Does Hong Kong Need VAT/GST?

Does Hong Kong Need VAT/GST? Is it necessary to have VAT/GST in Hong Kong? More than 120 countries have imposed Goods and Services Tax, the only developed country that has not imposed this tax is Hong Kong. VAT or GST has been introduced by France in 1954(Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry). All the developed countries (except Hong Kong) and most of thedeveloping countries have followed France in imposing VAT/GST becausethis tax is considered: 1- Fair: VAT/GST is considered a fair tax because it relates theamount of collected tax to the amount of consumption; the more you consume, the more you pay VAT. 2- Simplicity: unlike any other taxes, VAT/GST is considered a straightforward tax; it is imposed according to a known percentage onthe value of the products and services 3- Efficiency: this tax is very efficient, it is very easy to collect it and it is very difficult to avoid it. Chapter2: Objectives: The purpose of this research is to find out whether VAT/GST is a suitable tax for Hong Kong or not. The research has covered very large material and literature about Hong Kong and similar economies to Hong Kong such as Singapore. The research also aimed to show that most of the governments of theworld are broadening their budgets by imposing VAT/GST on customers while they are trying to reduce income and corporate taxes. Chapter3: Literature consulted: The research has covered a large part of literature publishedby global accredited organizations such as Price Waterhouse coopers,Ernest Young and the government of Hong Kong. The major text books have been used to give us a broad idea about the issue in research while the specialized working papers, Internet articles and government websites have been used in order to give us a clear idea about the issue in research. The research consulted working papers published by several universities and bodies in order to explain the theoretical principles behind imposing VAT/GST (Hubbard,G,R(1997)and the impact of VAT/GST on theinformal sector in developed countries. Chapter4: Proposed Methodology: We can see from the above chart the deficit that have faced HongKong from 1997 until 2003, the revenue was very low compared to thespending which proved to be steady. †During the same year, about 70% of the total revenue collected by the Inland Revenue Department came from profits tax and salaries tax.Nevertheless, the profits and salaries tax nets are very narrow andshrinking. Less than 40% of our workforce of 3.2 million people pay anysalaries tax, and only 10,000 people pay the maximum salaries tax rateof 15%. About 5% of the payers of profits tax contribute to 80% of the profits tax revenue. Further loss of profits could occur as a result of globalisation. Besides, the spread of e-commerce will have implications on all governments abilities to assess and collect business-related taxes. In this regard, both the Financial Secretary and the Secretary for the Treasury expressed their concerns on the impact of the exponential growth of e-commerce on Hong Kongs territorial-based tax system. The Government will set up a Task Force to review publicfinances and an independent committee on new broad-based taxes†, Wong,J(no date given) The research has depended on major questionnaire that have beendistributed to citizens and companies in Hong Kong in order to gettheir opinion about VAT/GST tax. The response that I have got from this questionnaire has been used in predicting the change in consumption behavior by the citizens of Hong Kong. The research has also depended on comparative analysis in order to seehow Hong Kong economy will be affected and how the whole tax system will be redesigned. The research depended on some graphs to illustrate the topic further. Chapter 5: Data and Information needs and sources: This research needs theortical as well as practical data and comparative analysis. This research is different because it assesses the potential of something that might happen in the future. The researcher has conducted a questionnaire in order to measure theacceptance of the people to VAT and their views about the fiscal position of their country. The researcher tried to make sure that the sample is random, so the results are random too and not biased. The research required me to use some theoretical concepts in order to assess the impact of VAT. The research also depended on comparative analysis in order to see whathappened to similar economies that have implemented VAT/GST. Chapter6: Chapter Plan: Understanding the principles behind using an expenditure tax like GST/VAT: Definition of GST: Goods and Services tax is imposed on: Goods and Services tax is broad-based and equitable and is capable of yielding sizeable and steady revenues. VAT or GST is a consumption tax, it is paid by the consumer of the product or the service as a percentage of the final price. It is related to all commercial activities involving the production and distribution of services; it is not charged on companies which mean that companies can deduct from their VAT liabilities the amount of tax they have paid to other taxable persons on purchases for their business activities. Hong Kong government is considering introducing VAT/GST tax in 2009(Hong Kong’s Inland Revenue). Difference between VAT and Sales Tax: VAT is imposed on every stage of production while Sales tax is actually collected in the form of extra charge by the retailer, who remits thetax to the government. VAT and the Theory of Economics: There have been a long debate between different economic schools of thought around the world about tax reform. Some economists prefer income tax to VAT/GST because it provides fair treatment to the citizens of the country while others prefer VAT/GST. According to Hubbard,G,R(1997), some economists support VAT for the following reasons: 1- Imposing VAT instead of income tax will encourage capital accumulation and savings. 2- Removing income and profit taxes will remove distortions in the allocation of capital among different economic sectors. 3- A broad based consumption tax would avoid potential costly distortions of firm’s financial structures. Importance of VAT: Today it is a key source of government revenue in over 120 countries. About 4 billion people, 70 percent of the worldspopulation, now live in countries with a VAT, and it raises about $18trillion in tax revenue, Liam E., Michael K., Jean-Paul B. and VictoriaS(1991) VAT has advantages and disadvantages: Disadvantages of imposing VAT: * VAT discourages specialist economic activity and fragmentation inthe production because VAT will be fragmented; VAT encourages integration in order to avoid compounded VAT. * VAT encourages financing big governments: in the 1960s, the size of governments in the US and the UK were approximately equal, in theyear 2002, the size of the government in Europe have exceeded the size of the US government, many analysts attribute the difference betweenthe sizes of the two governments to VAT, The expansion of the government will lead to higher prices and inefficient production, thething that will lead to more taxes in the future. Advantages of imposing VAT: * VAT could finance the debt of the government because it provides stable and steady stream of income that is capable of financing development projects. * VAT could reduce consumption and make the citizens of any country save and invest more money. * By encouraging integration, VAT could push the economy towards mergers that will reduce the stages of production; VAT simply tends to encourage big businesses to get bigger by buying other companies, this could yield economies of scale and generate synergies.. * Selectivity: the government can select the products and services that it needs to impose VAT on, for example, most government exclude food from VAT, by using VAT governments could take into its consideration the difficult economic situation of the poor and decidethe exclusions that apply to them. * VAT is a secure way to finance the government’s structura ldeficit, VAT covers most of the economic segments in the economy and it is very difficult to evade it. Introduce a his torical background, economy and tax system in Hong Kong: The Modern History of Hong Kong: Hong Kong was a British dependency from the 1840s until July 1, 1997,when it passed to Chinese sovereignty as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Pannell,C(1998). The British control of Hong Kong began in 1842, when China was forced to cede Hong Kong Island to Great Britain after the First Opium War. In1984 Great Britain and China signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration,which stipulated that Hong Kong return to Chinese rule in 1997 as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. The Joint Declaration and a Chinese law called the Basic Law, which followed in 1990, provide for the SAR to operate with a high degree of economic autonomy for 50 years beyond 1997, Reference: China Connection. In the Fifties of the last century, the threat of the cold world was looming over the world. Investors were looking for a safe heaven to locate their businesses andinvestments in a neutral place away from the eastern and the westerncamps, investors found in Hong Kong a promising co untry that is able todeliver good business environment that could foster growth and political stability at the same time. Growth in Hong Kong depends on several other economies such as the growth in the US economy and the growth in China and Southeast Asia in general. Growth in Hong Kong is related to oil prices and world wide prices;Hong Kong is a small island with very little raw resources, it depends on exporting raw materials from abroad in order to manufacture them onits land and re-export them again to other parts of the world. Manufacturing: In 1950s, Hong Kong attracted manufacturing jobs and the vast majority of its work force where working in factories. In 1980s, Hong Kong had about 905,000 manufacturing workers and manufacturing was the most important economic sector, Economist Intelligence Unit (2003). Until 1990s, Factories were manufacturing products that depended on labour intensive work force, after that manufacturing jobs started dropping because of the climbing costs of labour and land. In 1990s, the number of manufacturing jobs was about 575,000 jobs. In 2001, the manufacturing sector contributed to less than 5% of the GDP, Economist Intelligence Unit (2003). Like most of the developed nations, Manufacturing in Hong Kong is becoming concentrated on manufacturing hi-tech products and services. The manufacturing sector has been replaced by rapidly expanding service sector, in 1991; the service sector has generated 72.3% of the GDP in Hong Kong and in 2002, the service sector has generated about 83.9% ofthe GDP, Economist Intelligence Unit (2003). Services: A- Banking: The banking sector is now the most important economic sector in Hong Kong, Hong Kong is currently the fifth largest banking centre inthe world. Hong Kong offered investors a very good opportunity to invest in a growing emerging economy. Investors benefited from tax free capital gains and high dividends. B- Tourism: Tourism is a significant source of economic growth in Hong Kong; nearly 9 million people visit Hong Kong every year, Tourists spend around $7billion every year. Tourism is the third source of foreign exchange reserves in Hong Kong. The banking and the tourism sectors have delivered a very good growth to the Hong Kong economy. In 1996, Hong Kongs per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was secondto Japan and Singapore in Asia and exceeded that of the United Kingdom,Canada, and Australia, Reference: internet article: Marimari (no dategiven). Sources of Success: Hong Kong offered investors business-friendly laws and gave complete freedom to the movement of capital in order to encourage investments and promote growth. Hong Kong is duty free zone and there are few barriers to trade goods and services; this has made the country an important link ring between the east and the west. Hong Kong left market forces decide wages and prices; the government did not legislate any minimum wage requirement or anti-trust laws. Competition in Hong Kong: The decline of the manufacturing sector has caused the decline of competition in Hong Kong. Competition is considered an essential part of the market system. Competition benefits consumers and businesses, it benefits consumer by lowering prices and it benefits businesses by allocating resources in amore efficient ways. Competition is very important to the health of Hong Kong economy,competition gives world economies the flexibility to adjust its pricesin the case of external shock (macro-economic shock) Sturm,P,Jahangir,A, Breuer,P, Nishigaki,Y (2000). Emerging economies that depend on fixed exchange rates usually suffer from real exchange rate appreciation. The real exchange rate appreciation could be treated by either: 1- Switching to a flexible exchange rate: according to the â€Å"law ofone price† flexible exchange rate will adjust exchange rates in orderto make tradable products have the same price everywhere in the world. 2- Lowering prices: lowering prices of products is an important toll in avoiding international competition, lowering prices could onlyhappen if the structure of the market is competitive. Having a competitive market structure in lowering prices and keeping international capital flows coming to Hong Kong. Tax Regime in Hong Kong: Hong Kong tax regime is based on a territorial-based tax regime; the tax is imposed on incomes that arise from Hong Kong, Hong Kong’ Inland Revenue. The economy of Hong Kong has gained a competitive advantage because it imposes no taxes on capital gains and dividends; this has encouraged many investors to invest in that country and established an important financial centre in Asia. Hong Kong has the following simple tax structure: 1- Property Tax: Property tax is levied on rental income from land and buildings situated in Hong Kong. 2- Salaries Tax: Salaries tax is imposed on incomes derived from working in Hong Kong or if incomes derived from services rendered fromHong Kong. 3- Profits Tax: profits that are generated in Hong Kong aresubject to taxes, profits of unincorporated business stands at a rateof 15% and corporations at 16.5%. The relationship between Hong Kong and the foreign exchange rate: The currency in Hong Kong is Hong Kong dollar which is pegged to the USdollar, if Hong Kong government wanted that peg to continue, it shouldtighten its fiscal deficit. The currency of Hong Kong is an investment asset, many investorsdiversify their currency allocations, this diversified allocation tothe funds of the global investors results in an important cash inflowto Hong Kong. For the Hong Kong dollar to get part of the allocation, Hong Kongshould stabilize its budget in order to attract more foreign investment. Analyze why the government considers launching a broad-based tax. Narrow tax base: Hong Kong has very narrow tax base, narrow tax base means that thecollected revenues do not provide enough revenue to cover theexpenditure of the country. If we compare TAX/GDP ratio in Hong Kong compared to other Asia Pacificand OECD countries we find out that Hong Kong has the lowest ratio ofTAX/GDP. Hong Kong has a narrow tax base because the tax base is shrinkingsince 1998; sound tax systems are based on growing and stable (notvolatile) tax base. Hong Kong has the lowest corporate tax rate among the OECD countries, the current corporate tax stands at 16%. Erosion of Tax Base: The erosion of tax base is actually a result of several factors,such as: sliding house prices, illegal betting, e-commerce and onlinestock trading. In the following section I will explain each of these factors separately: 1- sliding house prices: For a long time, Hong Kong depended on land and property transactions to contribute to government revenue of Hong Kong. Collected tax from property in Hong Kong(stamp duty, rates and sharesand estate duties) is well above the international benchmarks as apercentage of GDP, Property from taxes/GDP=24% for Hong Kong against 5%for the OECD and 10% for the Asia Pacific countries), Reference: HongKong Government, Tax Base Study. Hong Kong depends on Land sales revenues in financing its budget,this has made Hong Kong increasingly dependent on non-tax revenues. In the tax base study that has been conducted by the government of Hong Kong and KPMG consultancy, the study reports the fact that HongKong’s non-tax revenue is about 80% of its tax revenues against 16% forOECD benchmark. Because Hong Kong has enjoyed a buoyant business environment for years, banks started granting credit very easily to businesses, the expansion of credit was accompanied by rising house prices, land prices started going up sharply from 1984 to 1997, Gerlach, S Peng,W(2002). Many companies found working in the construction sector very profitable because they can make profit from two sources: * Net profits from building new houses and buildings. * Profits from capital gains resulting from continuous increase in house prices. The construction sector was one the most attractive economic sectors in the country. Foreign and national banks expanded credit to companies whichoperate in the construction sector; the banking sector played anâ€Å"accelerator† role in the run-up of the property prices. The government in Hong Kong has constructed its tax system around thefact that land prices are going up all the time because they are indemand. Because of the financial crises of August 1997 that hit south east Asiaand also because of the government policy on housing, Revenues fromland sales and land utilization(lease, rent) dropped dramatically,suddenly the government found its huge revenues from land dwindling. On the 16th of January 2000, the secretary for the treasury stated that: â€Å"The other significant factor supporting our finances, in recent years,has been the high levels of revenue from land and propertytransactions. But as property prices stabilize, the huge windfalls areunlikely to recur in the future†. 2- illegal betting: Hong Kong’s treasury depended on revenues from betting activities in the country. Hefty taxes has made too many people start thinking about illegal betting, Schuman,M(2004). On the 16th of January 2000, the secretary for the treasury stated that: â€Å"The impact of illegal gambling and the rise of gambling through the Internet threaten to erode our income from betting tax† Hong Kong’s Home Affairs bureau said handle plunged 30% from 1996-97 to65 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$8.3 billion; euro6.5 billion) in2003-04, while government revenue from betting dropped from HK$12.3billion (US$1.6 billion; euro1.24 billion) to HK$8.78 billion (US$1.13billion; euro882 million). Meanwhile, the amount of cash and betting slips seized from illegalsoccer and horse gambling operators jumped from HK$9.38 million(US$1.20 million; euro942,000) in 2001 to HK$19.7 million (US$2.53million; euro1.98 million) in 2004, according to the government. The government said handle is project ed to drop another 30% by 2007-08if no action is taken, Reference: the associated press (2005).

Socrates: the Question of Morality :: Philosophy, Philosophers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The question of morality came up when Socrates and Cephalus were having a conversation about money. Cephalus says someone who has led a bad life will have nightmares and a person who leads a good life will not have such dreams and will be happy. Cephalus says being true and giving things back is morality. Socrates gives an example were you can do something good by not gibing something back. His example was if you borrow a weapon from a friend, and he is sane at the time and at the time you should give it back your friend is insane then you shouldn’t give it back so you can protect him from doing harm which is also good. Cephalus agreed that Socrates was correct that this was doing something good so Socrates said if that is the case than the definition of morality isn’t to tell the truth and give back whatever one has borrowed. Polemarchus interjected saying that morality is to tell the truth and to give back whatever one has borrowed if you believe S imonides. Polemarchus says what Simonides was trying to say was friends owe friends good deeds not bad ones. Socrates responds by saying, what Simonides meant was we give back to people what is appropriate for them, or owed to them. Polemarchus said to be consistent with what I said earlier it has to be the art of giving benefit and harm to friends and enemies respectively. Socrates makes a point that morality only seems to be useful when something is not being used, for example when money needs to be saved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Socrates asks if a moral person can harm anyone and Polemarchus agreed that a moral person could harm an evil man. What Socrates was trying to get at was well if this man was really moral why is he trying to harm anyone. Socrates goes on saying many things but one main point he made was as follows â€Å"It is not the job of a moral person to harm a friend or anyone else, it is the job of his opposite, an immoral person. Polemarchus agreed to this, which basically went against everything he said in the opening of this conversation. Socrates says that the claim that its right and moral to give back to people what they are owed, if this is taken to mean that a moral person owes harm to his enemies and help to his friends, turns out to be a claim no clever person would make.

Modern Business Environment

In modern business environment, knowledge is the most important resource, information regarding competition mainly concerned their market share and offer, showed to be a satisfactory volume of information. Nowadays requires information about the competition. These information refer not only to competitors market share and their offer, but also to the level and structure of their expenses, products and services quality-price relations, sales volume, scope of activities, cash flows, liquidity, solvency and profitability. Building information system that supports the management and decision-making, and that can be a source of competitive edge, is not an easy task. Problem is how to get quality and useful information. In the present commercial center, there are tons of items and administrations accessible to satisfy the necessities of people and organizations. Your capacity to recognize and abuse the highlights and related advantages of your item or benefit and exhibit how it is unique or superior to anything the opposition will furnish you with a focused edge. The edge or preferred standpoint will furnish your firm with the instruments to: Increment deals and piece of the pie. Enhance overall revenues for a given timeframe in new or existing markets. Guarantee your survival in to a great degree focused markets. Grow hard-to-duplicate promoting blends. A COMPETITIVE EDGE : To begin, you should assemble every one of the information gathered about your objective market patterns, clients, items and contenders. Recorded various market plan elements is a framework of the different market design components you should survey to identify your competitive edge. Each organization must have no less than one favorable position to effectively contend in the market. On the off chance that an organization can't distinguish one or simply doesn't have it, contenders soon beat it and power the business to leave the market. There are numerous approaches to accomplish the favorable position however just two fundamental kinds of it: cost or separation advantage. An organization that can accomplish prevalence in cost or separation can offer shoppers the items at bring down expenses or with higher level of separation and above all, can contend with its rivals. 1.0 BACKGROUND: Firstly the identification of your firm's strengths and weaknesses is an important task that needs to be accomplished before any competitive edge can be developed. The aggressive edge your firm picks will rely upon the reasons your client will purchase a specific item or administration. A competitive advantage means you need to offer some things your competitors don't. You need to know what it is your competitors do well, and do not do well. For instance, if your opposition has one formula that numerous clients go to that eatery for, basically impersonating their formula won't add to your upper hand. Rather than endeavoring to duplicate your rival's points of interest, fortify your own particular to make a special arrangement of qualities that can't be imitated. There's no compelling reason to enlist somebody to do what you can do yourself, however consider utilizing research firms to discover data that isn't freely accessible. Here are a couple of instruments you can use to secure aggressive knowledge. Online scans are a fast technique for finding aggressive data. In any case, this hunt will just give data that has been made open. On location perceptions of the contender's parking area, client administration, volume and example of providers' conveyances, and so on can yield valuable data about the condition of the contender's business. Overviews and meetings can yield a lot of information about contenders and items. Research reviews and center gathering interviews for the most part give more inside and out points of view from a constrained example. Aggressive benchmarking is utilized to look at the association's activities against those of its rivals. In making particular correlations inside an industry, an association picks up data about regular advertising rehearses, accessible workforce, and providers. Problems to Gain Competitive Edge over your Competitor in Business: Rivalry is great. Indeed, a sound competition provokes you to work more brilliant with the assets you have. To do as such, use your group's interesting gifts and construct a business contenders wouldn't set out test. Regardless of whether different organizations in your industry endeavor to undermine your costs and take your clients, ponder ways they can enable your startup to develop.Maintaining a strategic distance from lack of concern. Sole providers in an industry rapidly quit advancing essentially in light of the fact that they never again have any need to. Unfortunately, they unwittingly focus on keeping up the present state of affairs. Contenders have a propensity for keeping you on your toes.Building brand clout. Make it your central goal to emerge as the main specialist in your space of ability. Your gathering of people will appreciate your idea authority and normally pick you over different sellers.Creating mindfulness. Adversaries constrain you to evaluate your qualities and shortcomings. Utilize your superpowers to make a more exceptional incentive to clients. Comprehend your weaknesses and discover approaches to defeat them.Empowering separation. Contenders will reliably attempt to offer better client benefit, item quality and promoting. In sound markets, purchasers will request the best answers for their particular needs. Separate your contributions with the objective of making huge incentive for the clients you serve.Abusing industry patterns. Rivalry signals solid customer request. It gives approval to what you are doing. In new markets, this is a chance to advance a developing pattern that will get purchasers and the media amped up for your work.Shaping startling associations. Make organizations together with similar organizations. Trade innovation and apparatuses, extend the general market, cross advance each other's items and team up on novel research to instruct buyers. Mayb e one day, you may converge with, or gain, your greatest rival.Shared learning. Watch the opposition deliberately. The learning and assets they have might be both preferred and distinctive over yours. Effectively gain from how they oversee and develop their task. Before long, you will find approaches to apply those lessons figured out how to your business.Narrowing down a specialty. Somebody will dependably be superior to you at something – and that is alright. Clients merit the best items and administrations to satisfy their individual needs. To manufacture a productive business, concentrate your endeavors on making a littler fragment of the general market exceptionally upbeat. By narrowing your specialty, you build up an aggressive edge that prevents promote rivalry.Arranging long haul. Without contenders, most firms lose all sense of direction in the everyday exercise of keeping up their business. As different organizations join the market, you should begin testing yoursel f to achieve more.Organizing client needs. Rather than concentrating your vitality on exceeding the opposition, put resources into turning into a client driven association.Along these lines, you will help purchaser dependability and effortlessly shield against forceful providers or merchants goal on taking your customers. By the day's end, it is your clients – not your rival – who have the ability to represent the deciding moment your business.

Stained Glass Windows Medieval Art and Religion

Stained glass is transparent colored glass formed into decorative mosaics and set into windows, primarily in churches. During the art forms heyday, between the 12th and 17th centuries CE, stained glass depicted religious tales from the Judeo-Christian Bible or secular stories, such as Chaucers Canterbury tales. Some of them also featured geometric patterns in bands or abstract images often based on nature. Making Medieval stained glass windows for Gothic architecture was dangerous work performed by guild craftsmen who combined alchemy, nano-science, and theology.  One purpose of stained glass is to serve as a source of meditation, drawing the viewer into a contemplative state. Key Takeaways: Stained Glass Stained glass windows combine different colors of glass in a panel to make an image.  The earliest examples of stained glass were done for the early Christian church in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE, although none of those survived.  The art was inspired by Roman mosaics and illuminated manuscripts.  The heyday of Medieval religious stained glass took place between the 12th and 17th centuries.Abbot Suger, who lived in the 12th century and reveled in blue colors representing the divine gloom, is considered the father of stained glass windows.   Definition of Stained Glass   Stained glass is made of silica sand (silicon dioxide) that is super-heated until it is molten. Colors are added to the molten glass by tiny (nano-sized) amounts of minerals—gold, copper, and silver were among the earliest coloring additives for stained glass windows. Later methods involved painting enamel (glass-based paint) onto sheets of glass and then firing the painted glass in a kiln.   Stained glass windows are a deliberately dynamic art. Set into panels on exterior walls, the different colors of glass react to the sun by glowing brightly. Then, colored light spills out from the frames and onto the floor and other interior objects in shimmering, dappled pools that shift with the sun. Those characteristics attracted the artists of the Medieval period. Recumbent stone sarcophagi of French kings Philip VI (1293–1350) and John II (1319–1364) dappled in stain glass light. Saint Denis Basilica, Paris. RIEGER Bertrand / hemis.fr / Getty Images Plus History of Stained Glass Windows Glass-making was invented in Egypt about 3000 BCE—basically, glass is super-heated sand. Interest in making glass in different colors dates to about the same period. Blue in particular was a prized color in Bronze Age Mediterranean trade in ingot glass.   Putting shaped panes of differently colored glass into a framed window was first used in early Christian churches during the second or third century CE—no examples exist but there are mentions in historical documents. The art may well have been an outgrowth of Roman mosaics, designed floors in elite Roman houses that were made up of squares pieces of rock of different colors. Glass fragments were used to make wall mosaics, such as the famous mosaic at Pompeii of Alexander the Great, which was made primarily of glass fragments. There are early Christian mosaics dated to the 4th century BCE in several places throughout the Mediterranean region. Detail of Mosaic Alexander the Great at the Battle of Issus, Pompeii. Getty Images / Leemage/Corbis By the 7th century, stained glass was used in churches throughout Europe.  Stained glass also owes a great deal to the rich tradition of illuminated manuscripts, handmade books of Christian scripture or practices, made in Western Europe between about 500–1600 CE, and often decorated in richly colored inks and gold leaf. Some of the 13th century stained glass works were copies of illuminated fables.   Illustrated manuscript miniature from the Toros Roslin Gospels, 1262. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. Fine Art Images / Heritage Images / Getty Images How to Make Stained Glass The process of making glass is described in a few existing 12th-century texts, and modern scholars and restorers have been using those methods to replicate the process since the early 19th century. To make a stained glass window, the artist makes a full-sized sketch or cartoon of the image. The glass is prepared by combining sand and potash and firing it at temperatures between 2,500–3,000 °F. While still molten, the artist adds a small amount of one or more metallic oxides. Glass is naturally green, and to get clear glass, you need an additive.  Some of the main mixtures were: Clear: manganese  Green or blue-green: copperDeep blue: cobaltWine-red or violet: gold  Pale yellow to deep orange or gold: silver nitrate (called silver stain)Grassy green: combination of cobalt and silver stain The stained glass is then poured into flat sheets and allowed to cool. Once cooled, the artisan lays the pieces onto the cartoon and cracks the glass in rough approximations of the shape using a hot iron. The rough edges are refined (called grozing) by using an iron tool to chip away the excess glass until the precise shape for the composition is produced.   Making a stained glass window at the Morris Co of Merton Abbey (1931). Fox Photos / Stringer / Hulton Archive / Getty Images Next, the edges of each of the panes are covered with cames, strips of lead with an H-shaped cross-section; and the cames are soldered together into a panel. Once the panel is complete, the artist inserts putty between the glass and cames to aid in waterproofing. The process can take from a few weeks to many months, depending on the complexity.   Gothic Window Shapes The most common window shapes in Gothic architecture are tall, spear-shaped lancet windows and circular rose windows. Rose or wheel windows are created in a circular pattern with panels that radiate outwards. The largest rose window is at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, a massive panel measuring 43 ft in diameter with 84 glass panes that radiate outward from a central medallion.   The largest stained glass rose window is at the Catholic cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, on the edges of the Seine in Paris, France. Frà ©dà ©ric Soltan / Corbis / Getty Images Medieval Cathedrals The heyday of stained glass occurred in the European Middle Ages, when guilds of craftsmen produced stained glass windows for churches, monasteries, and elite households. The blossoming of the art in medieval churches is attributed to the efforts of Abbot Suger (ca. 1081–1151), a French abbot at Saint-Denis, now best known as the place where French kings were buried.   About 1137, Abbot Suger began to rebuild the church at Saint-Denis–it had been first built in the 8th century and was sorely in need of reconstruction. His earliest panel was a large wheel or rose window, made in 1137, in the choir (eastern part of the church where the singers stand, sometimes called the chancel). The St. Denis glass is remarkable for its use of blue, a deep sapphire that was paid for by a generous donor. Five windows dated to the 12th century remain, although most of the glass has been replaced.   The diaphanous sapphire blue of Abbot Suger was used in various elements of the scenes, but most significantly, it was used in backgrounds. Prior to the abbots innovation, backgrounds were clear, white, or a rainbow of colors. Art historian Meredith Lillich comments that for Medieval clergy, blue was next to black in the color palette, and deep blue contrasts God the father of lights as super-light with the rest of us in divine gloom, eternal darkness and eternal ignorance. Stained glass windows in Saint-Denis Cathedral, Paris, France. Greg Christensen / Photographers Choice / Getty Images Plus Medieval Meaning Gothic cathedrals were transformed into a vision of heaven, a place of retreat from the noise of the city. The portrayed images were mostly of certain New Testament parables, especially the prodigal son and the good Samaritan, and of events in the life of Moses or Jesus.  One common theme was the Jesse Tree, a genealogical form that connected Jesus as descended from the Old Testament King David. Stained glass window of King Solomon flanked by the prophets Isaiah and Micah. Detail from the Jesse Tree Window at Chartres Cathedral, France (1145–1155). Art Media / Print Collector / Getty Images Abbot Suger began to incorporate stained glass windows because he thought they created a heavenly light representing the presence of God. The attraction to the lightness in a church called for taller ceilings and larger windows: it has been argued that architects attempting to put larger windows into cathedral walls in part invented the flying buttress for that purpose. Certainly moving heavy architectural support to the exterior of the buildings opened up cathedral walls to larger window space. Cistercian Stained Glass (Grisailles) In the 12th century, the same stained glass images made by the same workers could be found in churches, as well as monastic and secular buildings. By the 13th century, however, the most luxurious were restricted to cathedrals. The divide between monasteries and cathedrals was primarily of topics and style of stained glass, and that arose because of a theological dispute. Bernard of Clairvaux (known as St. Bernard, ca. 1090–1153) was a French abbot who founded the Cistercian order, a monastic offshoot of the Benedictines that was particularly critical of luxurious representations of holy images in monasteries. (Bernard is also known as the supporter of the Knights Templar, the fighting force of the Crusades.)   In his 1125 Apologia ad Guillelmum  Sancti Theoderici Abbatem (Apology to William of St. Thierry), Bernard attacked artistic luxury, saying that what may be excusable in a cathedral is not appropriate to a monastery, whether cloister or church. He probably wasnt referring particularly to stained glass: the art form didnt become popular until after 1137. Nonetheless, the  Cistercians believed that using color in images of religious figures was heretical—and Cistercian stained glass was always clear or gray (grisaille). Cistercian windows are complex and interesting even without the color. Eberbach Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery near Eltville am Rhein in the Rheingau, Germany, founded in 1136 by Bernard of Clairvaux as the first Cistercian monastery on the east bank of the Rhine. Ventura Carmona / Moment Unreleased / Getty Images Gothic Revival and Beyond The heyday of the medieval period stained glass ended about 1600, and after that it became a minor decorative or pictorial accent in architecture, with some exceptions. Beginning in the early 19th century, the Gothic Revival brought old stained glass to the attention of private collectors and museums, who sought restorers. Many small parish churches obtained medieval glasses—for example, between 1804–1811, the cathedral of Lichfield, England, obtained a vast collection of early 16th century panels from the Cistercian convent of Herkenrode.   In 1839, the Passion window of the church of St. Germain lAuxerrois in Paris was created, a meticulously researched and executed modern window incorporating medieval style. Other artists followed, developing what they considered a rebirth of a cherished art form, and sometimes incorporating fragments of old windows as part of the principle of harmony practiced by Gothic revivalists. Gothic Revival stained glass window depicting the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, St. Germain lAuxerrois church, Paris, France. Godong / robertharding / Getty Images Plus Through the latter part of the 19th century, artists continued to follow a penchant for earlier medieval styles and subjects. With the art deco movement at the turn of the 20th century, artists such as Jacques Grà ¼ber were unleashed, creating masterpieces of secular glasses, a practice that still continues today. Stained glass window by Jacques Grà ¼ber Les Roses, 1906. Musee de l ´Ecole de Nancy, Art Nouveau museum, Nancy, France. Alan John Ainsworth / Heritage Images / Getty Images Selected Sources Abbot Suger. The Book of Suger Abbot of St. Denis on What Was Done During His Administration. Transl. 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