The thing about GST - Part I
GST, hot topic, period..
Once again, our GST is due to be increase from the current 5% to 7% in the near near future, this is after the recent bus fare increase in October 2006. Will bus fare rise again since Goods and Services Tax will going to be higher by 2%? 2% only they say, thats what the bus operators say, just 1 to 2 cents increase.. the bus operators i am referring to here is the big boss who are driving luxurious cars, or at least have a car and have hardly tasted morning traffic whereby the buses are crowded..
This might sound just like another angry rant at the ongoing increase in cost of living in Singapore, but why not? Were we not encouraged to speak up? To voice our views? Remember, however, that voicing your views might not actually have any impact on the decision makers?
Why? In my opinion, because the decision makers(read: elites) are unable to relate to the common folks, the heartlanders..
May i know how many people who were involved in the application of bus fare hikes right up to the approval stage are actually people who take buses to work in the morning? Are they also the ones who wait and wait at bus stops in the dead of the night, waiting up to 20mins for a bus and then be greeted by a frowning bus driver?
Back to GST..
The gahmen is saying that in order to widen the social safety nets, it needs to have additional revenue, one such way, is the increase in GST. Does the poor not pay GST? They are the ones who will be hit hard. 2%, 2cents of a dollar, $20 of a $1000, and $200 of $10,000. Little? No way..
lets not forget the increase is 2%, the tax is 7 freaking percent! thats 7cents of a dollar, $70 of a thousand and $700 of $10,000.
Buying 10kg of rice at lets say $10 will cost $10.70. To the poor man, $10.50 will not get him the rice from NTUC.. not even 5cents less..
To the rich, he can afford to drop 10cents and not pick it up because it is too dirty, the maid buys the rice anyway, why bother about 10-20cents?
Buying a PC set for a child in secondary school will easily cause a commonfolk $1000-$2000, lets say he finds an offer and gets one at $1000. He'll have to pay $1070 for the PC. Not a cent less. $70 will also allow the same man to buy 6 bags of the 10kg i mentioned earlier.. thats about 7month's supply worth of taxes for a PC
Paying for a customary chinese dinner will cost more than $10,000(after angbao). Without angbao, the misc cost and dinner itself will hit up to $20,000. For a $20,000 wedding, there are some $1,400 worth of GST payable..
To the average Singapore, the above purchases are just part and parcel of life, the list can go on and on.. HDB flat($200k), medical bills, university fees.. so much more..
The average singaporean draws about $2000 or less if he is armed with a diploma.. his take-home pay(after CPF) will be about $1,400 then.. thats the tax that he'll pay if he decides to wed.
So much about the gahmen's gameplan to encourage Singaporeans to wed and have babies
Stay tuned for Part II
Once again, our GST is due to be increase from the current 5% to 7% in the near near future, this is after the recent bus fare increase in October 2006. Will bus fare rise again since Goods and Services Tax will going to be higher by 2%? 2% only they say, thats what the bus operators say, just 1 to 2 cents increase.. the bus operators i am referring to here is the big boss who are driving luxurious cars, or at least have a car and have hardly tasted morning traffic whereby the buses are crowded..
This might sound just like another angry rant at the ongoing increase in cost of living in Singapore, but why not? Were we not encouraged to speak up? To voice our views? Remember, however, that voicing your views might not actually have any impact on the decision makers?
Why? In my opinion, because the decision makers(read: elites) are unable to relate to the common folks, the heartlanders..
May i know how many people who were involved in the application of bus fare hikes right up to the approval stage are actually people who take buses to work in the morning? Are they also the ones who wait and wait at bus stops in the dead of the night, waiting up to 20mins for a bus and then be greeted by a frowning bus driver?
Back to GST..
The gahmen is saying that in order to widen the social safety nets, it needs to have additional revenue, one such way, is the increase in GST. Does the poor not pay GST? They are the ones who will be hit hard. 2%, 2cents of a dollar, $20 of a $1000, and $200 of $10,000. Little? No way..
lets not forget the increase is 2%, the tax is 7 freaking percent! thats 7cents of a dollar, $70 of a thousand and $700 of $10,000.
Buying 10kg of rice at lets say $10 will cost $10.70. To the poor man, $10.50 will not get him the rice from NTUC.. not even 5cents less..
To the rich, he can afford to drop 10cents and not pick it up because it is too dirty, the maid buys the rice anyway, why bother about 10-20cents?
Buying a PC set for a child in secondary school will easily cause a commonfolk $1000-$2000, lets say he finds an offer and gets one at $1000. He'll have to pay $1070 for the PC. Not a cent less. $70 will also allow the same man to buy 6 bags of the 10kg i mentioned earlier.. thats about 7month's supply worth of taxes for a PC
Paying for a customary chinese dinner will cost more than $10,000(after angbao). Without angbao, the misc cost and dinner itself will hit up to $20,000. For a $20,000 wedding, there are some $1,400 worth of GST payable..
To the average Singapore, the above purchases are just part and parcel of life, the list can go on and on.. HDB flat($200k), medical bills, university fees.. so much more..
The average singaporean draws about $2000 or less if he is armed with a diploma.. his take-home pay(after CPF) will be about $1,400 then.. thats the tax that he'll pay if he decides to wed.
So much about the gahmen's gameplan to encourage Singaporeans to wed and have babies
Stay tuned for Part II
posted by klayhead at 6:36 am
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