[Libre-soc-dev] CVC integration into Coriolis

[lkcl]

On Tue, Nov 23, 2021 at 5:04 AM D. Mitch Bailey
<d.bailey at shuharisystem.com> wrote:

> I'll check with my company to see if there's any special paperwork
> needed before we can begin.

there's some "understanding and context" that's needed, here, which
i'll explain below.

> I imagine we need to set some milestones and decide on deliverables.

https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=748#c0

i've moved CVC into the "validation against simulations and other
checkers" milestone, and merged the two budgets.  if you can
review the amounts allocated you will get an idea of the available
budget, it is roughly calculated based around EUR 3000 a month
(which, being donations, of course are tax-deductible "gifts" and
thus are entirely tax-free and therefore roughly equivalent to
double the same net salary).

now, some context:

the priority here for this NLnet grant is for LIP6 coriolis2. it is a
really nice coincidence that you have just the right expertise:
if you can help with that - for example in the "Researching
Logical Equivalence algorithms and documenting them" task,
simply by giving advice under the relevant bugreport and/or
mailing list, then we can easily justify some of the NLnet donations
to be given to you or your company... as long as it is for
coriolis2 improvement in some way.

if say you helped with the SPICE LVS transistor level extractor
(even just the advice about how in magic things are done in
strict alphabetical order is valuable), and say helped implement
such a SPICE LVS transistor level extractor (in coriolis2 or in
a library that coriolis2 could use) then, again, we could justify
an NLnet donation to you or to your company.

now, as far as CVC is concerned, with the priority of this NLnet
Grant to be for coriolis2, we can also justify the "integration and
comparison against other LEQ checkers", but, within that EUR
5000 budget, you can see that checking against other LEQ
checkers and running simulations also has to be covered, therefore
if it is major rewrites of CVC or major development, the budget
is still the same.

an interesting aside: you could perfectly well apply for your *own*
NLnet Grant Request of up to EUR 50,000!  they typically take
around 3 months to go through the cycle.

regarding companies: NLnet has absolutely no problem whatsoever
in giving donations to Corporations.  the practical realities of how
that turns out however are well illustrated with this real-world
example:

* person A does EUR 1000 worth of work in 10 days.
* person A is from Russia and is  contracted by Company B,
  in the Ukraine.
* the Ukraine considers "Charitable Donations" to be taxable
  at 20%
* the Russian Government considers "Charitable Donations"
   to be taxable at 20%
* transferring money to the Ukraine requires fixed bank charges
   of EUR 100.
* transferring money from the Ukraine to Russia requires fixed
  bank charges of EUR 100.
* Company B takes 15% administrative fees.

so let's go through that:

* NLnet transfers money to Company B in the Ukraine.
   EUR 1000 has a bank fee of EUR 100 subtracted.
   now there is EUR 900
* Ukraine Government subtracts 20% tax on all Charitable
  Donations.  EUR 900 has EUR 180 subtracted.
  now there is EUR 720.
* Company B takes 15% administrative fees (perfectly
  reasonable).  this is EUR 108.
  now there is EUR 684
* Company B transfers EUR 684 to Person A.  the bank fees
   are EUR 100.
   now there is EUR 584.
* Russian Govt takes 20% on all Charitable Donations
   for individuals working for Charities (unless there are
   extenuating circumstances).
  EUR 584 has EUR 117 subtracted.
  now there is EUR 467.

the original EUR 1,000 has LITERALLY lost over HALF of its value
by going through a company.

if they were an employee rather than a Contractor, it would be
even worse: Company B would take Insurance, Corporation
Tax, probably around 40%, and Person B would receive something
like EUR 250 for 10 days of work (approximately EUR 3 per hour).

OR....

Person A could have had the money sent directly to their
bank account in Russia.  their Accountant takes care of it:
it's a Charitable Gift, and their Accountant assesses, based
on their income and the laws in their country, whether it
is taxable or not.

in the example above, from EUR 1000, they receive appx EUR 720
rather than EUR 467: 50% more than if the money had gone
through Company A.

if they worked in the UK or anywhere in Europe, and their income
is below certain thresholds (based on local tax laws), they could
receive ALL of that money because there are laws in Europe where
bank fees must be ZERO when transferring between European Bank
Accounts.

bottom line is that yes, it is doable to pay to Corporations,
but the reality is that much of the donation is frittered away
in administrative fees.

l.