Budget 2011

Middle Malaysia screwed again:

- 5% service tax up to 6%
- Same tax applies to paid TV services (Astro), cars

But .... no toll hike on 4 PLUS highways for next 5 years ...

I'm puzzled - do we really need a 100-storey building in the heart of KL?

yeah, but what the f*** are they going to do with all the space there!?? unless petronas buys it ...

And the hope of seeing the income tax being reduced is dashed again.

Our tax is really quite something. Sigh...

Our income has not reached the level of developed countries but our tax certainly has

I was really hoping for a bit more income tax relief but looks like totally nothing for us this year but more taxes - 1% more service tax and the GST to come soon.

Mid-income group always gets shafted - govt don't care because they know we can't afford to go anywhere else so no choice but to grin and bear it and pay up. big fish get taxed too much, they'll move to other pastures. poor can't pay, but the vote bank is big, so ... political economics ...

Some of the fresh graduates are being paid the same salaries that their seniors got ten years ago. I am not too sure why the salary bracket is stagnant here but I am clearly not comfortable while hearing this. How are they going to cope with the inflation? How are they going to buy a house these days?

No wonder when I was an undergraduate, my lecturer always told us that we are part of the 'modern slavery'.

So, apart from tax relief, we should also hope to see our income bracket will be raised to a higher level.

drife wrote:yes, i'm a chest lover

I'm more a leg man myself ...

If only the RM5b for the 100 storey building was set aside on education instead to increase the mindset of young Malaysians just 1 storey higher.

Just so that in 20 years they'll be leaders not fixated on physical size.

drife wrote:oh my. you mean slender, silky smooth speaker stands? hehe

yeah. keep the humour coming. in the beginning i'd figured out that this is gonna be another sad, stressful, frustrating gormen-whacking tread.

so, while we're at it, why not sit back, relax, share some sarcasm, talk sh!t and have a good laugh about the good 'ol budget

relak, bro, just trying to dissipate the general feeling of disappointment middle Malaysia is saddled with after another boring and pointless budget.

As for the 100-storey building, looks a bit like an ego trip to me ... yeah, sure, all these projects will create loads of jobs ... for foreigners!

drife wrote:with the diminishing disposable income, fresh grads w/out "strong family finances" would have to settle for c-grade-transformer-rattling-amps, play around with chinese chest to decouple speakers and live at zone 3, meaning live at tg sepat and travel to kl for work. yeah, its going towards that direction.

*with the chess thing, its just an example. hope i don't offend anyone. i've been using them for quite some time. yes, i'm a chest lover

Zone 3 ain't that bad. They're closer to nature and probably live longer too because of the better air. People in Japan and China live in Zone 7 and travel 300KM to work daily. But oh yeah, they have something called efficient public transport, they have high speed trains. Something that our gomen can only talk about. To the dogs we go!

drife wrote: yes, i'm a chest lover

So, is it male or female chest?

Perhaps the 100-storey skyscraper is the ruling party's last hurrah! Cash out before the next GE. And raise taxes to pay for such egoistic project. Eventually GST will be implemented if they survive the next GE.

We may have high income in future, but all will be given back in taxes and inflation. Perhaps it will even be worse off than today.

Why the hell do we need to spend billions for such a humongous building when we can use the money to improve our public transport system, to improve the education system and health care system?

Who benefits from such a huge project? ... the Indonesian migrant workers, perhaps again the Koreans and Japanese from the Twin Towers project and other foreign professionals (architects, engineers etc..). How many of our Rakyat will benefit? Perhaps only a hand full. And the ones benefiting the most from it? ... those who mooted the idea of course!!

Arrrgh ...... I can't understand this gomen! The Rakyat is suffering, but they don't give a damn. This present federal gomen is bent on draining the country's coffers dry!

Some of the things I hear, both first hand and second hand, will make your blood boil. But I refrain from talking about them, no point spoiling everyone's mood. After all, it's a SATURDAY !!!!

Put your thoughts and dissappointment in action! Turn up in the next General Election.

Action speaks louder than words.

My constituency is Bukit Bintang so selection was no headache for many years until Lee Lam Thye decided to resign from politics (lots of versions about the -real- reason why he resigned, don't know which one is the right one).

There was this "big" news about Malaysia going bankrupt in 9 years if the subsidies to essential goods were not cut. So, all the money saved from the subsidies can go for the 100-storey building lor! And that surely will enrich those who mooted the idea and close to the you-know-who.

Why cant the gomen buys over Plus and other highways? Then again, this will benefit the rakyats and not the elite group, therefore is BAD move!

err... cant comment much. just know that i need to pay more when i bring my family to KFC and pay more to watch　ＥＰＬ　ｆｒｏｍ　ａｓｔｒｏ．Ｈｏｐｅｆｕｌｌｙ　ｈｉｆｉ　ｉｔｅｍ　ｗｏｎｔ　ｂｅｃｏｍｅ　ｍｏｒｅ　ｅｘｐｅｎｓｉｖｅ．

So its 6% service tax on top of your Astro package. Happy???
Still don't want to register as voter?...

sorry guys i still haven't figured out how to multi quote.

drife wrote:sorry guys i still haven't figured out how to multi quote. anyway:

sph wrote:....all these projects will create loads of jobs ... for foreigners!

yup, and more funds (wages) gets transferred overseas. its like indirectly buying imported goods. again, negative to the balance of trade for us.

bimmerman wrote:: Zone 3 ain't that bad. They're closer to nature and probably live longer too because of the better air. People in Japan/China live in Zone 7 and travel 300KM to work daily. But oh yeah, they have something called efficient public transport, they have high speed trains. Something that our gomen can only talk about. To the dogs we go!

nature- peaceful, tranquil, quiet. hifi sounds more organic too. Seriously, i believe travelling 300km from zone 7 to work in a 500kph train would still be faster and safer than taking public transport from tg sepat to kl. Rough rides and harsh conditions... haihhh... lucky we got hifi to help calm the senses

tycham wrote: So, is it male or female chest?

if i were freddie mercury, george michael or adam lambert it'll be the 1st one. if i were charlie sheen, hugh grant or edison chen it'll be the 2nd one.
Jolie/Barrymore... would love both types of chest.

hey, it was a typo. i meant wooden chess blocks. again, about the chest thing, hope i didn't offend anyone (especially those of the queer community, i believe they could well be among our fellow forum members).

just trying to detour a bit to make it a less stressful discussion. you knowlah, even people at mamak or coffee shops gets "fired-up" like class A amps while discussing these matters.

So Tycham, would like to borrow my dts-hd remastered dvd? while analysing budget 2011, you could also watch Shaving Ryan's Private

No bajet to buy dvd player.. no bajet so no need to analyse!

one line says it all. short and sweet.

when things are heading the opposite direction, turn up the volume and enjoy!

Drife I laughed my heart out when you talk about the rattling C Transformer thing..
I do believe some of us might live the lifestyle of a Cuban when things do really go from bad to worse, where a 40 years old Krell amp is still the hard working horses at someone Top notch hi fi system by 2020. Where the face plate is painted with hippies art~~ And the Volume nob is repaired improvising a water tap handle. While our depreciating ringgit can't afford the new thing.

True enough; 15 years ago RM2.4k is the Engineer standard pay for established company... now; they are wondering RM2.2K would be possible.

No wonder I keep wanting to buy China made hifi lately..

yeah man. normally downturn lasts for a few years. lets hope this one doesn't stretch up to a decade. it feels like its gonna go on for a very long time. maybe some members here with economics background can share some thoughts...

got old krell to repaint and modify considered lucky already. how many times have we seen cars/vans with padlocks coz owner couldn't afford to fix the locks. in the car/van got wife and kid(s) some more. bodywork rusty, tires botak... during rain the vehicle might "go the wrong way first, then go the right way", dangerously sliding through a corner. health hazard

adrian have you checked out any AudioRomy amps? IMO they're underrated underdogs that fit the Budget

Now you mention Audioromy I just check it out... Yah, look very Russian Cold war stuff. Look undestructible.. but then again will have high tedency to burst into flame without any warning~

Will GST has effect on end-user like we? If yes, we better upgrade our gears to our best ability than sooner....

Yeah, GST will affect everything but essential services. Depending on how it is implemented - if at all, although this is inevitable - it could makes hifi equipment cheaper.

For example, say an amp has 30% import tax and 10% sales tax. GST will replace sales tax. So if GST is 4%, then of course, cost is cheaper ... then again, what is they up import duty?

I thought import tax is 15%? Plus sales tax of 10% , total is 25%? Correct me if I am wrong coz I have his perception all the time. If not, might hold on to imported stuff.

Well, for start GST will be on 4% but it will gradually increase to 7% inevitably as per reliable sources. Neighboring country, S'pore has raised to 7% as high...

Watch out for the lightning which may strike you from the back ......while you are comfortably looking forward.....

cheers

Mikapoh wrote:I thought import tax is 15%? Plus sales tax of 10% , total is 25%? Correct me if I am wrong coz I have his perception all the time. If not, might hold on to imported stuff.

Well, for start GST will be on 4% but it will gradually increase to 7% inevitably as per reliable sources. Neighboring country, S'pore has raised to 7% as high...

It may well be ... see what I wrote again - "For example, say ..." Clearer? It would well be 5 or 15 or 50%, I was just illustrating a situation.

Ok, noted with thanks.

Mikapoh wrote:I thought import tax is 15%? Plus sales tax of 10% , total is 25%? Correct me if I am wrong coz I have his perception all the time. If not, might hold on to imported stuff.

Well, for start GST will be on 4% but it will gradually increase to 7% inevitably as per reliable sources. Neighboring country, S'pore has raised to 7% as high...

If not mistaken, it is 26.5% in total because the 10% is on top of the 15%.

car o scope wrote:

Mikapoh wrote:I thought import tax is 15%? Plus sales tax of 10% , total is 25%? Correct me if I am wrong coz I have his perception all the time. If not, might hold on to imported stuff.

Well, for start GST will be on 4% but it will gradually increase to 7% inevitably as per reliable sources. Neighboring country, S'pore has raised to 7% as high...

If not mistaken, it is 26.5% in total because the 10% is on top of the 15%.

That is correct.

And if I am not mistaken, Malaysia could be the ONLY country that taxes on the Landed cost of the item, ie, we pay tax on the freight, insurance on the item.

Malaysia Boleh.

it is a great country, after all ...

I have a saying, "Malaysia, APA PUN bolih"......

AFAIK the rate of import duty for different components are slightly different. Also a lot depends on the 'ingenuity' of the import agent. At one time, some smartly import DACs in as 'computer CPU', which at that time, was tax-free....

Yes WongKN, you are absolutely correct on the ingenuity of the import agent. There are tons of tariff code to fool around with. Some of our weird hi fi products have a chance to slip through this complicated/confusing matters.

Just hope that the dealer dont mark up the price like a genuine taxed product to the end user, that's all.
Kesian la..kita ni, we are about to live a Cuban-life... at least get us some reasonable priced Russian goods~~

This brings me to my oft beaten to death topic - we SHOULD support the GOOD hifi dealers. Yes, their prices might be slightly higher than if we import ourselves and pay kopi money to avoid tax. BUT eventually we need good after sales service and we need good advice. A GOOD hifi dealer, one who himself is a hifi or AV enthusiast, has a very good chance of knowing a lot more than us, simply because if they are good, they have vast experience - type and size of rooms, equipment matching, system setup and tuning, etc. Those are the intangible things we can't see, but personally for me, from years of experience, things that I stand to benefit tremendously. E.g. how to solve a particular area of dissatisfaction with my system, or a problem with the room. What about whether certain equipments work well with each other. Despite what some may think about reading from forums or the power of Google and Wiki, the fact is NOTHING beats real life experience. Along the same line, I also do NOT encourage trying to cheat the hifi dealers - say importing an equipment oneself and then when something goes wrong, trying all kinds of tricks to force the authorised agent or dealer to absorb the cost of fixing the problem, etc. Especially like trying to abuse the internet or forums to blackmail the dealers. It happens more often than one thinks.

Of course, when it comes to the unscrupulous dealers, all bets are off. It's a free country !

This is why I would encourage special attention to threads for e.g. on the recent Harbeth speakers, when one forumer points out how local prices are so much cheaper when compared to U.K. or even SG prices. We should support dealers like that WITH THE CAVERT that we like Harbeth sound and we plan to or is considering to buy a Harbeth speaker. Of course it doesn't mean we should all drop everything and go buy a Harbeth, even if we don't like its sound.

There is big hole(Torrential) leakage in revenue to malaysia gov from all sought of businessman. All this can be better use to provide better facilities and also reduce our personal tax but unopportunately, we are the one that being tax to the max.
God knows, if the leakage being plugged, we may well not have to personal pay tax at all.
Imagine country like hongkong/singapore have zero natural resources but can afford to give one of the lowest tax.

7810sam wrote:There is big hole(Torrential) leakage in revenue to malaysia gov from all sought of businessman. All this can be better use to provide better facilities and also reduce our personal tax but unopportunately, we are the one that being tax to the max.
God knows, if the leakage being plugged, we may well not have to personal pay tax at all.
Imagine country like hongkong/singapore have zero natural resources but can afford to give one of the lowest tax.

We all know that this will benefit the rakyat but hang on, how about those in the inner circle? What will they get if all the tax revenues were to channel to projects that benefit rakyat and all leakages plugged?

Ini macam TAK Boleh lor!! Kita ini Malaysia Boleh mah!!!!!!

bassraptor wrote:it is a great country, after all ...

It would be greater minus the pea-brain leaders that squander our hard earn money on non feasible projects that are doomed before they even start......

Comon guys. You all should be proud !! We used to have the world's tallest building. Soon we will have a 100 storey building. Sorry, my mistake. A 100 storey LEAKING CEILING building. But we should be grateful they don't give it to the Highland Towers contractor. Give also so what ? They are only the minister mah. No power to decide on anything one. Remember the flyover at Sri Damansara ? Also don't forget and be proud that we sent someone into space to flip some roti canai's and pull some teh tarik's. Wow, the world was so impressed then. Apparently we will soon send someone else again. This time maybe he will play some games like fly a kite

Remember the saying :

(Ini) Malaysia, APA PUN bolih !!!!!

Hmmmmm, I wonder what would happen if you spun a top in space? Would it continue to spin forever? Worth the scientific experiment. This will be better than tossing roti or pulling tea in the space station. After all, even USA also dont have such an experiment. I bet NASA scientists also dont know how to spin tops on Earth let alone in space. We will be the first and the world will be stunned!!! Lets do it man.

WongKN wrote:Comon guys. You all should be proud !! We used to have the world's tallest building. Soon we will have a 100 storey building. Sorry, my mistake. A 100 storey LEAKING CEILING building. But we should be grateful they don't give it to the Highland Towers contractor. Give also so what ? They are only the minister mah. No power to decide on anything one. Remember the flyover at Sri Damansara ? Also don't forget and be proud that we sent someone into space to flip some roti canai's and pull some teh tarik's. Wow, the world was so impressed then. Apparently we will soon send someone else again. This time maybe he will play some games like fly a kite

Remember the saying :

(Ini) Malaysia, APA PUN bolih !!!!!

Havent you heard that we have proudly presented to the world on the leaky roof in World Expo in Shanghai?

You think so easy to build building with leaky roof that appears normal? Thats why we have to PAY HIGH PRICE for it lor.

Malaysia Bolih.

Guys,

This is a forum for hi-fi. Discussing about the impact of the 2011 budget on hi-fi is OK, but I'm sure there are other better forums where you can take forward other non-hi-fi 2011 Budget topics.

Can we just stick to hi-fi/audio/TV here?

lock this thread !