Singaporeans are the most heavily taxed
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it is a known fact that singapore govt taxes more and spends less than any other govts in asia.Originally posted by ngejay:And so the points mentioned above are the reasons why although Singaporeans have the lowest personal income taxes in the world, in reality they are one of the most heavily taxed through indirect means. -
yah...Originally posted by charlize:Hey, increasing GST is to help the poor, you know.
those poor in the heart...
but rich in the pockets... -
M13, since when did i say MAS wont inject money into the system at the time when there is a banking crisis?Originally posted by maurizio13:Your "pump" is equivalent to ECB and Feds "injected", therefore your statement that Singapore's MAS doesn't inject money into the financial system in times of crisis is wrong. Do me a favour, go read up on economics 101 before talking to me about economics again.
Take the sub prime mortgage problem in the US as example, ECB and US Fed Reserve can pump in money as much as they want to rescue the banks. The impact on their currencies Euro and US dollar is almost nothing. If there is a mortgage crisis in Singapore and if MAS were to pump in money, Singapore dollar would most likely crash, during which the country's reserve will need to be used to "defend" its currency. that is why, i guess, the govt of singapore is very focused on accumulating reserve because the country needs it to survive, to support the singapore dollar. if this is a good guess, we can also see that US and Europe are much bigger powers and that they can have choices which include choosing liberal democracy without fears. -
Why are you so crossed and so unhappy, M13 ?Originally posted by maurizio13:quote:Originally posted by Daddy!!:
Sure, i am going for my family buffet now. After that, lets discuss further.
have a nice day, m13. Smile
Discuss further?
No thanks, go learn economics before you blab.
I have no desire to talk to an idiot, I already showed you the policies statement from MAS.
You are pwned! -
It is funny that the TS can claim that Singaporeans are the most heavily taxed and all he provided to support his arguement is nothing but he own opinion and gut feeling, instead of concrete numbers.
I guess this is just another meaningless thread for feeding the whining birds and sheep.
“One accurate measurement is worth more than a thousand "expert" opinions” -
Before getting ahead of ourselves, i believe the statement should be: Are Singaporeans getting good value for the taxes they pay? - As opposed to 'Singaporeans are the most heavily taxed'.Originally posted by ngejay:This was a personal writing on mine which I posted on my blog a couple of months back.
Singapore may have one of the lowest personal income tax rate and corporate tax rate in the world, but in reality the PAP employs various schemes of hidden taxation which makes Singaporeans one of the highest taxed citizens in the world.
For a start, those who live in HDB flats don't really own them. They are practically leased from the government for 99 years. The current market rate is sky-high. Many Singaporeans end up ploughing a large part of their life savings into their HDB flat, and they cannot always sell to realize capital gains as people need a roof over their heads. The only way to extract capital gains is to downgrade, which in effect is just transferring one lease to another. You never truly own your HDB flat at all.
GST is creeping up. It may still be much lower than those so-called Value Added Tax in european countries, but the way I see it the gap will continue to close. The reason is that the PAP govt wants a more recession-proof tax base, never mind that it is a tax base that hurts the poor and small businesses the most, compared to the rich and large businesses which tends to have higher profit margins are more insulated against rise of costs at the margin.
GST results in the poor spending a much larger PERCENTAGE of their net income on household items and basic necessities compared to the rich. Even though the rich pay a much higher percentage of their income as direct tax, the fact remains that direct taxes have been kept low or even reduced over the years, while indirect taxes like GST have risen and hurt the poor proportionally more.
Last but not least, medical costs are escalating and rising much greater than the overall rate of inflation. Given that we do not have a comprehensive medical welfare system apart from the flawed Medisave and various Medishield schemes, once again Singaporeans lose out compared to citizens of other countries that have more comprehensive medical welfare policies. Escalating medical costs are therefore increasingly become another major source of "unreported" taxation on ordinary Singaporeans due to the PAP's anti-welfare policies.
The PAP govt likes to flout our low direct tax rates and claim this keeps us competitive.
In reality the economy is made uncompetitive because the PAP power structure entrenches itself in the GLCs and major corporations like Singtel. These bureaucrats lack good business skills and are not wordly-wise, having been sitting behind their desks in their own political ivory towers. Hence, when these PAP bureaucrats and stalwarts entrench themselves as directors, chairpersons and CEOs of these GLCs, they make them uncompetitive, and being monopolistic, they deprive other businesses of the opportunity to compete, innovate, and thrive.
And so the points mentioned above are the reasons why although Singaporeans have the lowest personal income taxes in the world, in reality they are one of the most heavily taxed through indirect means.
Our taxes, including relief, insurance and other family-related deductions, are still relatively managable, as compared to the 40-50% taxes in other developed countries.
However, instead of simply resting on their laurels, the govt can introduce more public amenities that benefit the people, rather than remain conservative.
Escalators for overhead bridges, lift upgrading for HDB flats and handicap-friendly features on transportation, buildings and parking space are examples of areas to work on and these certainly benefit the elderly and wheelchair bound.
Other options such as improving medicare in govt sectors, rebates to offset rising medical costs and subsidies for the needy with regards to basic educational requirements can also be reviewed.
I would like to see my taxes well spent on these sections, instead of higher and higher ministerial and cabinet staff salaries, which i find totally unjustified. -
You know... "Daddy!!" is of the same mould as Mat Toro when it comes to... debating...
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You mean you even have the brain to even attempt to educate us?Originally posted by Gazelle:It is funny that the TS can claim that Singaporeans are the most heavily taxed and all he provided to support his arguement is nothing but he own opinion and gut feeling, instead of concrete numbers.
I guess this is just another meaningless thread for feeding the whining birds and sheep.
“One accurate measurement is worth more than a thousand "expert" opinions” -
have you forgotten that you cant educate the sheep?Originally posted by Fingolfin_Noldor:You mean you even have the brain to even attempt to educate us? -
Straight away u know the 2% GST is for ministerial pay hike, even idiot aso know that.
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Ah, so you admit to trolling!Originally posted by Gazelle:have you forgotten that you cant educate the sheep? -
After posting so much in the forums, my calculations and research are summarized:Originally posted by sunnytv:Straight away u know the 2% GST is for ministerial pay hike, even idiot aso know that.
Ministerial pay hike amts to a total of abt < 10 mil a year (overestimate), but GST hike brings in $1.5 billion.
10 million is just 0.007 of our GST hike... (sounds very nice right?)
Conclusions are for all of you to make... -
What if I tell you that only idiot will think that 2% GST hike is for minister pay hike because expected collection from GST is more that $1500 milllions per year.Originally posted by sunnytv:Straight away u know the 2% GST is for ministerial pay hike, even idiot aso know that. -
oops, forget to add bonus, benefit (dark), etc. Who would make it so obviously that the GST collected is exactly equal to their pay hike? Great eg. Don't ever forget Durai case. His supporters believe he is innocent but it turn out he suck up so much money. He said he need so much reserve to help more people but turn out to be his own extravagant expenditure. Plus, MP Kwan said they oredi know something is fishy 4 yrs ago, but nothing is done. How to believe them now???
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stop trying lah...it just doesnt add up.Originally posted by sunnytv:oops, forget to add bonus, benefit (dark), etc. Who would make it so obviously that the GST collected is exactly equal to their pay hike? Great eg. Don't ever forget Durai case. His supporters believe he is innocent but it turn out he suck up so much money. He said he need so much reserve but turn out to be his own extravagant expenditure. Plus, MP Kwan said they oredi know something is fishy 4 yrs ago, but nothing is done. How to believe them now??? -
oop again, forget to mention, durai oso give out nice statistic on how the money is used to help more patients, again it turn out to be fake. How to believe in whatever statistic giving out by them? Don't forget, it is real example, no assumption.
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debating is certainly not my cup of tea lar. your english is so good, how to win in any debate with you, right?Originally posted by Fingolfin_Noldor:You know... "Daddy!!" is of the same mould as Mat Toro when it comes to... debating...
i do wonder, why are you and walesa (who both sound like foreigners) so 100% against PAP party or current singapore's government ? eat rice then nothing else to do is it.
oh yes, Fingolfin_Noldor, remember to brush your teeth hor. that will help you with your eloquent speech. -
i can tell you such things exist everywhere. dont forget Enron and many other western's fallen angels. cheats are everywhere around the world lar.Originally posted by sunnytv:oops, forget to add bonus, benefit (dark), etc. Who would make it so obviously that the GST collected is exactly equal to their pay hike? Great eg. Don't ever forget Durai case. His supporters believe he is innocent but it turn out he suck up so much money. He said he need so much reserve to help more people but turn out to be his own extravagant expenditure. Plus, MP Kwan said they oredi know something is fishy 4 yrs ago, but nothing is done. How to believe them now???
cheats (durai included), you better be beware of retributions when you harm others and their families for your own benefits. -
maybe we can get to noe wad happens to our GST $$$ wen the national day rally comes up......
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I was about to choke and laugh when I was done reading the drivel you just wrote.Originally posted by Daddy!!:debating is certainly not my cup of tea lar. your english is so good, how to win in any debate with you, right?
i do wonder, why are you and walesa (who both sound like foreigners) so 100% against PAP party or current singapore's government ? eat rice then nothing else to do is it.
oh yes, Fingolfin_Noldor, remember to brush your teeth hor. that will help you with your eloquent speech.
Let's end the pretense.You have been, as all good pro-PAP people like to do whether or not they are affiliated with the "good Government", attempting to discredit your opponents and then try to wriggle your way out of the logical mess you created. Perhaps you should try to use more grey matter before you spew out more rubbish from your mouth and use clumsy insults. -
only "about" to choke and laugh? should be better than that lar. It should be laughter at first sentence and it should be " HA HA HA !!"Originally posted by Fingolfin_Noldor:I was about to choke and laugh when I was done reading the drivel you just wrote.
Let's end the pretense.You have been, as all good pro-PAP people like to do whether or not they are affiliated with the "good Government", attempting to discredit your opponents and then try to wriggle your way out of the logical mess you created. Perhaps you should try to use more grey matter before you spew out more rubbish from your mouth and use clumsy insults.
so why are you and walesa (who sound like foreigners) 100% + 100% against singapore's current government, PAP party ? Lots of free time, Fingolfin_Noldor ?
Another thing about you and walesa is that both of you like anti-PAP forumers ONLY. Trying to form a choir here with everyone singing the same anti-PAP song? "What are you doing in SINGAPORE's online discussion forum? " Your mom and dad must be asking you, Fingolfin_Noldor.
as i expected, your english response is so good and powerful. You should start an English Language learning center. I am sure you will be very successful. Cannot find a sponsor? Dont worry, we can co-operate, i give you 30% of the net profits.
"wriggle your way out" is only your assumption about me, Fingolfin_Noldor.
"You have been, as all good pro-PAP people like to do" is another assumption you make about me, Fingolfin_Noldor.
I wonder what else you are going to throw out from your superb english speaking mouth.