Fools rush in
What? You mean I'm going to be taxed on my salary increase even if I give it to charity? Kont taf biha din, Ang?
I imagine that the heroes on the Labour benches who have decided to pass their salary increase on to charity haven’t yet spoken to their accountants.
That they have the brains of chickens is something we know already – pace Anglu Farrugia, the second to rush to donate his pay, because he couldn’t let il-Leader go one better.
The thickos – magna cum laude law degrees, doctorates in public policy and all – haven’t yet worked out that they cannot donate any part of their salary before they receive it. And here’s the thing: once they receive it, they have to pay tax on it, and probably at the top rate, too.
So those who, like Joseph Muscat and Anglu Farrugia, have been kind enough to say that others can take the new bit of their salary because they don’t need it, will actually be taking home rather a lot less money than they do today on their present salary.
Of course, they can always reduce the cheque they plan to send to charity by the amount they have paid in tax, but that doesn’t sound quite as generous, does it.
These fools wish to lead the country but don’t seem able to understand that they can’t simply tell the Treasury to give part of their salary to the charity of their choice instead of including it in their pay-cheque. The Treasury cannot do otherwise than send their entire salary to them, then it’s up to them to send off a donation after having paid tax on the full amount, something they can’t worm their way out of.
Every time something happens to remind me that Joseph and Anglu think through their bottoms I begin to wish that I were one of those people who don’t care who runs the country. But really, it’s difficult not to care in the face of such flaming ignorance.
Well, what can you expect, really, from somebody who thought that the Nationalist Party had a top-secret fund and agents trained to buy votes from Labour heroin addicts at a few euros a pop. Maaaaaa, tal-biki.
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I think I may offer a solution to all this. The charity should now pay all the proceeds to the poor Labour MPs.
Who will audit these “donations”, or claims about them, irrespective whether they are gross or net of tax?
Are they ready to file their bank statements (including details of the beneficiaries) with the Clerk of the House?
Dear Daphne, trust you to show our legislators how to act in a responsible and intelligent manner. I bet that they never thought about the tax angle of their “generosity”. Thanks for coming back.
Tal biki 100 times over!
Propaganda bil-karita!
Would you accept the pay increase, if you were an MP, with such a precarious financial situation most families are facing. Don’t you think that the timing of such rise is politically counterproductive?
[Daphne – Of course I would. How does not accepting it help any family in need? The way to help families in need is to give them help, not to refuse money yourself. That’s utterly ridiculous, and nothing but a poor public relations stunt. I believe in just remuneration, and I am not a communist or socialist. When people accept inadequate compensation for their work, they are doing a disservice to everyone else by propagating a socialist culture and the idea that pay gaps between, say, shop assistants and members of parliament, are unjust and reprehensible.]
What you mentioned, dear Daphne, couldn’t have been said better. It’s ridiculous to refuse money, money which you can give to those in need if you really don’t want it yourself.
It reminds me of those who say that money isn’t important. It isn’t everything, that’s true, but then again, how on earth can you help those in need, without it?
Isn’t money donated to charities tax deductable in Malta? If it is, that would mean they would not ultimately pay tax on it.
Donations are not tax deductable, unless they are made to the small number of welfare organisations listed in the Government Gazette.
But even here the PL managed to make a cock-up of their publicity stunt. Labour Party MPs have opted to pass on the funds to a ‘foundation’ set up by their political party for that purpose. That foundation is not listed among the charities benefiting from the special tax concession.
Thus Labour MPs who have committed themselves to donating their rise in pay to its full value must pay out the tax element relevant to the value of the donation to the Inland Revenue department, from their ordinary income.
The PL must never be trusted with management of the country’s finances.
Veru tal-biki, imma x’tistenna min Gadget, jkollu jaqbel mal-‘boy’.
Alfred Sant, on national television, no less, admitted that a Labour government would circumvent EU regulations by “inbazwru ftit l’hawn u ftit li lhinn” In other words the LP is a party bazwi.
Too bad the wise men (Joseph & Anglu) cannot skew Inland Revenue rules and like it or not, they have first to receive the increase, pay tax on it and other income, then donate any portion of the net figure to the charity of their choice.
Heaven forbid that Malta’s finances are entrusted to these two men and their ilk. Mentalita bazwija!
I think that the salary they had was peanuts, and hence only those who get off on being perceived as important (hardly the smartest people) get into politics.
However, I also think that the timing of this increase was awful, to the point of being idiotic. The current reaction of people should have been obvious.
A rise in salaries should be accompanied by an increase in productivity. I think that more should be expected from MPs following their raise.
Allura dawk il-parlamentari Laburisti li accettaw iz-zieda huma hallelin u m’ghandhomx kuxjenza socjali? Qisu f’dan il-pajjiz meta tkun fl-oppozizzjoni tista’ tghaddijha lixxa.
Per ezempju, Joseph Muscat hareg bil-LIVING WAGE u qal li jemmen fiha. Allura nerga nistaqsi, ta’ Gahan li jien, kif lil tas-Super One mhux qed itihom dil-madoffi LIVING WAGE?
Ghal min ma jafx, l-MLP lanqas kien ihallas lil-haddiema tieghu kif kienet titlob il-ligi sakemm kixifhom Joe Saliba qabel l-ahhar elezzjoni.
Sabiha l-indafa tghid il-mahmuga!
U din il-mossa ta’ Pullicino Orlando li se jaghti iz-zieda tieghu lil-moviment IVA tad-divorzju x’effet solidali ghandha mal-batut li ma’ jistax ilahhaq mal-hajja?
L-istess nistaqsi kif id-donazzjoni ta’ Dr Jean-Pierre Farrugia lil xi kawza gusta fl-Italja kif sa twietili l-ugiegh minn dawn il-prezzijiet ta’ l-affarijiet li qed joghlew f’Malta.
Allura Joseph Muscat, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando u Jean-Pierre Farrugia ghandhom il-kuxjenza socjali li shabhom m’ghandhomx?
Haga wahda fiz-zgur: l-ixkubetta ghandha l-grillu, u kullhadd jaghmel li jaqbillu.
Kullhadd jaghmel li jrid bi hwejgu, ghax fl-ahhar mill-ahhar se jiehdu flushom tal-parlament, wara li tithallas it-taxxa, u imbaghad jatuhom lil min iridu.
U mhux talli l-LP ma jhallasx LIVING WAGE lill dawk tas-Super One, talli xi ftit zmien ilu inkixfu li kien ilhom ma jhallsu d-dawl u l-ilma ghal bosta snin u kellhom jaghtu eluf.
Jista xi hadd jghidilna jekk dawn il-kontijiet thallsux?
Il-PL jigbor daqs il-PN flus – wiehed jaghmel gabra wahda u l-iehor zewg gabriet jew iktar. Mela qed nara L-Istrina u nara lil Joseph diehel ma’ delegazzjoni shiha tal-partit qishom ghassa mal-Crown Jewels, u wara hafna tlablib u xeni u ticrit tal-hluq, Joseph ta lil President ta’ Malta ……….ELF ewro, li jigu erba’ mija u tlieta w ghoxrin lira Maltin.
Kif ha c-cekk, Dr Gorg Abela ma’ felahx ma jghidx li “mhux l-ammont jghodd!”
Minn naha l-ohra, Dr Gonzi, ma’ Pawlu Borg Olivier ta elfejn ewro ……. poche parole al bon intenditor!
Lil min jidhol f’dan il-blog se ntieh ‘rigal’ ghas-sena 2011 biex joqghod jixtarru fis-skiet ta’ daru……jekk jiflah jarah kollu!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_bSF5esH4E&feature=related
Nghid ghalija qatt ma’ rajt tghassida ta’ ingredjenti bhal din.
Haga wahda cert minnha; li Joseph muscat tahom l-arma l-gdida flimkien ma’ Michelle, li ghalqu disghin sena partit taht xi kocc ismijiet, li l-isqof japprova lil Joseph, li issa zmien il-Milied.
Hasra li m’ghandhomx ritratt il-mexxejja tal-MLP/PL FLIMKIEN! Kieku Joseph hdejn min joqghod, hdejn Mintoff jew hdejn Alfred, u ‘l Karmenu nhalluh barra?
dawk haduhom bhala karita’…
Welcome back, Daphne. Very glad to be able to read your blog. I really missed you. Best wishes for 2011.
And so say all of us.
Could Joseph Muscat let us know whether he and the other Muppets will be repeating this ‘donation’ year in year out? And can he let us know which criteria he will be using to decide when to stop giving this remuneration to charity?
We speak of charity and donating!
These morons are doing neither one nor the other because charity is done out of your own resources. If they refused the increase they are at best doing charity out of someone else’s pocket (the taxpayer in this case) and immorally taking credit for it (both PR and tax).
If our Ministers are good seldom can you pay them too much. If they’re bad you always pay them too much.
The people that cost you are not those with the higher salary. the people that cost are the people that don’t produce and when you’ve got your inner circle people there working you to a whole new level you’ve got to take care of them. Just as you would do to your own children.
Jahasra kif ha jcahhad lil Etoile u Soleil!
Hot Mama, it-tfal hallihom barra. Dawk zewgt it-tfal helwin u innocenti. Jekk missierhom izeffinhom fin-nofs ikun qed jaghmel zball, taghmilx bhalu inti.
Are Jefferey Pullicino-Orlando’s and Jean-Pierre Farrugia’s increases tax-exempt?
[Daphne – Of course not. Why would they be? Jeffrey and Jean-Pierre, like everyone else, must first receive the increase, pay tax on it, and then donate what they wish.]
Does that mean, that by the same coin, Dr Pullicino-Orlando and Dr.J-P Farrugia are “thickos”, “fools wish to lead the country but don’t seem able to understand that they can’t simply tell the Treasury to give part of their salary to the charity of their choice instead of including it in their pay-cheque”, “think through their bottoms”, and display “flaming ignorance” ?
On another subject, an interesting piece worth reading.
http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=118199