School Donation, to pay or not to pay?.....
Feb 26th 2011, 8:14 am
#76
Joined: May 2005
Location: Abu Dhabi
Posts: 962
Re: School Donation, to pay or not to pay?.....
I agree that it is not a good way to endear yourself to the local community since it is obvious you would be paying more income tax if the system weren't set up this way. People should look at it as getting some tax off the payment because of it being a donation and recognise it for the cultural difference it is rather than wangle out of the small print.
A similar point is Brits whinging at GP receptionists because of fees to see the doctor, the receptionist explained it to me (I didn't whinge btw lol I had done my research) upfront by saying 'NZ is a small country, we don't have a very big tax take from such a small population so what we raise has to go along way, one of the ways the NZ Government cuts back is in charging for GP visits unlike in the UK'
Put like that, both systems make a lot of sense...but I wouldn't design them that way in the first place.
Standby for the special 'rebuild Christchurch tax' - is anyone planning on boycotting that as well?
A similar point is Brits whinging at GP receptionists because of fees to see the doctor, the receptionist explained it to me (I didn't whinge btw lol I had done my research) upfront by saying 'NZ is a small country, we don't have a very big tax take from such a small population so what we raise has to go along way, one of the ways the NZ Government cuts back is in charging for GP visits unlike in the UK'
Put like that, both systems make a lot of sense...but I wouldn't design them that way in the first place.
Standby for the special 'rebuild Christchurch tax' - is anyone planning on boycotting that as well?
What is the ratio? - something like population 4.5million with:
1.5 million either too young, too old or not working;
1 million looking after those too young to work;
2 million working and paying tax.
Then there's an education system supposedly one of the best in the world, free (or heavily subsidised health service), police, road networks etc etc etc.... all to be funded by the 2 million tax payers.
I don't mind paying a bit extra to subsidise one of "the best state education systems in the world" (quoting recent reports).
Feb 26th 2011, 10:18 pm
#77
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 282
Re: School Donation, to pay or not to pay?.....
Hi all, I have enjoyed reading all your opinions and arguments, as I dont know many people here to get a varied view on this subject it has been extremely helpful.
I have now decided that I will pay the donations [hopefully in time for my accountant to claim some back in this tax year!!]
It is easy to forget NZ is only a small country {the main reason we moved here in the first place
] and my expectations for it to run the same as the UK is unrealistic. Christchurch is going to affect to the whole of NZ and we all need to pull together and take the strain in our own way. There has been alot for NZ to deal with financially last year and this year , one of my clients was working on the cancelled Census and said it will cost approx $90 million
On top the recession ,Pike river, Canterbury finance fiasco and the earthquakes it makes paying the school donation pale into insignificance
Can you imagine what a difference it would make to every school if 100% paid
I have now decided that I will pay the donations [hopefully in time for my accountant to claim some back in this tax year!!]
It is easy to forget NZ is only a small country {the main reason we moved here in the first place
] and my expectations for it to run the same as the UK is unrealistic. Christchurch is going to affect to the whole of NZ and we all need to pull together and take the strain in our own way. There has been alot for NZ to deal with financially last year and this year , one of my clients was working on the cancelled Census and said it will cost approx $90 million On top the recession ,Pike river, Canterbury finance fiasco and the earthquakes it makes paying the school donation pale into insignificance Can you imagine what a difference it would make to every school if 100% paid
Feb 26th 2011, 10:22 pm
#78
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 282
Re: School Donation, to pay or not to pay?.....
well put.
What is the ratio? - something like population 4.5million with:
1.5 million either too young, too old or not working;
1 million looking after those too young to work;
2 million working and paying tax.
Then there's an education system supposedly one of the best in the world, free (or heavily subsidised health service), police, road networks etc etc etc.... all to be funded by the 2 million tax payers.
I don't mind paying a bit extra to subsidise one of "the best state education systems in the world" (quoting recent reports).
What is the ratio? - something like population 4.5million with:
1.5 million either too young, too old or not working;
1 million looking after those too young to work;
2 million working and paying tax.
Then there's an education system supposedly one of the best in the world, free (or heavily subsidised health service), police, road networks etc etc etc.... all to be funded by the 2 million tax payers.
I don't mind paying a bit extra to subsidise one of "the best state education systems in the world" (quoting recent reports).
Feb 27th 2011, 11:29 am
#79
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2007
Location: SE Asia
Posts: 108
Re: School Donation, to pay or not to pay?.....
well put.
What is the ratio? - something like population 4.5million with:
1.5 million either too young, too old or not working;
1 million looking after those too young to work;
2 million working and paying tax.
Then there's an education system supposedly one of the best in the world, free (or heavily subsidised health service), police, road networks etc etc etc.... all to be funded by the 2 million tax payers.
I don't mind paying a bit extra to subsidise one of "the best state education systems in the world" (quoting recent reports).
What is the ratio? - something like population 4.5million with:
1.5 million either too young, too old or not working;
1 million looking after those too young to work;
2 million working and paying tax.
Then there's an education system supposedly one of the best in the world, free (or heavily subsidised health service), police, road networks etc etc etc.... all to be funded by the 2 million tax payers.
I don't mind paying a bit extra to subsidise one of "the best state education systems in the world" (quoting recent reports).
They're absolutely thriving, it's a good mix of children from every suburb in town - oldest is going to be taking exams early because they've recognised his strengths early on and pushed him up into the accelerated learning classes even though he's dyslexic. In UK, he was going to one of the best state schools in the country - he was threatened with a knife at 12, there were cctv cameras on the front doors and half the teachers couldn't even spell dyslexic let alone acknowledge it and teach someone with it. In his last half term 2 girls were caught taking drugs in his class and only suspended for half a day.
The schools out here are just fantastic and well worth any money it costs to support them.
In our darkest moments when we wonder if we've done the right thing - just a glance at the children after being here only a year, and there's no doubt at all.
If you genuinely can't afford the donation then speak to them about it, but I don't understand creating an issue for the sake of it.
Financially life is a lot harder here than it ever was in UK (always is the first 2 years after moving long haul) - and it's harder for the kiwis at the moment as well. The teachers are buying supplies out of their wages, I know my son's teacher buys the tissues and hand sanitisers for the class. Personally, I think it's worth paying the extra because it shows in the fabric of the school.
They've got playing fields that aren't covered in needles and bottles, the climbing frames are all in good repair, no mouldy ceiling tiles and wires hanging down over the children in the class room etc. Even having the dentists on site. NZ is miles ahead of the UK IMO as far as the schools are concerned, and if ours weren't already happy and settled - we'd have no problem moving them to one of the city schools.
As far as the donations go, we pay them and see them as an investment - we figure the more resources the school has, the better equipped they'll be to educate the children - the sooner they'll be off to uni and independent
The longer they're at home, the more they'll cost us in the long run, and we want to go travelling again - already got itchy feet
