Tax and tariffs

Joseph V. Grech

Dec 3rd 2008, 18:24

Frankly I do not care whether Minister Austin Gatt lied or not in Parliament. We have become quite used to that happening in the past so why worry?
I find the stance adopted by Mr. J. Martinelli irksome, distressing, wishy-washy, subservient to our political masters.
Whether we like it or not we stand to be taxed (sorry, 'tariffed') - according to Mr. Martinelli - on the amount of natural refuse we will generate. And as for his assertion that 'the consumer has control on how much he consumes' that may well be so. But having control on the amount of shit the consumer will produce may probably prood to be at least slightly more problematic.
What amazes me is that some people will say AMEN too readily to what some politicians dream up!

lgalea

Dec 3rd 2008, 18:08

J Martinelli
My posting with source contradicts you.

And if you want to defend the tariffs which your Gonzipn is imposing upon US in Malta you should come and live here if you think that we are living in Nirvana.

J Martinelli

Dec 3rd 2008, 13:55

During the last election campaign a certain Labour candidate accused the Nationalists of having "something wrong in their DNA"

Judging from some comments which some regular LP apologists write here, twisting and spinning the truth, I think that same comment should have been directed at Labour faithful.

There is a difference between a TAX and a TARIFF and it is very simple to discern.

A tax is set across the board and totally outside the control of the taxpayer. In other words, if a tax on income is set at 25%, the taxpayer has no choice of paying a lesser rate.

A tariff is set on consumer goods and sets the price per unit. The more units one consumes, the more he pays. So, if the tariff is e0.50 per unit, one has to multiply the rate (tariff) times the number of units used. And here lies the difference - use less - pay less. Therefore the consumer has control on how much he buys or consumes.

In the context of electric energy cost, the 'tariff' is the cost per unit which is required to break even with the cost of generation and cannot be described as a tax.

lgalea

Dec 3rd 2008, 09:28

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff
"A tariff is a tax imposed on goods when they are moved across a political boundary...A "revenue tariff" is a set of rates designed primarily to raise money for the government...Tax, tariff and trade rules in modern times are usually set together because of their common impact on industrial policy, investment policy, and agricultural policy.

Some economic theories hold that tariffs are a harmful interference with the individual freedom and the laws of the free market. They believe that it is unfair toward consumers and generally disadvantageous for a country to artificially maintain an inefficient industry, and that it is better to allow it to collapse and to allow a new, more efficient one to develop in its place. The opposition to all tariffs is part of the free trade principle; the World Trade Organization aims to reduce tariffs and to avoid countries discriminating between other countries when applying tariffs."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax
"A tax is a financial charge or other levy imposed on an individual or a legal entity by a state or a functional equivalent of a state...

Ergo, Agostino Pio, a TARIFF is a TAX.