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This is the way we earn our pay

October 1st, 2010 at 07:06 am

Today is the day of the big tax changes, hailed by our Minister of Finance as the most important in 25 years. Goods and services tax goes up 2 and 1/2%, and income tax is lowered, in my case the bracket goes down 3 and 1/2%. With an income of less than nz$20,000 pa I really don't expect to see much significant difference.

The govt says this is being introduced bacuse it is fairer, I suspect, as I grow more curmudgeonly in my old age, it is because they hope people will spend more and get the economy moving again. Also, with sales tax, they can hand on much of the cost of collecting it to the business owners instead of govt employees.

Be that as it may, I can only control my personal economy. I continue to be one of those scrooges who are sitting on their bank account and deepening the recession. I did a little stockpiling last week before the prices went up, of toothpaste and canned tomatoes. I was looking for a double bed to buy, but couldn't find one I liked.

The changover of prices is a major hassle for retailers. My local supermarket has a notice up saying problem postponed over the weekend. At work, like many other places, the owners have decided to take the opportunity to review prices and stocktake. Much of my day today was taken up counting tubes of buttons (yes, every button had to be counted) and deciding whether the price should be rounded up another 5 cents. This is important skilled work, bud - you need a university degree for this. My poor back is aching after standing all day on a concrete floor.

2 Responses to “This is the way we earn our pay”

  1. dmontngrey Says:
    1285953402

    Every button?? Eek.

  2. Tightwad Kitty Says:
    1285967220

    I can remember stocktaking buttons specially the very small ones. Those day are long gone for me.

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