nor ever a leaf did fall.
while season aged hither-
-come autumn,
she has shed them all.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Relief !
Thought ceased and the mind raced.
For the singular wish, a search ensued.
Breath held ,I wished hard,
With closed eyes gazing up at the dark.
Gazing up at the dark, I wished hard.
In my night sky , “a shooting star!"
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Struggle
This Poem(?!) was written by Captain Haddock after downing a lot of whiskey! So it turned out to be just a drunken rant! "to those we've loved , and those we've lost.. Cheers mateys!"
A sailor awaits
The storm aint far
The night is long
Oh twilight hour
The course is lost
No light alive
The storm waves they lash
The sails wont last
Oh twilight hour
The grey clouds
No stars shine through
The bearing lost
The ship is lost
Oh twilight hour
Oh clouds of grey
Wont u part
No stars shine through
The waves they lash
My ship is lost
My sails don’t hold
Oh twilight hour
My ship is lost
Oh clouds of grey
I hold the wheel
Oh waves they lash
The night is long
No light alive
My ship is lost
The waves they lash
The night is long
A single streak
Of lone sun shine
East I see
The wheel I hold
The waves they lash
The waves they lash
The course is set
The wheel is held
The waves they lash
A single streak
Of lone sunshine
The waves they lash.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Love, Ticketless Travel and a Bunch of Punjabis
The reason why she ever ended up in Indore, about a 1000 kms north of her home, I will not disclose. Her father could sue me for defaming his family. Just know that she was in Indore because it was her father's bright idea to keep her out of my wicked reach.
It had been six months since I'd seen her last. I was stuck at home in Coimbatore, with no headway made on the career front. Sneaking out of home for a few hours is a possibility, but sneaking away to Indore was too insane an idea! So I gave rest to that line of thought completely.
By a great stroke of luck, that year in April, it turned out that I had cleared my 'Written exams' and was required in Delhi for the interview. It was very convenient to make up a lie about a prolonged medical test and extend my stay by two days in Delhi. And I would, ofcourse, be spending those two days trying to prove her father wrong;that Indore is well within my wicked reach.
From Delhi, I dialled headquarters.
"Pa, my medical examination is delayed. I'll take another two days"
The plan was hatched. I make a trip from Delhi to Indore and return in two days time.After which I catch a train to Coimbatore from Delhi. I ran over the plan again before I went to sleep. "Tomorrow, I'll be on my way"
I put in great effort and woke up early at around 10:00 AM with the help of an alarm. The things I do in the name of love! Inspite of waking up early I could make it to New Delhi Railway Station only around 2:00 PM !! And I had not made a reservation. Ofcourse I didn't , thats way too organised even for me.
New Delhi station has twelve long platforms filled with commuters, their baggage, rats and paan stains everywhere. I walked to the counters to get an open ticket. There were about six counters and each of them had one quarter of the country's population standing in a que before it. I had ten minutes to get a ticket and catch the 2:30 train to bhopal.
That was when I saw an avatar of hanuman dressed in khakhi--the friendly neighbourhood policeman!
"kya hua saab?" , he raised an eyebrow at me.
"ticket chahiye. bhopal jaane ka"
" 200 extra...."
"nahi.. 100"
"150?"
"tk. 150!" . The subtle art , picked up over years of observation, of 'enticing' an officer came in handy that afternoon.
I watched as he walked ahead of the entire populace that was in que, not giving two hoots, and came back to hand me over a ticket with a wink. I dashed to the platform with an open ticket in hand. One hundred and fifty rupees well spent.
I Rushed to the TTE of that train.
"100?... 150?... 300?.. 500?"
"No vacant seats! "
Surely a general compartment can't be all that bad. I consoled myself.
Half an hour later, I was wedged between two non-descript men on a wooden bench inside a general compartment. In front of me were some travellers from the Punjab, heading somewhere into Madhya Pradesh. The family seemed to have a grandmother or two, maybe more, two girls in their early twenties and a kid brother.
Sometime during the day I noticed their kid brother swaying wildly like a monkey near the compartment's exit. I signalled to the girls waving my hands about wildly , "Look! You're little brother is acting crazy! He is gonna get hurt! " . She spat something in Punjabi, the only word of which I could comprehend was "angrez" . She didnt speak Hindi or English. (or Tamil).
"Err!" , again waved my hands about.She looked the way I pointed and noticed her younger brother, and turned back to face me, beaming with pride. Probably thinking to herself "What a strong Tarzan of a younger brother I have! What is this freak's problem anyway, Behan*** " . I stopped after that. These girls might look pretty, but damn they're evil.
I wish I cud narrate to you in detail all that they conversed about, but my tryst with punjab goes only as far as Sardarji jokes. But it was "Balle!Balle!" all the bloody way . All afternoon, all night. And the train only piled on more bodies into that small compartment as it stopped along the way.
That night sitting wedged amidst a mass of alien people, I held my shoulder bag tight against my chest, rested my head and thought of her beautiful face. All the heat, the crowd, the humidity, the hours of travel , and the fatigue--- none of it mattered anymore.
Reaching Indore the next afternoon with a sore back, I met her in her sister-in-law's home. Her sister-in-law gave us some hope ,telling us how she herself had fought hard to marry the man she loved. We were left alone after that, and I was thankful.
Looking back at those few hours I spent with her, it is not words or events that I recall.There was a certain quality about her, and it always seemed to prop me up in the most subtle of ways. What is most vivid in my mind is that her silence spoke a thousand things to me that day. She was too pained to speak, having spent months alone in Indore, as a consequence of her choice to stand by me and wait. And, I was too troubled to speak, fighting a losing battle for the third time now with the Union Public Service Commission.
"Will you have some lunch?"
That has always been her manner of displaying affection. Never loud, never openly stated. Forever focusing on simpler things like if I was hungry or whether I slept well.
During the rest of the day she shared with me all that she wanted to...
"Look at my certificates; this one I got from my karate classes in school"
" I wish I could take you to a movie, but we dont have time"
"I want you to see my favourite ice-cream parlour in Indore"
"I want you to see my favourite restaurant in Indore"
When we walked out of her favourite ice-cream parlour, too dazed in each other's prescence, we forgot to pay the bill. I still remember that even the cashier of 'Top-in-Town',for that was the name of the parlour, was smiling broadly , like cupid's arrow had struck him.
I had to catch a taxi to bhopal and hop on a train from Bhopal to Delhi. It was time for me to say good bye.
Standing by the side of that highway, next to a taxi, I shook her hands with a straightface and bid her goodbye. God knows why I go into an emotional shutdown during the most critical of occassions, and neither was she the type who was very fond of public displays of affection; and so that had to be goodbye then, with a handshake.
The Lord knows what got into her that day, when for a fleeting second she held me in a hug ever-so lightly, and placed a kiss on my neck. Even a feather's touch would linger longer than hers. A breezy hug and a fleeting kiss. She looked her best admired from a distance, and that was how it was meant to be.
She turned to the driver, "Bhaiya, Drive carefully" . Then at me, "Take care. Tata".
And she was gone.
I wish I could write more on my return journey where I was caught jay-walking on the platform in bhopal, almost taken to a magistrate, but bribed my way out again and so on..... but this tale is best narrated another day . Too much love can be dis-orienting ! ;-)
It had been six months since I'd seen her last. I was stuck at home in Coimbatore, with no headway made on the career front. Sneaking out of home for a few hours is a possibility, but sneaking away to Indore was too insane an idea! So I gave rest to that line of thought completely.
By a great stroke of luck, that year in April, it turned out that I had cleared my 'Written exams' and was required in Delhi for the interview. It was very convenient to make up a lie about a prolonged medical test and extend my stay by two days in Delhi. And I would, ofcourse, be spending those two days trying to prove her father wrong;that Indore is well within my wicked reach.
From Delhi, I dialled headquarters.
"Pa, my medical examination is delayed. I'll take another two days"
The plan was hatched. I make a trip from Delhi to Indore and return in two days time.After which I catch a train to Coimbatore from Delhi. I ran over the plan again before I went to sleep. "Tomorrow, I'll be on my way"
I put in great effort and woke up early at around 10:00 AM with the help of an alarm. The things I do in the name of love! Inspite of waking up early I could make it to New Delhi Railway Station only around 2:00 PM !! And I had not made a reservation. Ofcourse I didn't , thats way too organised even for me.
New Delhi station has twelve long platforms filled with commuters, their baggage, rats and paan stains everywhere. I walked to the counters to get an open ticket. There were about six counters and each of them had one quarter of the country's population standing in a que before it. I had ten minutes to get a ticket and catch the 2:30 train to bhopal.
That was when I saw an avatar of hanuman dressed in khakhi--the friendly neighbourhood policeman!
"kya hua saab?" , he raised an eyebrow at me.
"ticket chahiye. bhopal jaane ka"
" 200 extra...."
"nahi.. 100"
"150?"
"tk. 150!" . The subtle art , picked up over years of observation, of 'enticing' an officer came in handy that afternoon.
I watched as he walked ahead of the entire populace that was in que, not giving two hoots, and came back to hand me over a ticket with a wink. I dashed to the platform with an open ticket in hand. One hundred and fifty rupees well spent.
I Rushed to the TTE of that train.
"100?... 150?... 300?.. 500?"
"No vacant seats! "
Surely a general compartment can't be all that bad. I consoled myself.
Half an hour later, I was wedged between two non-descript men on a wooden bench inside a general compartment. In front of me were some travellers from the Punjab, heading somewhere into Madhya Pradesh. The family seemed to have a grandmother or two, maybe more, two girls in their early twenties and a kid brother.
Sometime during the day I noticed their kid brother swaying wildly like a monkey near the compartment's exit. I signalled to the girls waving my hands about wildly , "Look! You're little brother is acting crazy! He is gonna get hurt! " . She spat something in Punjabi, the only word of which I could comprehend was "angrez" . She didnt speak Hindi or English. (or Tamil).
"Err!" , again waved my hands about.She looked the way I pointed and noticed her younger brother, and turned back to face me, beaming with pride. Probably thinking to herself "What a strong Tarzan of a younger brother I have! What is this freak's problem anyway, Behan*** " . I stopped after that. These girls might look pretty, but damn they're evil.
I wish I cud narrate to you in detail all that they conversed about, but my tryst with punjab goes only as far as Sardarji jokes. But it was "Balle!Balle!" all the bloody way . All afternoon, all night. And the train only piled on more bodies into that small compartment as it stopped along the way.
That night sitting wedged amidst a mass of alien people, I held my shoulder bag tight against my chest, rested my head and thought of her beautiful face. All the heat, the crowd, the humidity, the hours of travel , and the fatigue--- none of it mattered anymore.
Reaching Indore the next afternoon with a sore back, I met her in her sister-in-law's home. Her sister-in-law gave us some hope ,telling us how she herself had fought hard to marry the man she loved. We were left alone after that, and I was thankful.
Looking back at those few hours I spent with her, it is not words or events that I recall.There was a certain quality about her, and it always seemed to prop me up in the most subtle of ways. What is most vivid in my mind is that her silence spoke a thousand things to me that day. She was too pained to speak, having spent months alone in Indore, as a consequence of her choice to stand by me and wait. And, I was too troubled to speak, fighting a losing battle for the third time now with the Union Public Service Commission.
"Will you have some lunch?"
That has always been her manner of displaying affection. Never loud, never openly stated. Forever focusing on simpler things like if I was hungry or whether I slept well.
During the rest of the day she shared with me all that she wanted to...
"Look at my certificates; this one I got from my karate classes in school"
" I wish I could take you to a movie, but we dont have time"
"I want you to see my favourite ice-cream parlour in Indore"
"I want you to see my favourite restaurant in Indore"
When we walked out of her favourite ice-cream parlour, too dazed in each other's prescence, we forgot to pay the bill. I still remember that even the cashier of 'Top-in-Town',for that was the name of the parlour, was smiling broadly , like cupid's arrow had struck him.
I had to catch a taxi to bhopal and hop on a train from Bhopal to Delhi. It was time for me to say good bye.
Standing by the side of that highway, next to a taxi, I shook her hands with a straightface and bid her goodbye. God knows why I go into an emotional shutdown during the most critical of occassions, and neither was she the type who was very fond of public displays of affection; and so that had to be goodbye then, with a handshake.
The Lord knows what got into her that day, when for a fleeting second she held me in a hug ever-so lightly, and placed a kiss on my neck. Even a feather's touch would linger longer than hers. A breezy hug and a fleeting kiss. She looked her best admired from a distance, and that was how it was meant to be.
She turned to the driver, "Bhaiya, Drive carefully" . Then at me, "Take care. Tata".
And she was gone.
I wish I could write more on my return journey where I was caught jay-walking on the platform in bhopal, almost taken to a magistrate, but bribed my way out again and so on..... but this tale is best narrated another day . Too much love can be dis-orienting ! ;-)
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Loss/Grief
I refuse to love you anymore.
You may crave for me
But I am not that person anymore.
The searing pain
I wish it not away.
While your battles last
Within me it’ll stay.
I held the devil’s hand,
Slipping from the angel’s hold.
This cannot be your home,
It is soulless , I am told.
I would tear my strength
And send it all your way
Just to buy the Lord’s grace
So my withering greens would sway.
No redemption
Some choices forever stay.
No grace for a fool,
Withering greens don’t sway.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
THE ECONOMIC REVIEW COMMITTEE (2002), Singapore
GLOBAL TREND TOWARDS LOWER DIRECT TAX RATES
The external environment has changed dramatically since the 1986 Economic Committee review. Globalisation and rapid technological advances have paved the way for an increased international flow of good and services. Since 1985, world exports have been growing well in excess of world GDP, while global FDI inflows have increased over twice as fast as world exports. New players in the global economy are strengthening their capabilities to compete with countries ahead of them, including Singapore. The most important new player is China. With its low costs and huge domestic market. China has been pulling away investments that could otherwise have located in Singapore or the region.
In today's integrated world, capital and skilled labour are more and more mobile and therefore less and less likely to stay put and pay taxes that are higher than those levied elsewhere. Investors and entrepreneurs can easily shift jobs, goods and capital to lower-tax environments. Studies have found that the average effective tax rates of countries have a significant influence over a MNC's choice of investment location, and the amount of capital invested there. As a result, many countries have been trying to make their tax systems more competitive by removing tax barriers and reducing tax rates to attract mobile capital and talent.
In recent years, the OECD and EU countries have been leading the drive for lower tax rates, as they seek to narrow the tax rate 'gap' between themselves and the less developed countries. Between 1997~2002, for example, the average corporate tax rate for OECD and EU countries was reduced by about 5 percentage points.
At least 15 countries lowered their corporate tax rates in the last two years, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Korea and Switzerland. Germany implemented a comprehensive tax reform programme in Jan 2001 to simplify the tax system and reduce the corporate tax from 40 percent to 25 percent, a massive 15 percentage point cut. Ireland will be moving to a standardised rate of 12.5 percent by Jan 2003. In the region, Hong Kong is maintaining its low corporate tax rate of 16 percent.
Many of these countries offer generous tax breaks for both corporates and individuals on top of these basic rates to attract investments. Further cuts in tax rates are also likely. French President Jacques Chirac has recently proposed a package of tax cuts, including reductions in income taxes by a third . The Japanese government is considering tax rate cuts to stimulate the economy. The Keidanren has recommended a cut in the corporate tax rate from 40 percent to 20 percent .
Competition for human capital is intensifying. Companies scour the world and are willing to pay a premium for top-quality people. Hence, countries around the world are also lowering their personal tax rates to attract and retain talent, and encourage hard work and enterprise. Germany, Ireland, Malaysia and the US are among the countries that have cut their personal tax rates in recent years. Hong Kong's personal tax rate of 15 percent is one of the lowest in the world. Because there is no tax on earnings outside Hong Kong, a large number of expatriates in Hong Kong end up paying income taxes at well below the 15 percent tax rate.
Increasingly, many companies are locating their high value-added activities in places where top management and the highly skilled are willing to live and work. Although our personal tax rates are low compared to many of the industrialised countries, they may not be competitive enough to retain and attract the top tier of global talent, especially since many of these countries are also offering generous tax concessions, thus mitigating our advantage in terms of lower tax rates.
We are, therefore, facing increasing competition, not only from developing countries such as China with their low labour and land costs, but also from developed ones such as the US and Europe.
The external environment has changed dramatically since the 1986 Economic Committee review. Globalisation and rapid technological advances have paved the way for an increased international flow of good and services. Since 1985, world exports have been growing well in excess of world GDP, while global FDI inflows have increased over twice as fast as world exports. New players in the global economy are strengthening their capabilities to compete with countries ahead of them, including Singapore. The most important new player is China. With its low costs and huge domestic market. China has been pulling away investments that could otherwise have located in Singapore or the region.
In today's integrated world, capital and skilled labour are more and more mobile and therefore less and less likely to stay put and pay taxes that are higher than those levied elsewhere. Investors and entrepreneurs can easily shift jobs, goods and capital to lower-tax environments. Studies have found that the average effective tax rates of countries have a significant influence over a MNC's choice of investment location, and the amount of capital invested there. As a result, many countries have been trying to make their tax systems more competitive by removing tax barriers and reducing tax rates to attract mobile capital and talent.
In recent years, the OECD and EU countries have been leading the drive for lower tax rates, as they seek to narrow the tax rate 'gap' between themselves and the less developed countries. Between 1997~2002, for example, the average corporate tax rate for OECD and EU countries was reduced by about 5 percentage points.
At least 15 countries lowered their corporate tax rates in the last two years, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Korea and Switzerland. Germany implemented a comprehensive tax reform programme in Jan 2001 to simplify the tax system and reduce the corporate tax from 40 percent to 25 percent, a massive 15 percentage point cut. Ireland will be moving to a standardised rate of 12.5 percent by Jan 2003. In the region, Hong Kong is maintaining its low corporate tax rate of 16 percent.
Many of these countries offer generous tax breaks for both corporates and individuals on top of these basic rates to attract investments. Further cuts in tax rates are also likely. French President Jacques Chirac has recently proposed a package of tax cuts, including reductions in income taxes by a third . The Japanese government is considering tax rate cuts to stimulate the economy. The Keidanren has recommended a cut in the corporate tax rate from 40 percent to 20 percent .
Competition for human capital is intensifying. Companies scour the world and are willing to pay a premium for top-quality people. Hence, countries around the world are also lowering their personal tax rates to attract and retain talent, and encourage hard work and enterprise. Germany, Ireland, Malaysia and the US are among the countries that have cut their personal tax rates in recent years. Hong Kong's personal tax rate of 15 percent is one of the lowest in the world. Because there is no tax on earnings outside Hong Kong, a large number of expatriates in Hong Kong end up paying income taxes at well below the 15 percent tax rate.
Increasingly, many companies are locating their high value-added activities in places where top management and the highly skilled are willing to live and work. Although our personal tax rates are low compared to many of the industrialised countries, they may not be competitive enough to retain and attract the top tier of global talent, especially since many of these countries are also offering generous tax concessions, thus mitigating our advantage in terms of lower tax rates.
We are, therefore, facing increasing competition, not only from developing countries such as China with their low labour and land costs, but also from developed ones such as the US and Europe.
1986 Economic Committee , Singapore & The Direction of the 'Then' Tax Reforms in Singapore
1986 ECONOMIC COMMITTEE
The 1986 Economic Committee recommended the following key changes in the tax system to create a more conducive business environment to support hard work and enterprise, and nurture both MNCs and local companies:
a) Tax reductions totalling about $1.2 billion. This included a cut in the corporate tax rate from 40 percent to 30 percent (with further reduction to 25 percent as soon as the revenue position permits), a cut in the top marginal tax rate to 30 percent, and a 30 percent across-the-board investment allowance for expenditures on capital equipment and machinery.
b) Shift from direct to indirect taxes as the main source of Government revenue. Specifically, the Report stated that:
"Government should shift from direct to indirect taxes as its main source of revenue. Consumption taxes such as retail sales taxes may be administratively more difficult to collect but are economically preferable to income taxes. They do not penalize companies which are making profits or persons who are putting away savings. Tax is paid only when money is spent on consumption items, not when the money is invested in productive capacity"
c) Remove the existing bias that favours manufacturing activities in our tax incentive schemes. Tax incentives should be broadened, to be enjoyed by both services and manufacturing firms.
d) Move towards a uniform, low corporate and personal income tax regime with minimal selective tax incentives as a long-term goal.
The 1986 Economic Committee recommended the following key changes in the tax system to create a more conducive business environment to support hard work and enterprise, and nurture both MNCs and local companies:
a) Tax reductions totalling about $1.2 billion. This included a cut in the corporate tax rate from 40 percent to 30 percent (with further reduction to 25 percent as soon as the revenue position permits), a cut in the top marginal tax rate to 30 percent, and a 30 percent across-the-board investment allowance for expenditures on capital equipment and machinery.
b) Shift from direct to indirect taxes as the main source of Government revenue. Specifically, the Report stated that:
"Government should shift from direct to indirect taxes as its main source of revenue. Consumption taxes such as retail sales taxes may be administratively more difficult to collect but are economically preferable to income taxes. They do not penalize companies which are making profits or persons who are putting away savings. Tax is paid only when money is spent on consumption items, not when the money is invested in productive capacity"
c) Remove the existing bias that favours manufacturing activities in our tax incentive schemes. Tax incentives should be broadened, to be enjoyed by both services and manufacturing firms.
d) Move towards a uniform, low corporate and personal income tax regime with minimal selective tax incentives as a long-term goal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
