and an own goal, gives Leeds a platform to build on. Fans were behind the team from the first minute on Saturday, giving them a boost even when Wolves took the lead. “I come out of the tunnel for the match today, of course I am excited it’s our first match, and after 30 seconds I want to play,” Marsch said of the atmosphere. “It’s awesome.” Will Unwin
10
Cherries still need reinforcement
On the eve of Bournemouth’s first game back in the top flight, the words of Stuart Webber, Norwich’s sporting director, sprung to mind. Webber conceded he sent Daniel Farke to war without a gun after being relegated with 21 points two years ago, though they managed only a point more as they suffered the same fate last season despite spending £50m. Bournemouth have made three signings but only one, Marcus Tavernier, brother of the Rangers captain James, was fit enough to start their opening-day victory over Aston Villa. Tavernier hit the ground running with a lively display but Scott Parker requires further reinforcements. The Argentina centre-back Marcos Senesi, who is set to sign from Feyenoord, will provide some welcome ammunition. “We are trying to give the players we have some help to secure ourselves for a long season,” Parker said. “We definitely need more players.” Ben Fisher
A federal appeals court panel ruled Tuesday that House Democrats are entitled to review Donald Trump’s tax returns for 2015 to 2020, rejecting several legal arguments by the former president, who has sought for years to keep his financial records private.
The decision by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit was a victory for the House Ways and Means Committee, whose chairman, Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.), first requested in 2019 that the Internal Revenue Service turns over copies of Trump’s tax returns to the committee. The Treasury Department initially declined, and the issue has been tied up in litigation ever since.
The former president has a week to appeal the panel’s ruling, including asking the full appellate court to hear the case, before the judgment takes effect. Trump’s attorney Cameron T. Norris, who is handling the appeal, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) applauded the decision, calling it “an important victory for the rule of law.”
“Access to the former president’s tax returns is crucial to upholding the public interest, our national security and our Democracy,” Pelosi said in a statement. “We look forward to the IRS complying with this ruling and delivering the requested documents so that Ways and Means can begin its oversight responsibilities of the mandatory presidential audit program.”
Judges scrutinize demand for Trump tax returns
The panel’s 3-0 ruling caps another round in the legal battle between Trump — who promised as a presidential candidate to eventually release his tax returns but never did — and the committee, which argues that it is entitled by federal law to review any person’s taxes in the process of creating stronger financial-disclosure and auditing legislation.
After Trump left office, the committee in 2021 renewed its request for his tax returns, and the Biden administration’s Treasury Department agreed to provide them, which prompted a lawsuit by Trump.
In trying to keep his records private, Trump asserted that the committee had no “legitimate legislative purpose” for seeking the tax returns; that the committee was violating the separation of powers; that the law allowing the committee to review tax returns is “facially unconstitutional”; and that the Treasury Department, in agreeing to turn over the records, was violating Trump’s constitutional rights by retaliating against him.
The appellate panel rejected all four arguments.
The committee has “identified a legitimate legislative purpose that it requires information to accomplish,” the ruling says. “The mere fact that individual members of Congress may have political motivations as well as legislative ones is of no moment. Indeed, it is rare that an individual member of Congress would work for a legislative purpose without considering the political implications.”
The status of key investigations involving Donald Trump
As for the separation of powers, “this case has required much discussion of the intrusion by Congress into the Executive Branch and the personal life of [Trump] and the burden that such intrusions impose,” the decision says. While that burden “is concrete,” it is “tenuous at best,” and is “insufficient to require us to join the Chairman’s Request for the returns and return information.”
In rejecting Trump’s claim that the law that allows the committee to review tax returns is unconstitutional, the ruling says, “This statute can be properly applied in numerous circumstances, including the one before the court.”
And the panel rejected the assertion that President Biden’s Treasury Department was violating Trump’s constitutional rights by acting with an improper motive — retribution — when it agreed to the committee’s request for the tax returns.
“The improper motive must be a but-for cause of the government action, ‘meaning that the adverse action against the plaintiff would not have been taken absent the retaliatory motive,’” the ruling notes. Trump “cannot show that Treasury’s decision to comply with the 2021 Request would not have happened absent a retaliatory motive.”
Stock images. The transparent car coating uses sunlight to self-heal scratches (Credit: Shutterstock)
A new coating for car surfaces can self-heal scratches in just 30 minutes, its developers have said.
Developed by researchers at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), the transparent material uses energy from sunlight to heal.
Automotive coatings need to be highly durable and transparent to protect the car surface and show the color of the paint, but the researchers said it is difficult to provide self-healing functions with those criteria – materials with free molecular movement have high self-healing efficiency but low durability, while materials with excellent durability have “remarkably poor self-healing performance”, they said.
The team developed a coating that met all of the required conditions by combining an existing commercial coating resin with a hindered urea structure, a type of dynamic chemical bond that can repeat the decomposition and recombination of the polymer structure. They mixed it with a transparent photothermal dye so that dynamic chemical bonding occurs during exposure to sunlight.
The material has similar performance to commercial protective coatings and self-heals using near-infrared light in sunlight, the researchers said. When it absorbs sunlight, the coating’s surface temperature rises as light energy converts into thermal energy. The increased surface temperature self-heals surface scratches by repeating the dissociation and recombination of chemical bonds in the polymer structure.
To demonstrate the self-healing, the research team coated a model car using a spray-coating machine. When it was exposed to midday sunlight for about 30 minutes, a scratch on the surface completely disappeared and the surface of the material was restored.
“Although self-healing functions using photothermal dyes have been studied, previous studies were mainly based on inorganic materials that are difficult to apply industrially as the coating material should be transparent,” the researchers said. “In addition, inorganic materials require a large amount of light energy to produce a photothermal effect.”
The material could be used as a vehicle coating, on electronic devices such as smartphones and computers, or even on building materials, the team said.
This research was published in ACS Applied Polymer Materials.
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St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin has named his mandatory 22-man squad ahead of the Dragons’ Round 22 clash against the Canberra Raiders at GIO Stadium on Sunday, August 14 (2pm).
Blake Lawrie and Ben Hunt will both celebrate significant milestones against the Raiders. Lawrie will play his 100th NRL game while the skipper will make his 100th appearance for the Dragons.
Tariq Sims (suspension) and Francis Molo (ribs) have been ruled out, replaced in the team by Tyrell Fuimaono and Billy Burns. Michael Molo and Josh McGuire have been named in the back row as a result.
Cody Ramsey (knee) and Jayden Sullivan (shoulder) have been named in the reserves, although the Dragons can confirm Josh Kerr has been ruled out indefinitely with a hamstring injury.
The Dragons’ Knock On Effect Cup NSW and Jersey Flegg teams have the bye this weekend.
NRL squad for Round 22 v Canberra Raiders –
1. Moses Mbye – sponsored by EFEX 2. Mat Feagai – sponsored by Aspec Masonry 3. Jack Bird – sponsored by Kingsgrove Sports Center 4. Zac Lomax – sponsored by Floormania 5. Tautau Moga – sponsored by Wollongong Jetski 6. Talatau Amone – sponsored by Carinya Village – Jindabyne 7. Ben Hunt (c) – sponsored by Belle Property 8. Jack de Belin – sponsored by TripADeal 9. Andrew McCullough – sponsored by St George Food Distributors 10. Blake Lawrie – sponsored by Gym Solutions 11. Josh McGuire – sponsored by Shire Steel and Fabrication 12. Jaydn Su’A – sponsored by Modus Projects 13. Michael Molo – sponsored by Deicorp
Exchange: 14. Tyrell Sloan – sponsored by DEMOCO 15. Aaron Woods – sponsored by Jamesons Strata Management 16. Tyrell Fuimaono – sponsored by Professionals Padstow 17. Billy Burns – sponsored by TLE Alexandria 18. Jayden Sullivan 19.Jackson Ford 20. Jayden Hunt 21. Cody Ramsey 22. Jack Gosiewski
As the Democrats’ spending plan moves closer to a House vote, one of the more controversial provisions — nearly $80 billion in IRS funding, with $45.6 billion for “enforcement” — has raised questions about who the agency may target for audits.
IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said these resources are “absolutely not about increasing audit scrutiny on small businesses or middle-income Americans,” in a recent letter to the Senate.
However, with the investment projected to bring in $203.7 billion in revenue from 2022 to 2031, according to the Congressional Budget Office, opponents say IRS enforcement may affect everyday Americans.
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“Our biggest worry in this is that the burden for these audits will land on Walmart shoppers,” Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Overall, IRS audits plunged by 44% between fiscal years 2015 and 2019, according to a 2021 Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report.
While audits dropped by 75% for Americans making $1 million or more, the percentage fell by 33% for low-to-moderate income filers claiming the earned income tax credit, known as EITC, the report found.
Our biggest concern in this is that the burden for these audits will land on Walmart shoppers.
Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas
Ken Corbin, chief taxpayer experience officer for the IRS, said returns claiming the EITC have “historically had high rates of improper payments and therefore require greater enforcement,” during a May House Oversight Subcommittee hearing.
Since many lower-income Americans are wage earners, these audits are generally less complex and many may be automated.
How the IRS picks which tax returns to audit
Currently, the IRS uses software to rank each tax return with a numeric score, with higher scores more likely to trigger an audit. The system may flag a return when deductions or credits compared to income fall outside of acceptable ranges.
For example, let’s say you make $150,000 and claim a $50,000 charitable deduction. You’re more likely to get audited because it’s “disproportionate” to what the system expects, explained Lawrence Levy, president and CEO of tax resolution firm Levy and Associates.
Other red flags for an IRS audit may include unreported income, refundable tax credits such as the EITC, home office or auto deductions, and rounded numbers on your return, experts say.
How IRS audits may change with more funding
While the legislation still must be approved by the House and signed into law, it will take time to phase in the funding, hire and train new workers.
The IRS aims to hire roughly 87,000 new agents, according to the Treasury Department.
New auditors may have a six-month training program and receive cases worth a few hundred thousand dollars rather than tens of millions, Levy said.
“You’re not going to give a new General Motors trainee, for example,” he said. “It just isn’t going to happen.”
The chance of an audit may increase for self-employed taxpayers, Levy said, depending on their return. However, the odds may not change for traditional workers with an error-free filing, he said.
“The W-2 employee is much less likely to get audited than a self-employed person by far, in my opinion,” Levy said.
Of course, one of the best way to avoid future headaches is by keeping accurate records with detailed bookkeeping and saving all receipts, he said.
Despite the fact that less than 1% of Netflix’s subscribers have downloaded the company’s games, a Sensor Tower analyst emphasized that Netflix is only just getting started with its video games offering.
According to figures from analytics firm Apptopia (via CNBC) shared last week, Netflix’s mobile games have been downloaded over 23 million times worldwide by an average of 1.7 million users.
That would represent less than 1% of its 221 million subscribers, CNBC noted, adding that the streaming giant is hoping to bring its catalog from 24 titles currently to 50 by the end of the year, which would double its offering.
Back in June, Sensor Tower reported that Netflix mobile titles had been downloaded 13 million times globally. talking to GamesIndustry.biz today, Sensor Tower mobile insights strategist for EMEA Craig Chapple said that it’s “important to remember that Netflix is right at the start of its mobile games strategy.”
“Sensor Tower data shows that downloads for mobile games published by the company only really started ramping up in November,” he added.
“While it’s been steadily making a few acquisitions and publishing some existing and new titles, it’s really going to take time to grow the business. Those studios will need time to develop new games that have a chance of being successful, and Netflix has only really just begun announcing games based on its large IP from the firm’s TV and film offerings.”
“Downloads for mobile games published by [Netflix] only really started ramping up in November”Craig ChappleSensor Tower
Chapple highlighted that one of the biggest challenges Netflix is facing at the moment is that its games are not available on other platforms.
“The account registration requirement creates a barrier for consumers who are used to quick and easy access to F2P titles on the App Store and Google Play,” he continued. “Netflix also hasn’t historically conducted its marketing operations like other companies, so we’re not seeing huge, expensive user acquisition campaigns that really propel the top mobile titles to garner millions of installs over both short and extended periods of time. So it’s operating under a different strategy here right now.
“In this context, I don’t think it’s a bad start at all for Netflix. The challenge will be continuing to ramp up its release schedule and provide ongoing support for the games side of the business, as well as publishing engaging titles that are ‘t available elsewhere on mobile. If Netflix can do that, then combined with its very high engagement rate with subscribers of its TV and film content, there’s a lot of potential there. But this isn’t going to happen overnight.”
Chapple also said that “games could become another important touchpoint for user engagement” on Netflix but reminded that being successful in one area (streaming in Netflix’s case) doesn’t guarantee “sure-fire success” with an added games offering.
“Historically there have been hugely popular platforms that have added instant games or storefronts to their offerings that haven’t been wildly successful,” he said. “But I think the difference with Netflix is that it has that all important IP that could cut through.”
Netflix has been ramping up its games efforts lately, acquiring three studios – Oxenfree developer Night School Studio in September 2021, Finnish mobile developer Next Games and Boss Fight Entertainment in March 2022.
Earlier this year, the firm named former PlayStation senior director of corporate strategy Roberto Barrera as its new head of gaming strategy, planning and analysis.
