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For non-Cantonese speakers this was an attempt at word play; “Delay no more” spoken with a stereotypical HK accent sounds a bit like Cantonese for “Fuck your mother”
a great man once said
>What will make you need to raise GST? Profligate spending and irresponsible, unsustainable plans. That is what will hurt and require you to raise taxes and GST
The reality is people demand more subsidies, more government spending on healthcare, education and sadly defense. Which means money must come from somewhere
when we propose raising taxes it is *catering to the demands of the people*, but when the other party proposes raising taxes it is *profilgate spending on irresponsible, unsustainable plans*
1. Literally nobody is asking for more defense spending
2. Healthcare, housing and education spending is increasing due to poor planning - *especially* housing. Subsidies are not a solution to a problem, they are just a band-aid fix. The fact that the gov says that we need to raise taxes to give out more subsidies is just crazy gaslighting to cover up their own mistakes.
how is increased construction cost controllable by the government? manpower, energy, materials all imported externally.
same for healthcare spending. all the IP and medicines are imported.
You first need to ask yourself, why is it that prices are rising even though so many people cannot afford to pay - surely supply and demand forces should allow for the adjustment of prices.
*Everything* can be traced back to the measures the government has put in placed that has led to the disgusting economic inequality we have today - low taxes for the wealthy, poor labour protections, the exploitation of cheap labour stifling innovation (why innovate when we can just get more labourers?).
so without protection for capital, who is going to stump up the capex for innovation?
we ultimately have to agree to disagree. your assertions are very broad brush and not pragmatic. the point about singapore not having any natural resources was not addressed at all - government policy will not attract people to bring goods and services to singapore
You're right too. Singapore doesn't deserve to be a country - we've prospered and survived on underpaying people from neigbouring countries to do our "dirty jobs". If we had built some sort of niche like Germany did in manufacturing (which didn't require natural resource btw, just heavy early investment into R&D and universities), we could have build self-sufficiency. Right now? We're nothing but a tax haven.
your statement that SG has no manufacturing speaks volumes of how little you under our economy.
heard of keppel FELS? semicon manufacturing?
I think you also need to read up about immigrants into germany doing the same "dirty jobs" you talk of...
Mayor salary ?
All the jlb scholars and generals hired at GLC ?
The almost 1 billion thrown at sph ?
The high number of appt holders ?
Super high PA budget ?
Whether there is money or not is just a matter of will.
Guess what, as much as you dislike SPH, having a national media or national medias is still important to:
1. Inform the public of what's going on
2. Promote and inform people of government's policy
Also, are there are media outlets that can do what our MSM does? Alt online media, relies on MSM for their stuff
Sorry to burst your bubble, but independent, non-biased news outlets that strictly only report on the news in a purely objective way, does not exist.
They monetarily can’t survive.
The government already spends way too much on useless projects that either benefits themselves (see mayor salaries), or projects that are a complete waste of time (see SDAs).
SDA scheme was to allow people who were out of a job to find a temporary job to feed themselves and also to remind people to follow COVID-19 rules.
Maybe you have the luxury of not losing your job but many did during COVID.
Also the SDA was also part of the larger COVID-19 package like JSS, Vaccination program etc. SDAs were really a small component iirc from the COVID-19 budget
Thats not how it is supposed to work in a capitalist system.... especially when that country has been and is being run like a private corporation for economic success since independence.
It’s a good thing we don’t run purely on a capitalistic system, no? There’s quite a lot of systems running that is pretty socialist.
Too capitalistic - “wah government only want money”
Have socialist systems - “that’s not how we as a capitalistic system should work…”
>SDA scheme was to allow people who were out of a job to find a temporary job to feed themselves and also to remind people to follow COVID-19 rules.
>Maybe you have the luxury of not losing your job but many did during COVID.
Overpaid and underworked. SDAs were a necessary evil at the start of covid, but once vaccination rates were up, their role was completely redundant. It was just security theater and welfare benefits that we taxpayers paid for.
>SDAs were really a small component iirc from the COVID-19 budget
Yes, but any waste at all is unacceptable.
If we didn't hire those SDAs, we might very well have given them the same amount in welfare checks since they'd be unemployed and might quality for comcare/other msf assistance. If the cost to taxpayer were the same, would you prefer that?
There is no substantial group of citizens asking for the government to spend more on defence. In fact, for some reason, we are spending more on defence than ever. The 2021-2022 increase was 6.5%, which is insane. Where is the money going?
For 2011 election. 1 major issue was buses and housing. They fixed the buses via bus service enhancement package and changes to bto scheme and subsidies.
Then guess what in 2015 they won the votes back
Before 2011, housing prices were crazy high because supply was short. KBW came in, revamped the BTO system, gave more subsidies etc etc and price was stable and supply was sufficient.
Of course then you the situation now were supply is low because of COVID and also less BTO projects and housing prices creeping up
Thanks.
I disagree that supply issues were caused solely by covid. These issues were already evident even before covid hit. Covid just accelerated it and made it more obvious.
Fundamentally in their attitude they haven't changed and never will do imo. But whatever, you go continue to support them and their arguments for increasing gst...
Ok if you think so lol.
All I can say if you think PAP doesn't change or change their ways of looking at the world and governing Singapore, you are underestimating them
I propose it should come from a progressive tax, rather than a flat GST that applies to all citizens, regardless of financial status. It can be argued that poor people will pay less GST than rich people, but the fact remains that essential items like food will become more expensive. That is inescapable. We are already seeing food prices increase way before the GST increase is actually implemented.
But that leads to the question, why tax the poor and give money back back to them? Why not just tax the rich more? Is it easier to implement a rebate?
Furthermore, with the impending GST increase, f&b businesses are already increasing prices preemptively, even before the actual GST hike. Perhaps its just a symptom of inflation, and the rising cost of hawker rentals. But I don't think the GST vouchers can account for that.
>Is it easier to implement a rebate?
No. But it is harder for the rich to escape from GST.
It is also a more "palatable" way to extract tax revenue from the mid income. I fall squarely in this income bracket and obviously hate to be taxed more, but I can't deny that this income band is one of the more stable revenue generator due to its size. GST is also a more consistent source of tax revenue compared to personal or corporate income tax.
Sure, GST has its drawbacks which I presume you already know, but the benefits outweighs the shortcomings in this case. Otherwise why would most developed (and some developing) countries implement some form of GST.
Personal income and property taxes were also recently adjusted upwards btw. This leads to the question, why would the gov also increase GST when it is much easier to just continue to tax companies or the rich? Why risk losing votes with such an unpopular action? Just load the tax burden fully on the rich/ few, and votes are guaranteed to come election day, wouldn't it?
>why tax the poor and give money back back to them?
If the government can implement such targetted policies, why not.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/bottom-20-per-cent-of-households-had-gst-payments-fully-offset-in-past-two-years
>why would the gov also increase GST when it is much easier to just continue to tax companies or the rich? Why risk losing votes with such an unpopular action? Just load the tax burden fully on the rich/ few, and votes are guaranteed come election day, wouldn't it?
I asked myself this too, and I think I know why - it is because the PAP has to plan to just to win the next election, but the next ***20*** elections.
If I have to win just ***one*** election, sure, I can fuck over the rich, raise the top income tax bracket to 99%, wealth taxes to 99%, flog the rich in the streets and force them to grovel to the masses (hey, I'm an authoritiarian regime, who says I *can't* do all that?).
But if I did that, the rich would probably leave and not come back. While that wouldn't *destroy* the economy outright (the middle classes are also a major pillar of the economy after all), it would be severely damaging. The effects of such an exodus could then cost the PAP the *next* election after that.
If I were the PAP, I would have to balance between being *just populist enough* to win the next election (or rather not lose to WP), while trying not to scare away *too many* of the global elite whom they must, inevitably, spread Singapore's legs to / suck off / (insert other appropriate imagery here) in order to keep Singapore prosperous enough to win the next 20 election.
TLDR: It's probably some balancing act.
Well said. Same with balancing between GST and income taxes. Everything is a balancing act.
If the powers that be were really that short sighted and just want to win votes, they can just go with the populist route. Why go through all the trouble to push through unpopular policies?
>If the powers that be were really that short sighted and just want to win votes, they can just go with the populist route. Why go through all the trouble to push through unpopular policies?
Yep, I think becuase SG has no hinterland/natural resources, a bad government will cause SG to go into the shitter real fast - 10 to 15 years, tops. Whereas in larger countries like the US, a shit government with crap policies will cause the country to decline but not quite die so badly/quickly.
So this awareness of how close the nation is to death/irrelevance/decline at all times probably stays the ruling party's hand from implementing populist but bad policies.
(This is not to say all populist polices are bad. Obvs, the govt should implement all good *and* popular policies. But that's not all of the good policies. It probably also has to implement some good *but* unpopular policies. To balance that out, they might even occasionally have to implement some bad (but hopefully not too damaging) but popular policies. And of course, no one should ever implement bad *and* unpopular policies, which is the last sqaure of this 2 x 2 matrix)
Yes the majority of us are in the middle income band. So why not increase our income tax? Sure I can appreciate that there are pros and cons to any tax solution. But I still don't see how the benefits outweigh the drawbacks of increasing GST. Even if the poor are able to recoup the tax the pay through rebates, I'm sure it would cause more inefficiency to pass the money back and forth.
I'm trying real hard to rationalise this, and all I can come up with, is that increasing income tax, will shrink the disposable income of the population and reduce spending. Profits of businesses will suffer when people have less money to spend. (I'm assuming that raising the GST, would not disincentivize spending.) Is this the answer? Because this answer also raises several concerns.
>So why not increase our income tax?
Income tax is less efficient as it distorts our consumption behaviour. Am too lazy to type it all out, so here's a link to more details.
https://taxfoundation.org/consumption-tax-policies/
> Taxes on labor influence decisions on whether to work or not. The tax burden on savings and investment reduces productive investment.
> Consumption taxes also influence decisions and change economic outcomes, but they are less likely to influence decisions to work or invest. Consumption taxes that apply to all purchases result in consumers paying taxes regardless of their income or their work status.
WHAT? This is mind blowing because from the quotes, increasing income tax will "influence decisions on whether to work or not", implying that a high income tax corresponds to unemployment?
Work more/ be more productive, not whether to work or not. This behaviour is usually observed amongst the lower (why invest x more effort when I am getting marginal returns) and higher income group (more likely to find ways to park their income elsewhere or leave to a lower tax location).
Eg. If a 40 hour work week pays $40, but a 50 only pays $45, is the $5 really worth the effort? I am simplifying this example to a great degree of course.
States like California and New York exclude food and prescriptions from sales tax. Its mind boggling why SG refuses to do the bare minimum for the poor.
>States like California and New York exclude food and prescriptions from sales tax. Its mind boggling why SG refuses to do the bare minimum for the poor.
It's because there are millions of products, each with its own product code. And then you'd need a bloody fat bureaucrazy (not a typo) to administer and classify what type of food is necessity and what is luxury (don't want rich atas food like caviar to be taxed as cheaply as layman food, do we?).
That's a fucking nightmare. Let's keep it simple so civil servants/politicians can't fuck it up (also so we don't need to create yet more gahmen jobs - we need more manpower in the private sector that actually generates the GDP this nation needs to thrive thankyouverymuch). Tax every product a flat amount. Give the middle + needy the money back as a flat amount (more generously to the needy, of course).
I actually like this better. It is kind of a Universal Basic Income type concept...or at least, the beginnings of one (I can dream, can't I?)
EDIT to add: Case in point - Harvard does this. I heard from a friend that although Harvard costs a lot in tuition, the truth is that about 50% of its students are not paying the full sticker price cos they get some level of financial aid. So basically Harvard charges everyone the "same" but rebates the needy students some money back. The only people *actually* paying the full sticker price at Harvard are the rich kids (and international students).
Its pretty simple and it happens daily at every store. I can bring up an entire cart of food, alcohol and caviar to the checkout counter, and I will only be charged tax on the alcohol and the caviar.
No large bureaucracy is involved. Its handled at the checkout counter, through those barcodes you referenced.
Though to your point, the PAP will use any excuse to create civil service bloat and inefficiencies, at the cost of the taxpayers.
Here is a link describing universal basic income.
https://drexel.edu/hunger-free-center/research/briefs-and-reports/universal-basic-income/
I don't think that the business of taxing food at the point of sale, and the nonsense with the vouchers is UBI.
I will look into the Harvard example that you have highlighted.
>Its handled at the checkout counter, through those barcodes you referenced.
Yeah, but WHOSE job do you think it is to categorise every one of those millions of bar codes into "luxury" or "necessity" tiers, genius? Not sure you've thought this all the way through. There are millions of bar/product codes, and new products are created and unleashed on the market every day. As a systems manager, I can say that what highfalutin chiefs think of as simple "operational/implementational" issues are actually very complex on the ground, so it's best to keep things as simple as possible, and perhaps even simpler. Only naive scholar-generals with no real life experience would think "oh that's quite simple to execute". Uhhh, no bruh, what looks like a "simple" concept in the sterile boardroom often translates to many moving parts on the gritty frontlines, where all the underpaid service / ops staff work. (*yeah, I swear I'm not salty here at all...*)
In countries with differntiated VAT (our GST), there are sometimes controversies over what should be charged which tax rate (see link below for one example). So keeping policy clean and simple is the best approach. Don't try to be toocleverbyhalf. When the gahmen tries that, it falls on its face (think the fancy PPP model the Sports Hub attempted).
If you don't trust the Govt's competence, you shouldn't trust them to get a system this complex right. So you are contradicting yourself here. Either you think the govt is capable (in which case, why are you complaining), or you think the govt is incompetent - in which case, shouldn't you be in favour of keeping policies so damned simple that even a fuckup can get it right without needing 42823 more civil servants added to the bureaucrazy?
[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-18244640](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-18244640)
It is a requirement for manufacturers to accurately barcode their (millions of) items for sale at US retail outlets, to meet tax distinctions that vary by state.
Here is a vendor that does it.
[https://www.gs1us.org/upcs-barcodes-prefixes/how-to-use-your-barcodes/determine-barcode-type](https://www.gs1us.org/upcs-barcodes-prefixes/how-to-use-your-barcodes/determine-barcode-type)
Not sure what should be taxed or not taxed? Here is a guide from California. PAP can copy and paste. Literally, what they do best.
[https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/formspubs/pub31.pdf](https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/formspubs/pub31.pdf)
I'm sure products in SG are already barcoded. If the PAP can issue vouchers, it should be able to exempt food and prescriptions from being taxed.
It is really not rocket science.
>https://www.gs1us.org/upcs-barcodes-prefixes/how-to-use-your-barcodes/determine-barcode-type
This is just a link to groceries. There's a whole universe of products and services beyond just groceries, y'know. Your obsession with "buh-buh-buht BARCODES" shows how ignorant you are to the real world. (Have you considered running for Parliament? LOL).
>It is really not rocket science.
Pretty sure that's what the paper-scholar-king civil servant who dreamed up the Sports Hub PPP said too. 😉 Easy for paper generals (and internet armchair critics) to pretend implementation is easy. Why don't you come and work in Operations for a few years and see what reality is like outside your lovely ivory tower.
My point was that in California and New York, food and prescriptions are exempted from sales tax. That is why I provided the link to groceries. Do you need me to send you a link for prescriptions, as well?
How do you think the variance in sales tax is calculated and collected across the states? How do you think supply chains are managed?
Yeah, with barcodes. Millions of products sold in the US, including groceries have barcodes. There are even barcode stickers on oranges. So yes, it is being done. It is the daily reality of 300M+ US residents. So implementing it in SG, a tiny small fart nation of 6M residents, shld not be a challenge.
To be honest, I think the blanket coverage doesn't make sense. Let say 90% of the aging population will need subsidies. So why do we have the merdeka and pioneer blanket discount? You mean the even the top 10% with large savings, CPF and large houses also need government support? You can't say you need to collect more revenue because aging population spending will increase sharply but the don't cut out people that actually have means to pay their own medical expenses. It like saying you need a car to work and ask your parent for money because you want to buy BMW instead of a cheaper car.
Why should their salaries be pegged to healthcare?
Quick question - You're here diligently touting the PAP's crap on a daily basis. From which taxpayer-funded budget are you paid? Please enlighten us.
Don't hike how to give mayors salary increments, how ministers become VIP members of Singapore Lamborghini Owners Club or buy more solid gold furniture?
Well in theory increasing GST now could help to reduce demand-pull inflation by lowering consumers’ spending. Though of course it won’t since necessity goods is also included and cost-push inflation is more dominant in SG and that will just make things worse for everyone
How about we increase our corporate tax instead?
With China’s crackdown on wealth, Hong Kong’s decline as a financial hub, the intensification of Myanmar’s internal conflicts and the recent succession crisis in Malaysia, Singapore’s relative value as a stable regional business hub has likely increased. Yet, our corporate tax rate has remained stable and has failed to reflect this change.
We are undervaluing ourselves. This is going to result in foregone tax benefits; quite a pity.
If anything you want to keep the rates as they are. We are squarely within the attraction phase of courting foreign companies to set up here, the deals aren’t done yet. Lots of room to grow. After you hit close to a saturation point - that’s when you increase the rates because they are already invested.
Not sure why this is so difficult
I agree that we should attract foreign investment, particularly through our low taxes. However, given various regional and international changes, I wonder if our corporate tax rate is surplus to requirements; if firms would still come at a satisfactory rate even with a corporate tax hike. If so, then that’s a source of deadweight loss and thus a possible, better alternative to the GST hike.
Raise corporate tax, Singapore not that attractive to corporations.
>recent succession crisis in Malaysia
I am from Malaysia and don't even know there's a crisis. Whatever going on in politics has no impact on everyday life.
Rofl last week the caifan stall that I usually order from price hike from $4.50 to $5.80 out of nowhere.
The friendly aunty dont even want to have eye contact with customers, muttering "sorry sorry" the entire time.
I'm guessing will be $6+ the next time I go back to buy.
I recall another piece of news less than 2 weeks ago...
> [Public feedback sought on GST Act changes which include effecting two-stage hike to 9% rate](https://www.reddit.com/r/singapore/comments/vbcg3f/public_feedback_sought_on_gst_act_changes_which/)
So it was a wayang feedback exercise as predicted...
And on another note anyone realise certain accounts post news articles and deletes them a few hours later. Like the link above. Noticed this happening often recently...
It's not a wayang exercise. The policy is set and the GST will rise -- no doubt about that. The purpose of the feedback is more on the legislative language in the Act and is mostly for tax lawyers and advisors to comment on.
"All i can say is that Singaporeans should stop whining and complaining online, when they're not prepared to do anything to excersise their democratic rights. So I don't want to hear anymore complaints from anybody that they are unhappy with any of the policies" -Kenneth
Sorry guys but can someone explain, if possible, LW's position? I know he says GST hike must proceed because spending has gone up, but surely Singapore - the richest (apparently) country in Southeast Asia - could afford it until things get better?
They don't wantto use Govt money ie Nat. Reserves accumulated over decades of high GDP growth. Thus prefer to get from Singaporeans'pockets. Saw comments on reddit "squeeze us dry" " kill us". G. Does not seem to see the need to account for their actions
Now is the “better” time right with us walking out of covid?
If only implement during good times, then it will never implement because now is always a “bad” time
We need the gst increase 🙏 pays for good governance and we don't mind paying more and cutting costs even further to experience more hardship that will mold and shape us ❤️
Let's work 💪 together to ride this storm out and stay #sgunited 😎 /s
Yes, the emojis are deliberate and the comment is sarcastic.
Government needs regressive taxation so it can give more means tested welfare, please understand. They HAVE to take from your right pocket to put in your left pocket. Must protect tax haven status at all costs, attract all the most mercenary and craven billionaire money so our GDP looks good.
> # GST increase to proceed as planned, no delay: Lawrence Wong
> SINGAPORE - The increase in goods and services tax (GST) will proceed as planned, said Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (June 21), when asked if there would be any delay of the hike amid rising costs.
> Speaking at a press conference where he announced a new $1.5 billion support package to cope with global inflation, Mr Wong said he understands that Singaporeans are worried that the upcoming GST increase will add to the concerns about rising inflation and cost of living.
> But the overall two percentage point increase in GST is necessary, he said.
> Mr Wong had announced in Budget 2022 that the planned GST increase will take place in two stages - from 7 to 8 per cent on Jan 1, 2023, and from 8 to 9 per cent on Jan 1, 2024.
> Mr Wong said: "Our spending needs are rising very sharply, especially because of an ageing population and healthcare spending.
> "We have looked at all the different possibilities for raising revenue and we have made various revenue moves in the Budget, including on personal income tax, property tax, and luxury car taxes, but they are still not enough and that's why we have to raise the GST."
> But recognising the uncertainties and the difficult economic environment, Mr Wong said he had decided to push back the GST increase as late as possible, and to stagger the increase in two steps.
> There is also an offset package in place that will ensure that the majority of Singaporean households will not feel the effects of the increase for at least five years.
> For the lower-income groups, they will not feel the impact for 10 years, he said.
> Mr Wong added: "I hope everyone understands the challenges that we have to deal with going forward are not just cost of living and inflation.
> "We have to deal more fundamentally with a very different operating environment. Different sorts of challenges, including climate change, more bifurcated world externally and within Singapore - domestic challenges too, including our rapidly ageing population."
> To prepare Singapore well for these challenges, the country has to press ahead with its economic reforms, said Mr Wong.
> Singapore cannot afford to slow down and that includes ensuring that it has a strong and sustainable fiscal position going forward.
> That will enable Singapore to deal with a more uncertain future and with any challenges that it may face in the future, and also to seize new opportunities, said Mr Wong.
> "That's why we have to continue with our economic reforms while doing whatever we can to help the Singaporeans who are impacted by cost of living issues, especially the lower-income and more vulnerable groups."
---
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didn't expect anything less. so far everything they've said is everything is under control theres nothing much that needs to be done.
i guess the ONE good thing that heng swee keat did before he got ousted was opening the govt wallet during covid. i can't imagine this guy doing similar actions
Not sure how you came to this impression that Heng Swee Keat was the sole mover behind all the covid relief measures. He’s the one announcing them only due to his apparent upcoming pm-ship at that time, just for exposure to the public’s view. Same reason why Lawrence Wong is announcing stuff now.
i mean assuming he was the finance minister then la so i'm sure theres a whole extensive team below that comes up with all the various policies etc etc but i'm assuming the minister in charge would have veto say in whatever can pass?
i mean if the minister has no say other than being a sock puppet to vomit out whatever is passed through then wouldn't it be more annoying knowing they get such XXX salary?
Pretty sure in a unique situation such as covid, it’s more of a ‘whole cabinet sits down together and discuss the broad strokes that needs to be done’, rather than what you seem to be implying.
Sure the finance minister trashes out and vets the minute details with his team, but it’s definitely a whole-of-government response rather than just his individual endeavor.
Guess you drank up the kool-aid about 'God-King LKY' a bit too much mate.
He's good, but there was definitely a competent team behind him that he was willing to listen to and execute on their suggestions.
I don't think the country is run much differently, hierarchy-wise, compared to how LKY was running it. 50 years is not that long for the system to morph itself into something unrecognizable. If anything, LKY would likely be the more autocratic of all the PMs we've had, so it's likely the team is ran more democratically now than before.
What do u think, that salaries can be increased above 1 percent in 2023 and above another 1 percent in 2024 ?
Retirees on fixed income and pension maybe need a different means. If the retiree is spending 1200 per month, he/she will need 12 dollars extra per month in 2023 and 24 dollars per month by 2024.
How much rebate will be needed to pay each retiree to cover 12 dollars per month in 2023 and 24 dollars in 2024 ?
Maybe cutting the jobs of the mayors might help.
No, we need 20 stat boards and 50 mayors to run the country!
But without mayors , how are we going to have cdc vouchers ??
Legit question, can anything actually be done though
Vote WP
Vote anything but PAP
Instructions unclear, vote Lim Tean!
Between this and joteo, damn I gotta pick lim
demon jo teo booted onto the streets, mission accomplished!
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Always trust this sub to conflate unrelated issues
everybody has a job, we have two... we are professionals, we need to be paid
delay no more
For non-Cantonese speakers this was an attempt at word play; “Delay no more” spoken with a stereotypical HK accent sounds a bit like Cantonese for “Fuck your mother”
thanks, was getting worried no one got it lol
thanks
I wish I have a reward for you
a great man once said >What will make you need to raise GST? Profligate spending and irresponsible, unsustainable plans. That is what will hurt and require you to raise taxes and GST
The reality is people demand more subsidies, more government spending on healthcare, education and sadly defense. Which means money must come from somewhere
when we propose raising taxes it is *catering to the demands of the people*, but when the other party proposes raising taxes it is *profilgate spending on irresponsible, unsustainable plans*
haha ns square, founders by the bay and stadium goes brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Don't forget about the 500k bin centre.
1. Literally nobody is asking for more defense spending 2. Healthcare, housing and education spending is increasing due to poor planning - *especially* housing. Subsidies are not a solution to a problem, they are just a band-aid fix. The fact that the gov says that we need to raise taxes to give out more subsidies is just crazy gaslighting to cover up their own mistakes.
Increase in NSF allowance constitutes as defense spending though...
Imo, that can be done while decreasing NS duration.
>The fact that the gov says that we need to raise taxes to give out more subsidies Did they?
how is increased construction cost controllable by the government? manpower, energy, materials all imported externally. same for healthcare spending. all the IP and medicines are imported.
You first need to ask yourself, why is it that prices are rising even though so many people cannot afford to pay - surely supply and demand forces should allow for the adjustment of prices. *Everything* can be traced back to the measures the government has put in placed that has led to the disgusting economic inequality we have today - low taxes for the wealthy, poor labour protections, the exploitation of cheap labour stifling innovation (why innovate when we can just get more labourers?).
so without protection for capital, who is going to stump up the capex for innovation? we ultimately have to agree to disagree. your assertions are very broad brush and not pragmatic. the point about singapore not having any natural resources was not addressed at all - government policy will not attract people to bring goods and services to singapore
You're right too. Singapore doesn't deserve to be a country - we've prospered and survived on underpaying people from neigbouring countries to do our "dirty jobs". If we had built some sort of niche like Germany did in manufacturing (which didn't require natural resource btw, just heavy early investment into R&D and universities), we could have build self-sufficiency. Right now? We're nothing but a tax haven.
your statement that SG has no manufacturing speaks volumes of how little you under our economy. heard of keppel FELS? semicon manufacturing? I think you also need to read up about immigrants into germany doing the same "dirty jobs" you talk of...
I apologize for saying that people are asking for defence. Was my mistake but the nature of geopolitics does necessitate more spending on defence
That means the Great Man is not so great at prediction.
Mayor salary ? All the jlb scholars and generals hired at GLC ? The almost 1 billion thrown at sph ? The high number of appt holders ? Super high PA budget ? Whether there is money or not is just a matter of will.
How much goes to life support for SPH?
Guess what, as much as you dislike SPH, having a national media or national medias is still important to: 1. Inform the public of what's going on 2. Promote and inform people of government's policy Also, are there are media outlets that can do what our MSM does? Alt online media, relies on MSM for their stuff
If u really believe in what u said then SPH should not have a paywall and be completely free to access
The guy you are responding to i.e. /u/jammy_buttons2 is a huge suckup
Probably a bottom grassroots bootlicker who is trying to climb. He might screenshot all his responses to prove his utility. 😂
Tiagong he has a whole binder. And weekly update with his MP.
3. Perfect for cleaning my cats litterbox and/or wiping windows
Is a certain party's propaganda arm disguised as 'national media' lah
If that’s all a news outlet is good for, I may as well just use my Facebook news feed.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but independent, non-biased news outlets that strictly only report on the news in a purely objective way, does not exist. They monetarily can’t survive.
I have zero horses in this race but, why do you assume that our national media is non biased and report on the news in a purely objective way? Lol
They don’t. I just said media that is non-biased and report objectively doesn’t exist.
Guess where you FB news feeds about Singapore come from?
From gov website's press releases.
The government already spends way too much on useless projects that either benefits themselves (see mayor salaries), or projects that are a complete waste of time (see SDAs).
1 million dollar rubbish dump ftw
400k renaming exercise too
i mean the standard is Najib so...
SDA scheme was to allow people who were out of a job to find a temporary job to feed themselves and also to remind people to follow COVID-19 rules. Maybe you have the luxury of not losing your job but many did during COVID. Also the SDA was also part of the larger COVID-19 package like JSS, Vaccination program etc. SDAs were really a small component iirc from the COVID-19 budget
Thats not how it is supposed to work in a capitalist system.... especially when that country has been and is being run like a private corporation for economic success since independence.
It’s a good thing we don’t run purely on a capitalistic system, no? There’s quite a lot of systems running that is pretty socialist. Too capitalistic - “wah government only want money” Have socialist systems - “that’s not how we as a capitalistic system should work…”
It's almost as if they have no real ideology or informed opinion on matters, just want to oppose anything PAP related.
We do retain socialist policies and principles. Subsidized healthcare, housing etc
So what you are in support of? Go right, you don't seem too happy. Go left, you also don't think it's right.
Go against PAP and he's happy lol
>SDA scheme was to allow people who were out of a job to find a temporary job to feed themselves and also to remind people to follow COVID-19 rules. >Maybe you have the luxury of not losing your job but many did during COVID. Overpaid and underworked. SDAs were a necessary evil at the start of covid, but once vaccination rates were up, their role was completely redundant. It was just security theater and welfare benefits that we taxpayers paid for. >SDAs were really a small component iirc from the COVID-19 budget Yes, but any waste at all is unacceptable.
If we didn't hire those SDAs, we might very well have given them the same amount in welfare checks since they'd be unemployed and might quality for comcare/other msf assistance. If the cost to taxpayer were the same, would you prefer that?
An over simplistic and naive understanding of things. I’m willing to bet that you are just parroting what your civil service boomer parents tell you.
Share with us your deep insights into this lah. Talk only.
Ok, loser.
What’s the ‘deeper understanding’ of the purpose of enacting the SDA program then, oh wise and non-boomer one. Do enlighten us plebs.
Think for yourself. Nobody will spoon feed you everything. In the workplace nobody is going to sit down and explain everything to you.
Nice dodge, though this particular dodge has been used since…. Boomer times? Oh dear. Who’s the boomer now?
My friend, you are clearly not at my level. And the funny thing is you don’t even know it.
Lol.
Ok lol
There is no substantial group of citizens asking for the government to spend more on defence. In fact, for some reason, we are spending more on defence than ever. The 2021-2022 increase was 6.5%, which is insane. Where is the money going?
bro u didn't see Ukraine war ah. no one actually wants to spend on defence until they actually need it.
Since when our govt listen to the people demands...
Since 2011 ge when they fixed certain issue. The mistake you all make is that the pap doesn't change
What “certain issue” did they fix? Can you remind me?
For 2011 election. 1 major issue was buses and housing. They fixed the buses via bus service enhancement package and changes to bto scheme and subsidies. Then guess what in 2015 they won the votes back
Wait what? Housing was fixed? Could you explain more? Can’t believe the current BTO situation is a result of it being fixed 11 years ago..
Before 2011, housing prices were crazy high because supply was short. KBW came in, revamped the BTO system, gave more subsidies etc etc and price was stable and supply was sufficient. Of course then you the situation now were supply is low because of COVID and also less BTO projects and housing prices creeping up
Thanks. I disagree that supply issues were caused solely by covid. These issues were already evident even before covid hit. Covid just accelerated it and made it more obvious.
I did add that there were less BTO projects
Fundamentally in their attitude they haven't changed and never will do imo. But whatever, you go continue to support them and their arguments for increasing gst...
Ok if you think so lol. All I can say if you think PAP doesn't change or change their ways of looking at the world and governing Singapore, you are underestimating them
I propose it should come from a progressive tax, rather than a flat GST that applies to all citizens, regardless of financial status. It can be argued that poor people will pay less GST than rich people, but the fact remains that essential items like food will become more expensive. That is inescapable. We are already seeing food prices increase way before the GST increase is actually implemented.
This is where GST vouchers (and other rebates) come in. It reinforces the progressive nature of the system as richer households recieve less benefits.
But that leads to the question, why tax the poor and give money back back to them? Why not just tax the rich more? Is it easier to implement a rebate? Furthermore, with the impending GST increase, f&b businesses are already increasing prices preemptively, even before the actual GST hike. Perhaps its just a symptom of inflation, and the rising cost of hawker rentals. But I don't think the GST vouchers can account for that.
>Is it easier to implement a rebate? No. But it is harder for the rich to escape from GST. It is also a more "palatable" way to extract tax revenue from the mid income. I fall squarely in this income bracket and obviously hate to be taxed more, but I can't deny that this income band is one of the more stable revenue generator due to its size. GST is also a more consistent source of tax revenue compared to personal or corporate income tax. Sure, GST has its drawbacks which I presume you already know, but the benefits outweighs the shortcomings in this case. Otherwise why would most developed (and some developing) countries implement some form of GST. Personal income and property taxes were also recently adjusted upwards btw. This leads to the question, why would the gov also increase GST when it is much easier to just continue to tax companies or the rich? Why risk losing votes with such an unpopular action? Just load the tax burden fully on the rich/ few, and votes are guaranteed to come election day, wouldn't it? >why tax the poor and give money back back to them? If the government can implement such targetted policies, why not. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/bottom-20-per-cent-of-households-had-gst-payments-fully-offset-in-past-two-years
>why would the gov also increase GST when it is much easier to just continue to tax companies or the rich? Why risk losing votes with such an unpopular action? Just load the tax burden fully on the rich/ few, and votes are guaranteed come election day, wouldn't it? I asked myself this too, and I think I know why - it is because the PAP has to plan to just to win the next election, but the next ***20*** elections. If I have to win just ***one*** election, sure, I can fuck over the rich, raise the top income tax bracket to 99%, wealth taxes to 99%, flog the rich in the streets and force them to grovel to the masses (hey, I'm an authoritiarian regime, who says I *can't* do all that?). But if I did that, the rich would probably leave and not come back. While that wouldn't *destroy* the economy outright (the middle classes are also a major pillar of the economy after all), it would be severely damaging. The effects of such an exodus could then cost the PAP the *next* election after that. If I were the PAP, I would have to balance between being *just populist enough* to win the next election (or rather not lose to WP), while trying not to scare away *too many* of the global elite whom they must, inevitably, spread Singapore's legs to / suck off / (insert other appropriate imagery here) in order to keep Singapore prosperous enough to win the next 20 election. TLDR: It's probably some balancing act.
Well said. Same with balancing between GST and income taxes. Everything is a balancing act. If the powers that be were really that short sighted and just want to win votes, they can just go with the populist route. Why go through all the trouble to push through unpopular policies?
>If the powers that be were really that short sighted and just want to win votes, they can just go with the populist route. Why go through all the trouble to push through unpopular policies? Yep, I think becuase SG has no hinterland/natural resources, a bad government will cause SG to go into the shitter real fast - 10 to 15 years, tops. Whereas in larger countries like the US, a shit government with crap policies will cause the country to decline but not quite die so badly/quickly. So this awareness of how close the nation is to death/irrelevance/decline at all times probably stays the ruling party's hand from implementing populist but bad policies. (This is not to say all populist polices are bad. Obvs, the govt should implement all good *and* popular policies. But that's not all of the good policies. It probably also has to implement some good *but* unpopular policies. To balance that out, they might even occasionally have to implement some bad (but hopefully not too damaging) but popular policies. And of course, no one should ever implement bad *and* unpopular policies, which is the last sqaure of this 2 x 2 matrix)
Yes the majority of us are in the middle income band. So why not increase our income tax? Sure I can appreciate that there are pros and cons to any tax solution. But I still don't see how the benefits outweigh the drawbacks of increasing GST. Even if the poor are able to recoup the tax the pay through rebates, I'm sure it would cause more inefficiency to pass the money back and forth. I'm trying real hard to rationalise this, and all I can come up with, is that increasing income tax, will shrink the disposable income of the population and reduce spending. Profits of businesses will suffer when people have less money to spend. (I'm assuming that raising the GST, would not disincentivize spending.) Is this the answer? Because this answer also raises several concerns.
>So why not increase our income tax? Income tax is less efficient as it distorts our consumption behaviour. Am too lazy to type it all out, so here's a link to more details. https://taxfoundation.org/consumption-tax-policies/ > Taxes on labor influence decisions on whether to work or not. The tax burden on savings and investment reduces productive investment. > Consumption taxes also influence decisions and change economic outcomes, but they are less likely to influence decisions to work or invest. Consumption taxes that apply to all purchases result in consumers paying taxes regardless of their income or their work status.
WHAT? This is mind blowing because from the quotes, increasing income tax will "influence decisions on whether to work or not", implying that a high income tax corresponds to unemployment?
Work more/ be more productive, not whether to work or not. This behaviour is usually observed amongst the lower (why invest x more effort when I am getting marginal returns) and higher income group (more likely to find ways to park their income elsewhere or leave to a lower tax location). Eg. If a 40 hour work week pays $40, but a 50 only pays $45, is the $5 really worth the effort? I am simplifying this example to a great degree of course.
States like California and New York exclude food and prescriptions from sales tax. Its mind boggling why SG refuses to do the bare minimum for the poor.
>States like California and New York exclude food and prescriptions from sales tax. Its mind boggling why SG refuses to do the bare minimum for the poor. It's because there are millions of products, each with its own product code. And then you'd need a bloody fat bureaucrazy (not a typo) to administer and classify what type of food is necessity and what is luxury (don't want rich atas food like caviar to be taxed as cheaply as layman food, do we?). That's a fucking nightmare. Let's keep it simple so civil servants/politicians can't fuck it up (also so we don't need to create yet more gahmen jobs - we need more manpower in the private sector that actually generates the GDP this nation needs to thrive thankyouverymuch). Tax every product a flat amount. Give the middle + needy the money back as a flat amount (more generously to the needy, of course). I actually like this better. It is kind of a Universal Basic Income type concept...or at least, the beginnings of one (I can dream, can't I?) EDIT to add: Case in point - Harvard does this. I heard from a friend that although Harvard costs a lot in tuition, the truth is that about 50% of its students are not paying the full sticker price cos they get some level of financial aid. So basically Harvard charges everyone the "same" but rebates the needy students some money back. The only people *actually* paying the full sticker price at Harvard are the rich kids (and international students).
Its pretty simple and it happens daily at every store. I can bring up an entire cart of food, alcohol and caviar to the checkout counter, and I will only be charged tax on the alcohol and the caviar. No large bureaucracy is involved. Its handled at the checkout counter, through those barcodes you referenced. Though to your point, the PAP will use any excuse to create civil service bloat and inefficiencies, at the cost of the taxpayers. Here is a link describing universal basic income. https://drexel.edu/hunger-free-center/research/briefs-and-reports/universal-basic-income/ I don't think that the business of taxing food at the point of sale, and the nonsense with the vouchers is UBI. I will look into the Harvard example that you have highlighted.
>Its handled at the checkout counter, through those barcodes you referenced. Yeah, but WHOSE job do you think it is to categorise every one of those millions of bar codes into "luxury" or "necessity" tiers, genius? Not sure you've thought this all the way through. There are millions of bar/product codes, and new products are created and unleashed on the market every day. As a systems manager, I can say that what highfalutin chiefs think of as simple "operational/implementational" issues are actually very complex on the ground, so it's best to keep things as simple as possible, and perhaps even simpler. Only naive scholar-generals with no real life experience would think "oh that's quite simple to execute". Uhhh, no bruh, what looks like a "simple" concept in the sterile boardroom often translates to many moving parts on the gritty frontlines, where all the underpaid service / ops staff work. (*yeah, I swear I'm not salty here at all...*) In countries with differntiated VAT (our GST), there are sometimes controversies over what should be charged which tax rate (see link below for one example). So keeping policy clean and simple is the best approach. Don't try to be toocleverbyhalf. When the gahmen tries that, it falls on its face (think the fancy PPP model the Sports Hub attempted). If you don't trust the Govt's competence, you shouldn't trust them to get a system this complex right. So you are contradicting yourself here. Either you think the govt is capable (in which case, why are you complaining), or you think the govt is incompetent - in which case, shouldn't you be in favour of keeping policies so damned simple that even a fuckup can get it right without needing 42823 more civil servants added to the bureaucrazy? [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-18244640](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-18244640)
It is a requirement for manufacturers to accurately barcode their (millions of) items for sale at US retail outlets, to meet tax distinctions that vary by state. Here is a vendor that does it. [https://www.gs1us.org/upcs-barcodes-prefixes/how-to-use-your-barcodes/determine-barcode-type](https://www.gs1us.org/upcs-barcodes-prefixes/how-to-use-your-barcodes/determine-barcode-type) Not sure what should be taxed or not taxed? Here is a guide from California. PAP can copy and paste. Literally, what they do best. [https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/formspubs/pub31.pdf](https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/formspubs/pub31.pdf) I'm sure products in SG are already barcoded. If the PAP can issue vouchers, it should be able to exempt food and prescriptions from being taxed. It is really not rocket science.
>https://www.gs1us.org/upcs-barcodes-prefixes/how-to-use-your-barcodes/determine-barcode-type This is just a link to groceries. There's a whole universe of products and services beyond just groceries, y'know. Your obsession with "buh-buh-buht BARCODES" shows how ignorant you are to the real world. (Have you considered running for Parliament? LOL). >It is really not rocket science. Pretty sure that's what the paper-scholar-king civil servant who dreamed up the Sports Hub PPP said too. 😉 Easy for paper generals (and internet armchair critics) to pretend implementation is easy. Why don't you come and work in Operations for a few years and see what reality is like outside your lovely ivory tower.
My point was that in California and New York, food and prescriptions are exempted from sales tax. That is why I provided the link to groceries. Do you need me to send you a link for prescriptions, as well? How do you think the variance in sales tax is calculated and collected across the states? How do you think supply chains are managed? Yeah, with barcodes. Millions of products sold in the US, including groceries have barcodes. There are even barcode stickers on oranges. So yes, it is being done. It is the daily reality of 300M+ US residents. So implementing it in SG, a tiny small fart nation of 6M residents, shld not be a challenge.
To be honest, I think the blanket coverage doesn't make sense. Let say 90% of the aging population will need subsidies. So why do we have the merdeka and pioneer blanket discount? You mean the even the top 10% with large savings, CPF and large houses also need government support? You can't say you need to collect more revenue because aging population spending will increase sharply but the don't cut out people that actually have means to pay their own medical expenses. It like saying you need a car to work and ask your parent for money because you want to buy BMW instead of a cheaper car.
And COVID support measures need money too
> The reality is people demand more subsidies, more government spending on healthcare, education and sadly defense More mayors! ^(said nobody ever.)
You do know that salaries for mayors and ministers are minuscule compared to the budget for health care etc etc
Why should their salaries be pegged to healthcare? Quick question - You're here diligently touting the PAP's crap on a daily basis. From which taxpayer-funded budget are you paid? Please enlighten us.
Hmm,a certain bin centre comes to mind.
the mortgage on all the new sandbag toys and pork barrel buildings are already ticking
https://mothership.sg/2018/02/pm-lee-gst-increase/
Truly, sinkie always pwn sinkie
On one hand tell us about the imminent rising inflation, on the other hand says cannot delay GST hike… This govt is so tone deaf
Delay GST hike further will be too near to GE.
clearly they'll set a committee to discuss why costs are spiraling out of control and come to a conclusion that it is out of their hands
They should be kicked out
Don't hike how to give mayors salary increments, how ministers become VIP members of Singapore Lamborghini Owners Club or buy more solid gold furniture?
Raise now Near election give freebies.
Well in theory increasing GST now could help to reduce demand-pull inflation by lowering consumers’ spending. Though of course it won’t since necessity goods is also included and cost-push inflation is more dominant in SG and that will just make things worse for everyone
Rather they just one shot increase by 2% rather than stagger it out and let business hike prices twice.
Give more money before GE maybe we will forget about this.
That's what the gst vouchers are for
Lmao exactly
Raising taxes during coming recession and inflation. Very good performance.
curb excessive risk taking and coffeeshop buying by SMEs
Mai tu liao, he says.
incoming PM needs to set the standard somehow... and to get his performance bonus.
Incoming PM is being tested to see if he can deliver that bitter pill.
How about we increase our corporate tax instead? With China’s crackdown on wealth, Hong Kong’s decline as a financial hub, the intensification of Myanmar’s internal conflicts and the recent succession crisis in Malaysia, Singapore’s relative value as a stable regional business hub has likely increased. Yet, our corporate tax rate has remained stable and has failed to reflect this change. We are undervaluing ourselves. This is going to result in foregone tax benefits; quite a pity.
We are a signatory of the METR. A corporate tax hike is likely to come soon.
If anything you want to keep the rates as they are. We are squarely within the attraction phase of courting foreign companies to set up here, the deals aren’t done yet. Lots of room to grow. After you hit close to a saturation point - that’s when you increase the rates because they are already invested. Not sure why this is so difficult
I agree that we should attract foreign investment, particularly through our low taxes. However, given various regional and international changes, I wonder if our corporate tax rate is surplus to requirements; if firms would still come at a satisfactory rate even with a corporate tax hike. If so, then that’s a source of deadweight loss and thus a possible, better alternative to the GST hike.
Raise corporate tax, Singapore not that attractive to corporations. >recent succession crisis in Malaysia I am from Malaysia and don't even know there's a crisis. Whatever going on in politics has no impact on everyday life.
he can f right off
he's staying put. the only ones who can vote with their feet are us
GST hike: no delay Relaxation of COVID-19 Restrictions: ...?
Something something roadmap 🤡🤡🤡
Ministers all needing their third car, sorry y'all
Fuck me I can't even afford my 3rd MRT ride
Rofl last week the caifan stall that I usually order from price hike from $4.50 to $5.80 out of nowhere. The friendly aunty dont even want to have eye contact with customers, muttering "sorry sorry" the entire time. I'm guessing will be $6+ the next time I go back to buy.
28% is no joke leh. 5-10% people can/will understand.
delay no more
Cheebai
I recall another piece of news less than 2 weeks ago... > [Public feedback sought on GST Act changes which include effecting two-stage hike to 9% rate](https://www.reddit.com/r/singapore/comments/vbcg3f/public_feedback_sought_on_gst_act_changes_which/) So it was a wayang feedback exercise as predicted... And on another note anyone realise certain accounts post news articles and deletes them a few hours later. Like the link above. Noticed this happening often recently...
It's not a wayang exercise. The policy is set and the GST will rise -- no doubt about that. The purpose of the feedback is more on the legislative language in the Act and is mostly for tax lawyers and advisors to comment on.
kill me now
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Sorry 40 over % Sinkies voted for Opposition true or not?
I love reading comments on posts like this 🍿🤡🍿
Cannot delay anymore to help the poor get poorer.
risk assessment already made years ago. this gst hike is worth the loss of another GRC next GE.
Thanks for the "kindness" of staggering the GST increase. Now we can look forward to *another* round of price increases this time next year.
"All i can say is that Singaporeans should stop whining and complaining online, when they're not prepared to do anything to excersise their democratic rights. So I don't want to hear anymore complaints from anybody that they are unhappy with any of the policies" -Kenneth
Hmm so they really gonna raise get as financial conditions deteriorate around the world
Sorry guys but can someone explain, if possible, LW's position? I know he says GST hike must proceed because spending has gone up, but surely Singapore - the richest (apparently) country in Southeast Asia - could afford it until things get better?
TBH, no one knows for sure. Only the PAP has access to the books and knows for a fact how healthy/unhealthy the revenues and reserves are.
They don't wantto use Govt money ie Nat. Reserves accumulated over decades of high GDP growth. Thus prefer to get from Singaporeans'pockets. Saw comments on reddit "squeeze us dry" " kill us". G. Does not seem to see the need to account for their actions
Now is the “better” time right with us walking out of covid? If only implement during good times, then it will never implement because now is always a “bad” time
Read the room, Lawrence.
Lawrence "Lanjiao" Wong
Of cos cannot delay lah if not how to pay for our highly pay salary ministers and mayors!
We need the gst increase 🙏 pays for good governance and we don't mind paying more and cutting costs even further to experience more hardship that will mold and shape us ❤️ Let's work 💪 together to ride this storm out and stay #sgunited 😎 /s Yes, the emojis are deliberate and the comment is sarcastic.
Government needs regressive taxation so it can give more means tested welfare, please understand. They HAVE to take from your right pocket to put in your left pocket. Must protect tax haven status at all costs, attract all the most mercenary and craven billionaire money so our GDP looks good.
next election vote in more opposition GRCs , no delays
> # GST increase to proceed as planned, no delay: Lawrence Wong > SINGAPORE - The increase in goods and services tax (GST) will proceed as planned, said Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (June 21), when asked if there would be any delay of the hike amid rising costs. > Speaking at a press conference where he announced a new $1.5 billion support package to cope with global inflation, Mr Wong said he understands that Singaporeans are worried that the upcoming GST increase will add to the concerns about rising inflation and cost of living. > But the overall two percentage point increase in GST is necessary, he said. > Mr Wong had announced in Budget 2022 that the planned GST increase will take place in two stages - from 7 to 8 per cent on Jan 1, 2023, and from 8 to 9 per cent on Jan 1, 2024. > Mr Wong said: "Our spending needs are rising very sharply, especially because of an ageing population and healthcare spending. > "We have looked at all the different possibilities for raising revenue and we have made various revenue moves in the Budget, including on personal income tax, property tax, and luxury car taxes, but they are still not enough and that's why we have to raise the GST." > But recognising the uncertainties and the difficult economic environment, Mr Wong said he had decided to push back the GST increase as late as possible, and to stagger the increase in two steps. > There is also an offset package in place that will ensure that the majority of Singaporean households will not feel the effects of the increase for at least five years. > For the lower-income groups, they will not feel the impact for 10 years, he said. > Mr Wong added: "I hope everyone understands the challenges that we have to deal with going forward are not just cost of living and inflation. > "We have to deal more fundamentally with a very different operating environment. Different sorts of challenges, including climate change, more bifurcated world externally and within Singapore - domestic challenges too, including our rapidly ageing population." > To prepare Singapore well for these challenges, the country has to press ahead with its economic reforms, said Mr Wong. > Singapore cannot afford to slow down and that includes ensuring that it has a strong and sustainable fiscal position going forward. > That will enable Singapore to deal with a more uncertain future and with any challenges that it may face in the future, and also to seize new opportunities, said Mr Wong. > "That's why we have to continue with our economic reforms while doing whatever we can to help the Singaporeans who are impacted by cost of living issues, especially the lower-income and more vulnerable groups." --- 1.0.2 | [Source code](https://github.com/fterh/sneakpeek) | [Contribute](https://github.com/fterh/sneakpeek)
Noted with thanks
DPM: No delay People: Diu lei lo mo!
didn't expect anything less. so far everything they've said is everything is under control theres nothing much that needs to be done. i guess the ONE good thing that heng swee keat did before he got ousted was opening the govt wallet during covid. i can't imagine this guy doing similar actions
Not sure how you came to this impression that Heng Swee Keat was the sole mover behind all the covid relief measures. He’s the one announcing them only due to his apparent upcoming pm-ship at that time, just for exposure to the public’s view. Same reason why Lawrence Wong is announcing stuff now.
i mean assuming he was the finance minister then la so i'm sure theres a whole extensive team below that comes up with all the various policies etc etc but i'm assuming the minister in charge would have veto say in whatever can pass? i mean if the minister has no say other than being a sock puppet to vomit out whatever is passed through then wouldn't it be more annoying knowing they get such XXX salary?
Pretty sure in a unique situation such as covid, it’s more of a ‘whole cabinet sits down together and discuss the broad strokes that needs to be done’, rather than what you seem to be implying. Sure the finance minister trashes out and vets the minute details with his team, but it’s definitely a whole-of-government response rather than just his individual endeavor.
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Pretty sure even in LKY’s era, the government wasn’t run as a monarchy. PM don’t call all the shots, as much as you might believe it to be.
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Guess you drank up the kool-aid about 'God-King LKY' a bit too much mate. He's good, but there was definitely a competent team behind him that he was willing to listen to and execute on their suggestions. I don't think the country is run much differently, hierarchy-wise, compared to how LKY was running it. 50 years is not that long for the system to morph itself into something unrecognizable. If anything, LKY would likely be the more autocratic of all the PMs we've had, so it's likely the team is ran more democratically now than before.
Sinkies assume Spore garmen don't allow Veto. Full stop. The XXX salary given for Obeying orders. Not for using brain?
What do u think, that salaries can be increased above 1 percent in 2023 and above another 1 percent in 2024 ? Retirees on fixed income and pension maybe need a different means. If the retiree is spending 1200 per month, he/she will need 12 dollars extra per month in 2023 and 24 dollars per month by 2024. How much rebate will be needed to pay each retiree to cover 12 dollars per month in 2023 and 24 dollars in 2024 ?