Five new saints were canonized on Sunday, April 26 in Saint Peter’s Square … and I was there. No, I didn’t go specifically for the Canonization-in fact, I didn’t understand the magnitude of the event until I was ushered onto the steps of the colossal piazza and saw the sea of people that spread before me.
As I tried to focus on Pope Benedict’s Latin-language rituals, my eyes wandered to the five portraits that hung from the front of the church … Geltrude Comensoli, Nuno Alvares Pereira, Arcangelo Tadini, Bernardo Tolomei and Caterina Volpicelli. It was image of the young woman from the final portrait that most mesmerized me, that burned itself in my mind and whose graceful features inspired this five-part series.
I’m talking about Caterina Volpicelli.
Caterina Volpicelli was born on January 21, 1839 into an affluent family in Naples, Italy. Like many adolescent girls of her age and economic class, she spent her days attending plays, ballets and dances and assumed her charmed life would lead to high social standing.
However, at the tender age of 15, her life goals took a dramatic turn. She met Blessed Ludovico of Casoria, who taught her of the Sacred Heart and encouraged her to become a Third Order Franciscan. Upon hearing of the French Sacred Heart Apostolate and discovering a new outlet for her spirituality, Caterina founded a new congregation called the Servants of the Sacred Heart, “in fulfillment of her aspiration ‘to revive love for Jesus Christ in hearts, in families and in society.’”
December 28 was established as Saint Caterina Volpicelli’s feast day.
And that wraps it up … if you are interested in learning more about the Catholic Church’s saints, you can visit The Tail End, a blog that served as a great source of research in my posts. You can also visit Justin Catanoso, the Calabrese-American writer whose cousin, Gaetano Catanoso was Canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 23, 2005. Justin’s book, “My Cousin the Saint” is now available in paperback.
Happy Love Thursday!
Corporate tax rate likely to be reduced, BUSINESS TIMES
Business Times (Malaysia) September 10, 2003 | Kang Siew Li 00-00-0000 COMPANIES can look forward to a cut in corporate tax as the present rate is no longer competitive, according to the Malaysian Institute of Taxation (MIT). The tax cut is likely, along with increases in personal reliefs and rebates in Budget 2004 to be tabled on Friday, said MIT’s vice-president Dr Veerinderjeet Singh. Veerinderjeet thinks Budget 2004 will include a reduction in corporate tax because the present 28 per cent rate is no longer deemed competitive.
The last reduction was for the 1998 assessment year. Since then, many countries around the world have been actively reducing their corporate tax rates in order to compete for foreign investment. Veerinderjeet said the tax changes are essential to keep Malaysia competitive in the long term and to attract companies to locate in the country. “We are aware that the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) will be concerned about the shortfall in tax collection resulting from the corporate tax cut. Thus, we should work towards a gradual reduction of the rate. “For example, reduce it by one percentage point each year over the next three years until it reaches what we consider to be ideal – 25 per cent,” Veerinderjeet told Business Times. Nonetheless, statistics have shown that in the mid-1990s, when the corporate tax rate was reduced by 4 per cent within two years, there was an improvement in the total Federal Government revenue collected from corporations and an increase in gross domestic product in the context of a growing economy. in our site corporate tax rate
“Given the current economic scenario, which is showing signs of improvement, obviously it will attract new investments and encourage foreign corporations to locate in Malaysia, thus spurring the economy. A reduction in the corporate tax rate will in fact bring an increase in the total revenue collected,” said Veerinderjeet. MIT submitted in May this year a pre-Budget memorandum to the Finance Ministry, recommending a reduction in the corporate tax rate from the present level of 28 per cent to 25 per cent. It believes that the lowering of the corporate tax rate can provide the impetus for locally-driven growth. This will lead to the collection of more taxes by the Government, and in time to come, the country will become more self-reliant and its growth will be less dependent on external factors. Veerinderjeet also sees Budget 2004 as an election budget – it will have something for the man on the street. “The Government can address this in two ways. Firstly, by granting a reduction in personal income tax. However, if you were to look at the trend in the past, the Government tends to cut the corporate tax rate first and personal income tax rate the following year. “It is therefore unlikely that we will see a reduction in both corporate and personal tax rates this year,” explained Veerinderjeet. However, an increase in personal reliefs and rebates looks more likely. “For example, in 1998, in a move to promote the acquisition of personal computers and computer literacy, the Government allowed an individual a single tax rebate of RM400 once every five years. We have proposed that the rebate be increased to RM1,000 and an individual be allowed to claim the rebate once every two years,” said Veerinderjeet. He added that other personal rebates which may see changes include that for the purchase of books and materials as well as personal reliefs on insurance premiums and contributions to Employees Provident Fund. Veerinderjeet expects Budget 2004 to also look at the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Last year, the corporate tax rate was reduced to 20 per cent on the first RM100,000 of chargeable income for SMEs with a paid-up capital of less than RM2.5 million. “Unfortunately, that did not help the SMEs much because the actual tax savings were only some RM8,000. The general feeling about the reduction was that it was more of a token by the Government to show that it is aware of their contribution and is trying to help them. “Thus, in order to further promote the growth of SMEs, we feel that the threshold for the 20 per cent tax rate should be increased to RM500,000,” said Veerinderjeet. Another aspect which the Budget 2004 may look at is how the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida) can help generate or create more interest in Malaysia. Veerinderjeet pointed out that it is about time that Mida changes from a processing centre into a one-stop marketing centre. here corporate tax rate
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Kang Siew Li
