What does 'as far as the majority is concerned' mean?

[joham]

What does 'as far as the majority is concerned' mean in the sentence below?
Does it mean 1 or 2? (I should think it means 2, but I'm not sure.)
1 in the majority's opinion
2 which will affect the majority


This tax will soon be abolished as far as the majority is concerned.

 

[MikeNewYork]

#1,

 

[Barb_D]

No, I don't think so. It's a statement of fact about something that will affect the majority of the people who now pay the tax. It's not an opinion or belief shared by the majority of the people.

 

[Matthew Wai]

This tax concerning the majority will soon be abolished.

Do you mean so?

 

[MikeNewYork]

I disagree. When someone says "As far as I am concerned", they refer to their opinion. The same is true about the "majority".

See here: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/as+far+as+is+concerned

 

[Matthew Wai]

The Longman Dictionary reads "used to show what someone's opinion on a subject is or how it affects them", see http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/concerned Definition#3

Not a teacher.

 

[Roman55]

It's a statement of fact about something that will affect the majority of the people who now pay the tax. It's not an opinion or belief shared by the majority of the people.

I am not a teacher.

If the tax is abolished it's abolished for everybody.

If your interpretation were right I would expect to see something like, "This tax will soon be abolished for the majority..."

 

[SoothingDave]

I'm with Barb. The tax is being abolished. For most people who pay it now. So, most people will have the "opinion" based on actual fact that the tax is gone.

Some subset will continue to experience the tax. Their "opinion" will be that the tax exists.

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

Is this a hypothetical situation or is it a real tax that you know about?

A tax is abolished or it isn't. If some people will continue to pay it after its abolition then I don't think you can talk about abolishing it. That would be amending it, or changing some method of determining who is subject to it.

"This tax will soon be abolished as far as the majority is concerned" is talking about something in the future that is not yet the case. It could easily mean that as far as the majority is concerned it will soon be abolished.

 

[MikeNewYork]

@ Matthew: The Longman Dictionary reads "used to show what someone's opinion on a subject is or how it affects them", seehttp://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/concerned Definition#3

Yes, good citation.

 

[Matthew Wai]

@ Mike: I mean "affects them" is also possible besides "someone's opinion".

I would vote for Barb_D, although a Chinese vote counts for little.

Not a teacher.

 

[SoothingDave]

I am not a teacher.

Is this a hypothetical situation or is it a real tax that you know about?

A tax is abolished or it isn't. If some people will continue to pay it after its abolition then I don't think you can talk about abolishing it. That would be amending it, or changing some method of determining who is subject to it.

"This tax will soon be abolished as far as the majority is concerned" is talking about something in the future that is not yet the case. It could easily mean that as far as the majority is concerned it will soon be abolished.

This is all hypothetical. I don't know if there is some real context here.

It's not impossible that politicians would speak of "abolishing" a tax, but still leaving a certain segment of the population on the hook. Maybe it's a tax that only the "evil" 1% has to pay now.

 

[MikeNewYork]

But your citation clearly states that it is an opinion.

As far as I am concerned. the law is wrong.
As far as he is concerned, she is a criminal.
As far as we are concerned, the monument should be moved.

 

[joham]

Thank you all very much for your valuable help.

I got my doubt when reading this original sentence from COLLINS COBUILD USAGE. The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary says in the entry of 'far':

as/so far as I'm concerned: used to give your personal opinion on something

as/so far as sb/sth is concerned: used to give facts or an opinion about a particular aspect of something



From the Oxford dictionary, I learned that there is a difference between the first person and the second/third person subject used with this phrase. But I'm still not very clear about the difference.