GST to be raised to 7% replied by Uncle Ver SG @ Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:09:41 +0800

Uncle Ver SG — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:09:41 +0800

"So the gov is transferring money from rich,evil people"

Good to know Comrade Lee is stealing from the rich (except for his own circle). I dont get these PAP intel officers - whats the point of posting in a forum where their target audience is not here. They should post in Stomp etc.

GST to be raised to 7% replied by FirePig @ Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:53:53 +0800

FirePig — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:53:53 +0800

Originally posted by jeez88:

I will just like to make a simple point.

I might get flamed - but please this is something which all of you might want to consider in your hearts.

During the 2006, who did you vote for?

If it's the opposition you had supported, fine - complain all you want.

If it's the ruling government which you had voted for - please do not complain and make a hu-ha about prices being upped and everything.

Remember the carrot and stick rule, or the dog and man rule.

The ruling government has supreme pays above everyone else in the job market, whether political or what not, local or overseas. Please - I did not say this, and a defamtion suit is not valid.

"Lee Hsien Loong currently earns an annual salary of S$3,091,200 (US$2,037,168)[3], making him the highest paid head of government in the world. For comparison purposes, the President of the United States earns a salary of US$400,000[4]. Despite the extent of controversy with regards to this issue, the Prime Minister's response is by giving a portion of his salary to charity. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew stated in parliament that the reason why the Singapore head of state, along with his ministers, deserve such a high income is due to the fact that Singapore is a small country and lacks a large pool of talented people.^[Lee Hsien Loong currently earns an annual salary of S$3,091,200 (US$2,037,168)[3],"making him the highest paid head of government in the world. For comparison purposes, the President of the United States earns a salary of US$400,000[4]. Despite the extent of controversy with regards to this issue, the Prime Minister's response is by giving a portion of his salary to charity. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew stated in parliament that the reason why the Singapore head of state, along with his ministers, deserve such a high income is due to the fact that Singapore is a small country and lacks a large pool of talented people.^[

If you do want to make a difference, vote in the 2011 elections. Smartly and Wisely,

Choose wisely, and face the consequences squarely.

Ultimately at the end of the day, it is your choice.

I voted for the opposition but still lost. When is the next election 2011? lol

GST to be raised to 7% replied by Nolvadex @ Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:48:57 +0800

Nolvadex — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:48:57 +0800

ummmm.......

GST to be raised to 7% replied by fai @ Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:05:04 +0800

fai — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:05:04 +0800

i got $13, 000+ rebate off my school fees, now i only need to pay $1122.. without tuition grant i would be working for years before i can start my diploma course.

This is partly possible because of tax revenues from overpriced luxury goods like cigarettes, sports cars, beers, condoms, ... the things consumed usually by bad people. So the gov is transferring money from rich,evil people to poor,good students with ambitions. This technique will be greatly amplified when the casinos are completed.

GST to be raised to 7% replied by onlooker123 @ Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:34:12 +0800

onlooker123 — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:34:12 +0800

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_added_tax

I found this wiki write-up on VAT/GST very informative. Suggest those interested to read through to learn more.

Note that most developed countries have VAT or GST. The major exception is USA but it has a sales tax which arguably is worse for business than VAT.

GST to be raised to 7% replied by charlize @ Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:58:33 +0800

charlize — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:58:33 +0800

Originally posted by FYLBA:

cb la, later gst raised to 99% how?

It's ok.

They will give you a $200 GST rebate to cover future GST increases.

Who says the government doesn't care for its citizens?

GST to be raised to 7% replied by FYLBA @ Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:49:21 +0800

FYLBA — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:49:21 +0800

cb la, later gst raised to 99% how?

GST to be raised to 7% replied by Dendrite88 @ Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:11:28 +0800

Dendrite88 — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:11:28 +0800

Originally posted by (human):

6 plus billion dollars of suplus which shown 2% increment of GST was and is an big mistake. The average and poor singaporeans are suffering from such mistakes made by the Lees and the PAP.

Humans are liable to make mistakes... But with a $2million salary...Need I say more? Shall we voice our disdain towards them already? Are we gonna make the difference? I guess not...

As mentioned, they got us eating out of the palms of their hands... They will call this their Human Error. But with a $2m salary, can they make more affordable errors... Stay tuned to the 101bullshittheyarecockingup next to find out more

GST to be raised to 7% replied by (human) @ Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:54:53 +0800

(human) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:54:53 +0800

6 plus billion dollars of suplus which shown 2% increment of GST was and is an big mistake. The average and poor singaporeans are suffering from such mistakes made by the Lees and the PAP.

GST to be raised to 7% replied by robertteh @ Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:06:49 +0800

robertteh — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:06:49 +0800

Eagle,

No, I am not from youngpap though I have once contacted youngpap asking to be granted permission to participate in its policy debates. In other words, I am prepared to debate PAP policies. My application of course was turned down probably because PAP was less than sincere in its earlier announcement that it welcomed non-conformist people to join them. As it turned out I was asked to join PAP first before I could do so. I said forget it and did not take up the offer.

GST to be raised to 7% replied by eagle @ Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:08:37 +0800

eagle — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:08:37 +0800

Originally posted by robertteh:

GST shifted tax burden from the corporate businesses and the rich to the poor.

This is the no. 1 objection.

The 2nd objection - it does not really save taxes because taxes are passed to consumption.

In fact with introduction of GST it increases the costs of materials and resources even before production of final products or company profits.

If Income tax is say lowered from 20% to 15% while GST is increased from 0% to 7% to replace income tax, investors will still not be attracted here because investors are not that stupid for they will know that the total taxes on their investments would now be lower but may become higher than before (-5% income tax but +7%GST)

Objection no. 3 is GST discourages consumptions affecting demands and stifle growth.

Back to top

For num 1 objection, GST does not really shift tax burden from rich to poor or poor to rich. What will happen is the poor's spending on goods will not decrease much because they buy mostly the necessities, whereas for the rich, they will tend to buy more luxury goods. This is a tax on usage of money; the more you spend, the more you are taxed. The 'shifting' of the burden from the poor to the rich happens if and only if the government is active in redistributing the taxes through money packages, which they have been actively doing thus far. However, how long they will do this is up to question

For num 2 objection, according to my recent research (but I've no source), for most major manufacturing companies, the selling price of their products exceeds the cost of materials and and resources for producing them by 200% or more. To these companies, a 2% rise in GST will not account for too much expenses. However, the same could not be applied to small and medium businesses, of which most are opened by Singaporeans.

For objection num 3, it may, on first look, affect demand. However, by redistributing the taxes to the poor, their total income would have increased. By putting money back to people's hand, more spending from the lower and middle income group could be expected. To the rich however, we can expect that 2% rise might not be much of an impact considering that their income rise is most likely higher than 2%. Total expenditure of the economy might even increase.

However, there are some parts I won't agree with GST hike and packages for redistribution.
1) Our spendings from the GST package will be affected by GST again, effectively taking back 7% of what they have given us.

2) There are many other ways to get the more taxes from the rich without resorting to GST. Just look at the 6 billion surplus => is GST thus necessary supposing that none of this 6 billion came from the 2% hike (all were supposedly returned to the people through packages)

GST to be raised to 7% replied by eagle @ Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:52:37 +0800

eagle — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:52:37 +0800

robertteh is part of young pap?

GST to be raised to 7% replied by robertteh @ Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:48:02 +0800

robertteh — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:48:02 +0800

There has been too much hype about the need to reduce corporate taxes in order to attract investors. While to a certain degree higher income tax may deter investments but it cannot simply be solved by replacing income tax with GST.

Does the government really understand that higher GST deter consumption and many companies at the end may pay just as high taxes overall due to paying too much taxes on process materials or resources before they even produce the final marketable product

So it is just as bad as high income tax if GST is raised too high to replace income tax. Companies will not be attracted here also if income tax is low while GST is high as there will be reduced consumption here because GST will deter consumption. Under a high-GST economy, companies will therefore try to import as little raw materials or semi-processed materials as they will have to pay GST on these materials which incur higher operating costs as much as paying higher income taxes.

It will come back to square one if our ministers fail to understand the trade off of GST and instead insist on raising GST. If they are our true talents let them show us they understand at least such problems in greater depth and perspective.

GST to be raised to 7% replied by robertteh @ Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:43:21 +0800

robertteh — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:43:21 +0800

GST shifted tax burden from the corporate businesses and the rich to the poor.

This is the no. 1 objection.

The 2nd objection - it does not really save taxes because taxes are passed to consumption.

In fact with introduction of GST it increases the costs of materials and resources even before production of final products or company profits.

If Income tax is say lowered from 20% to 15% while GST is increased from 0% to 7% to replace income tax, investors will still not be attracted here because investors are not that stupid for they will know that the total taxes on their investments would now be lower but may become higher than before (-5% income tax but +7%GST)

Objection no. 3 is GST discourages consumptions affecting demands and stifle growth.

GST to be raised to 7% replied by onlooker123 @ Sat, 09 Feb 2008 18:53:34 +0800

onlooker123 — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 18:53:34 +0800

Originally posted by Ramsey:

Have anyone done the maths?

Singapore is a S$300,000,000,000 ($300b) economy. 2% increase in tax will give the country S$6,000,000,000 extra, which just about pay for the increase in pay for ministers & top civil servants.

Errrm... your figures correct or not? Singapore's GDP is S$300billion? Where you got that figure from? The last I checked, according to

http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/keyind.html

Singapore's 2006 GDP was only about S$210bn.

2% increase in GST raise $6billion? Where you got that from?

Increase in pay for ministers and top civil servants cost $6billion? Again where you got that from?

GST to be raised to 7% replied by jeez88 @ Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:20:12 +0800

jeez88 — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:20:12 +0800

I will just like to make a simple point.

I might get flamed - but please this is something which all of you might want to consider in your hearts.

During the 2006, who did you vote for?

If it's the opposition you had supported, fine - complain all you want.

If it's the ruling government which you had voted for - please do not complain and make a hu-ha about prices being upped and everything.

Remember the carrot and stick rule, or the dog and man rule.

The ruling government has supreme pays above everyone else in the job market, whether political or what not, local or overseas. Please - I did not say this, and a defamtion suit is not valid.

"Lee Hsien Loong currently earns an annual salary of S$3,091,200 (US$2,037,168)[3], making him the highest paid head of government in the world. For comparison purposes, the President of the United States earns a salary of US$400,000[4]. Despite the extent of controversy with regards to this issue, the Prime Minister's response is by giving a portion of his salary to charity. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew stated in parliament that the reason why the Singapore head of state, along with his ministers, deserve such a high income is due to the fact that Singapore is a small country and lacks a large pool of talented people.^[Lee Hsien Loong currently earns an annual salary of S$3,091,200 (US$2,037,168)[3],"making him the highest paid head of government in the world. For comparison purposes, the President of the United States earns a salary of US$400,000[4]. Despite the extent of controversy with regards to this issue, the Prime Minister's response is by giving a portion of his salary to charity. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew stated in parliament that the reason why the Singapore head of state, along with his ministers, deserve such a high income is due to the fact that Singapore is a small country and lacks a large pool of talented people.^[

If you do want to make a difference, vote in the 2011 elections. Smartly and Wisely,

Choose wisely, and face the consequences squarely.

Ultimately at the end of the day, it is your choice.

GST to be raised to 7% replied by Ramsey @ Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:14:04 +0800

Ramsey — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:14:04 +0800

Have anyone done the maths?

Singapore is a S$300,000,000,000 ($300b) economy. 2% increase in tax will give the country S$6,000,000,000 extra, which just about pay for the increase in pay for ministers & top civil servants.

So now you know why there was a tax increase.

Incidentally, did you honestly think that the govt did not see this recession coming? Why do you think they rush thru' the whole exercise? 3 weeks after they announced increase GST, they announced increase ministerial pay rise; 2 months after NWC recommended 5% pay increase for the labor force, they announce more than 10% pay hike for civil servants. You still think they are dumb?

GST to be raised to 7% replied by Brainwashed fool @ Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:53:59 +0800

Brainwashed fool — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:53:59 +0800

faster raise to 10% la and choke to death with the money

GST to be raised to 7% replied by charlize @ Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:52:41 +0800

charlize — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:52:41 +0800

Originally posted by eagle:

Talking about coffee shops not raising price due to GST.

Yesterday I saw the cai peng stall near my house: From 1/1/08 raising price due to GST

Seems like they dun raise immediately, but wait till the govt checks are over before raising it

Give them a break lah.

They still need to make a living.

With the government squeezing everybody by raising prices, they have no choice but to follow suit.

GST to be raised to 7% replied by eagle @ Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:50:20 +0800

eagle — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:50:20 +0800

Talking about coffee shops not raising price due to GST.

Yesterday I saw the cai peng stall near my house: From 1/1/08 raising price due to GST

Seems like they dun raise immediately, but wait till the govt checks are over before raising it

GST to be raised to 7% replied by outsider77 @ Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:15:04 +0800

outsider77 — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:15:04 +0800

aiyah.....argue for what??

those happy in singapore stay here lor.....

those not happy migrate lor.....

happy??

GST to be raised to 7% replied by genie99 @ Fri, 07 Dec 2007 13:59:09 +0800

genie99 — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 13:59:09 +0800

Originally posted by xjxjxj:

Good on ya richkid. Singapore is in dire need of citizen like you. Proud to call himself a Singaporean.

I am extremely appalled by some of the things ex-singaporeans say about their country of birth. If you can't make it in Singapore does not mean that every Singaporean will fall in ur shoes. Spare the biased insults and reflect upon why did u fail in this country instead.
Singapore is not a perfect country.... But Singapore has provided me with a reasonably good education, a safe home, and good public infrastructures which makes me feel that Singapore is ,afterall, not a bad place to raise your kids and live in.

Which countries are you comparing Singapore to?

Singapore is actually bleeding from migration cos #1 those that are accepted are usually either highly qualified or #2 cash rich..... i don't see them as failing in SG more important is to find out why they left hmm? If type #1 left we need more FT? If type #2 left SG becomes poorer?

Proud to call himself a Singaporean. Yea i am but i've also heard things that make me ashamed of being a singaporean. I think its time to have a balance of power in the gahmen.... similar to the splitting of SBC into Mediacorp and watever the other one is called

GST to be raised to 7% replied by qlqq9 @ Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:57:08 +0800

qlqq9 — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:57:08 +0800

Originally posted by soul_rage:

Leaving Singapore does not mean a person is a failure in this country.

Its just like our ancestors, leaving their homeland to seek a place that may provide a better life.

There is nothing wrong with that. So before you start accusing those who leave of "biased insults and reflect upon why you fail in this country...", maybe you should first reflect on your biased view that those who leave are all failures.

Give you a tip. If they are all failures, the Govt won't be making those past remarks on a talent leakage from Singapore.

Just excuse this person as he/she is only a child without developed brain to think like a sound and mature adult. All the person is doing is engaged in childish and unrealistic thoughts. Pathetic!

GST to be raised to 7% replied by soul_rage @ Thu, 15 Nov 2007 23:44:46 +0800

soul_rage — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 23:44:46 +0800

Originally posted by xjxjxj:

Good on ya richkid. Singapore is in dire need of citizen like you. Proud to call himself a Singaporean.

I am extremely appalled by some of the things ex-singaporeans say about their country of birth. If you can't make it in Singapore does not mean that every Singaporean will fall in ur shoes. Spare the biased insults and reflect upon why did u fail in this country instead.
Singapore is not a perfect country.... But Singapore has provided me with a reasonably good education, a safe home, and good public infrastructures which makes me feel that Singapore is ,afterall, not a bad place to raise your kids and live in.

Leaving Singapore does not mean a person is a failure in this country.

Its just like our ancestors, leaving their homeland to seek a place that may provide a better life.

There is nothing wrong with that. So before you start accusing those who leave of "biased insults and reflect upon why you fail in this country...", maybe you should first reflect on your biased view that those who leave are all failures.

Give you a tip. If they are all failures, the Govt won't be making those past remarks on a talent leakage from Singapore.

GST to be raised to 7% replied by xjxjxj @ Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:53:47 +0800

xjxjxj — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:53:47 +0800

Originally posted by richkid:

despite of all the increases in tax, GST, food, materials etc. I still love singapore! Its place i call HOME!

Good on ya richkid. Singapore is in dire need of citizen like you. Proud to call himself a Singaporean.

I am extremely appalled by some of the things ex-singaporeans say about their country of birth. If you can't make it in Singapore does not mean that every Singaporean will fall in ur shoes. Spare the biased insults and reflect upon why did u fail in this country instead.
Singapore is not a perfect country.... But Singapore has provided me with a reasonably good education, a safe home, and good public infrastructures which makes me feel that Singapore is ,afterall, not a bad place to raise your kids and live in.

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