Thanks for the info. I agree with you. Full of points and really pack a punch. I was in the States for few years too but was not as long as both of you.. maybe.

Went to London last month and met a friend who bought a Mercedes for mere £30K. He hardly drive his car due to high gas price & parking 'penalties' but generally the public is impressively reliable and within reach.

Given the chance to live in the two countries.. if I'm solely live life to own a good car or two, I'll stay in either one of two. However, generally.. I prefer Malaysia for a 'value-for-money' life. How about u?

at ProCipKa,

It's not called support, it's called looking from the overall perspective, dumb*ss. The last NAP saw a price decrease of car price. But some even take advantage to make extra profit from it. In the end, consumer is losing.

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October 18, 2009 @ 11:36 pm

Betul2 hairan dgn org yg sokong harga kereta mahal kat Malaysia nie bodoh ke apa …dah mmg kereta mahal so org komplain la ,yg kaoorg sokong sangat kereta di jual harga cekik darah nie apehal , pelik aku .

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Tolong la jgn malukan bangsa Melayu…kita bukan nyer sokong harga keta melambung cam roket kat negara ni tapi cuba la bagi komen2 yg berasas sikit seperti saudara 4G63tDSM atau normal_user. Cuba jgn post komen yg cetek camtu…lebih2 lg thread nie pasal Suzuki Kizashi bukan nyer psl tax pon.

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Let me add some.

Teachers & hospital administrators (graduate) received average USD85,000 salary per annum according to the statistics from the Labor Department. To buy a USD25,000 Accord/Camry, its peanut to them. 3-4 times their annual income.

Now, compare with our teachers. A 10-year teacher (graduate) can earn the most RM40K/annum. Yet the cheapest car (Viva, which is not suitable for family car) costs as much as their annual salary.

I know its not exactly comparing apple to apple, but at least there is a huge contrast of the living standards. Yes, their goods are expensive, but their earnings & purchasing power are higher.

We use Big Mac burger Index as an example. The Big Mac Index is published by The Economist as an informal way of measuring the purchasing power parity (PPP) between two currencies.

Malaysian has the cheapest Big Mac in the world (surprised eh?) in USD currency (USD1.70 or RM5.80). But does that translates positively?

American McDonalds staff earned USD7.25 per hour, and they have to work an hour to afford than 2 Big Macs (USD3.60), while here in Malaysia, meagre wage of RM3.50 per hour is not even sufficient for the local McD crew to have even one Big Mac.

So, the key point is that our spending power is so much less than the Americans. Ok enough of the 'Malaysians-againts-Americans spending power' topic…

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October 18, 2009 @ 3:53 pm

Of all comments above.. how many of you guys have been or live in the US? I would be glad if anyone could give me the true picture rather than only U$D1.00 = MYR3.4/5..?

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Funny, the people who are making statements of comparing tax structures and GST et al. against USA probably haven't lived in North America.

Yes, North america has higher tax rates. But if you are making 22k per year or less, you probably don't get taxed, in fact at that rate you will qualify for tax rebates. Depending on different states, you only get taxed 50% when you make 80k or more per year (but there are too many variables to put here).

I get ding'ed 30% income tax (I made 40k'ish/year), but my purchasing power after tax is still much greater than that in malaysia. Dollar on par, if I make the same amount here, I wont be even close to having the same quality of life let alone drive the same car.

A person making 22k per year can afford a good second hand car of maybe 8k to 10k. That would probably buy you a 3-4 year old Civic. The cheapest car you can get when I was there during the 2002 was the Kia Rio wagon, which retailed about 10k NEW.

A person flipping burgers (ie. minimum wage) will make something like 10k per year. Same can't be said for someone in malaysia.

I've been there for 10 years before anyone begins to question my experience.

Let me illustrate this better,

Proton Saga RM$35k (or the equivalent of 10K USD car- There are cars that are cheap there like the Kia Rio I mentioned above)

60 month loan, no D/P (for the sale of simplicity I'm not even going to add in interest – since there are brands doing 0% financing)

RM583/mth ( USD 167 – lets make it 200 including GST and whatever taxes)

Person fresh out of college make about $1800

Person flipping burgers in NA can make USD800ish/mth (and no, they dont get income taxed either as its below the tax bracket). Most of us flipped burgers one time or more while there.

Malaysian Fresh grad car payment to pay ratio about 30%

People flipping burgers car payment to pay ratio about 25%

We are taking about the same class of cars here.

Plus, we pay a much lower road taxes in North America. Insurance is higher but if you are over 25 and have a good few years of clean record, its not an issue.

So tell me who is better off?

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Just some brief on the tax issues, well every nation has their own tax structures, we happen to pay more on import cars but we seem to enjoy free education for our kids, cheaper medical facilities, not having to pay (YET) tax on ordinary groceries items, not having to pay for withdrawing from ATM machine, and so much more.

Back to this Kizashi, well it doesn't seem as aggressive as their concept models (which I really2 like) but hopefully it comes with a hatchback variant! Just cant help bitching on why the front looks so dangerously close to the Suzuki SX4…and wondering why the depreciation value of suzuki's here are so high….

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October 18, 2009 @ 11:36 pm

Betul2 hairan dgn org yg sokong harga kereta mahal kat Malaysia nie bodoh ke apa …dah mmg kereta mahal so org komplain la ,yg kaoorg sokong sangat kereta di jual harga cekik darah nie apehal , pelik aku .

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Stupid Malay who doesnt understand english.

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2. Depending on which state, there is a sales tax levied on each commercial transaction. This can range between 4%-8%. This tax is no difference from the GST in Singapore or what the Malaysian government is proposing impose in the near future

3. Car price as per capital income in Malaysia is high compared to many countries. This is because the government imposes a high tax rate on passanger cars to support a non viable local automobile industry. There have been many research on the fisibility of continuing the auto industry out there. Please read both sides of the arguements.

4. Most people do not realize is when they buy a car they are taking out a loan to pay for taxes. The capital (money) that you utilize to pay for your transportation; which is by the way a basic need for any industralized society to function properly; is tied up to pay taxes. Imagine what most people can use the money for if they do not to pay of these taxes. Factor Production (capital) will be allocated in more productive sectors.

5. Are the taxes collected from income tax, automobile tax and other taxes allocated in the most effecient manner into economy or sectors that are productive (generating positive GDP)?

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damn.

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I'm surprised it's not called the Kamuri.

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Well said. Now, where is George?

torque:

hahaha.. yes it won't end. I think Paul should write an article on our tax structure. I agree with the turn-left analogy raised by you. Bring the kizashi in.. err.. DRB-HICOM eh? or who?

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October 18, 2009 @ 3:01 pm

Wah only $24,000USD.If MYR only RM84,000. If Malaysia sell this car at this price, sure no one buy Perdana accept goverment

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malaysia should sell at the above price… then follows income tax regulation in US, food price in US, petrol price in US , thn see how many people can buy.. lol talk is cheap, typing is easier…

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How about the gas price, income tax, GST, service tax etc.? Does it really work like George's "accept government" comment? Anyone could please share it with me and all other Paul Tan's blog readers. I am simply curious. Thank you.

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