Saturday, August 18, 2012

Apex Endurance Charity Cycleton, 22nd-25thJanuary 2013

 
Twenty cyclists from Malaysia and Singapore are participating in the upcoming Apex Endurance Charity Cycleton scheduled in late January 2013. From Apex Penang, the cyclists will ride down to Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Batu Pahat, ending at Apex Harmony Lodge, located at Pasir Ris, east of Singapore.

Proceeds raised from this inaugural charity cycleton will benefit needy students from Penang and the elderlies living with dementia in Singapore. Besides making a difference to the lives of the disadvantaged, the organising committee hopes to foster good will and comradeship among the two nationals involved in this event.

Launched in 2011, Apex Penang Education Fund provides financial assistance, at tertiary level, to deserving students from disadvantaged backgrounds. While the fund is fully managed by members of Apex Club Penang, Sub-Committees are formed to fundraise, select deserving candidates and fund disbursement. Apex Penang Education Fund raises its own funds through donations and fund-raising projects such as this upcoming Apex Edurance Charity Cycleton.

Apex Harmony Lodge is the first purpose-built 210 bedded Lodge in Singapore for people living with dementia. With facilities for both residential and day care, the Lodge has pride itself in providing affordable and quality dementia care since 1999. Besides medical subvention funding from the Singapore government, the Lodge relies on donations and fund-raising activities to sustain its operation.

Whether you wish to support us in terms of sponsorship, donations and/or participation, be assured that your contributions will go towards the worthy cause of helping both the beneficiaries from Penang and Singapore.

You can support the Apex Endurance Charity Cycleton 2013 by:

•    Being a Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver, Hope, or Charity Sponsor;

•    Donations In-Kind;

•    Logo placement on our cyclist apparels, safety vehicles and banners;

•    Outright Cash Donation

Details are listed on the Pledge of Commitment enclosed.

We would like to thank you in advance for your invaluable support. Should you require further information, you may like to contact:

 Mr. Mai Edward
Chairman of  Apex Penang Education Fund
Apex Club Of Penang
+6012 4221197

Mr. Lee kai Eng
President of Apex Club Of Penang
+ 6012 4936373


Singapore contact:

Ms. Susan Tan
Admin Executive, Community Partnerships & Development
Apex Harmony Lodge
+ 65 6585 2265
susantan@apexharmony.org.sg




WHY PAY INCOME TAX ????

This system sounds familiar, no?

Suppose that once a week, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to RM100.
 
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this...

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay RM1.
The sixth would pay RM3.
The seventh would payRM 7.
The eighth would pay RM12.
The ninth would pay RM18.
And the tenth man (the richest) would pay RM59.
So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every week and seemed quite happy with the arrangement until, one day, the owner caused them a little problem. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your weekly beer by RM20.” Drinks for the ten men would now cost just RM80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free but what about the other six men? The paying customers? How could they divide the RM20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?

They realized that RM20 divided by six is RM3.33 but if they subtracted that from everybody's share then not only would the first four men still be drinking for free but the fifth and sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.


So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fairer to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage. They decided to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

And so, the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (a 100% saving).
The sixth man now paid RM2 instead of RM3 (a 33% saving).
The seventh man now paid RM5 instead of RM7 (a 28% saving).
The eighth man now paid RM9 instead of RM12 (a 25% saving).
The ninth man now paid RM14 instead of RM18 (a 22% saving).
And the tenth man now paid RM49 instead of RM59 (a 16% saving).
Each of the last six was better off than before with the first four continuing to drink for free.

But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings. 
"I only got RM1 out of the RM20 saving," declared the sixth man. 
He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got RM10"
"Yes, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man."I only saved RM1 too. It's unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me"
"That's true" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get RM10 back, when I only got RM2? The wealthy get all the breaks"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor" The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next week the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important - they didn't have enough money between all of them to pay for even half of the bill.

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy and they just might not show up anymore. 
 
In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.


 
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

But if I am drunk, maybe I will understand.

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