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this post will basically touch on the 7% rise in gst.
and my comments to it..
the increment of 7% gst has been controversial and talked about by many singaporeans, and there seem to be a doubt as to where the money will go to.
an anonymous says...
" can i confirm with the MPs that with the increase of GST can really help the poor? as in WHAT? i really can't figure it out... everyone is questioning everywhere in school. perhaps we are just too young to give a forum but,we students feel the pressure already.. guess the poor are not fit to be singaporeans... let's pack out bags" this shows the uncertainty amongst the singaporeans and how the people lack in the education to such information.
Could there be anything worse than the Government raising the GST to 7 percent when Singaporeans are hurting economically, especially those in the lower income groups? Yes, the spin that raising the GST would benefit those in the lower income groups. Ignoring all the data showing that the poorest households continue to see their incomes fall, the Government makes bald assertions that its latest move to increase the GST would in fact benefit these people. This means that the increment will crush poorer singaporeans! Don't you think? The last increase in GST was from 3% to 4% in January 2003, and then rapidly from 4% to 5% in January 2004. Singapore was then barely out of the economic downturn and pushing a lingering high unemployment rate. Clearly, the government decision to raise GST rate has nothing to do with the state of the economy.
the idea of raising the goods and services tax (GST) was thought of only after the General Election ended last May, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said yesterday when explaining the politics of the GST increase.
'I will tell you quite candidly and honestly, during election time, the idea of (increasing) GST had not come in yet.
'Because we just thought, we have got to do the Workfare Bonus, we will look at the sums later on,' he told Singapore reporters here in an interview to wrap up his nine-day trip to Morocco and Abu Dhabi.
News of the GST increase - from 5 per cent to 7 per cent - was announced in November, six months after the General Election.
The reason for the increase is to help pay for the Government's plan to spend more on the lower-income group.
Details of the GST increase and offset package will be announced on Budget Day on Feb 15.
As for the PAP's tendency to wait until after winning elections before announcing unpopular policies, SM Goh said: 'That is not quite wrong. That is politics.'
He cited how a party in Australia, during an election some years ago, campaigned for a rise in the GST. 'And that party lost,' he said with a laugh.
The PAP, on the other hand, had campaigned during the General Election on what it would do for Singapore, he said.
Helping the needy was one of its key platforms and to do so, the Workfare Bonus for lower-income workers later became a permanent feature of the social safety net.
This bonus was introduced last year in the Progress Package given for the first time to Singaporeans, who started receiving the money on the weekend before the May 6 polls.
About 300,000 Singaporeans had qualified for the bonus then, and the total payout was more than $137 million.
'If the opposition had asked us, how do you intend to raise the funds to support your Workfare Bonus, then of course the PAP will have to answer,' said SM Goh.
He added: 'If we have enough, we won't raise the GST; if we don't have enough, we raise the GST.'
SM Goh then went on to explain how the PAP does battle at election time.
During the campaign, 'you concentrate on what you want to do - the positive parts'.
'After the election, you got to translate your pledge into reality. Therefore, you have to give Workfare bonuses, and you therefore come up with proposals to raise funds.'
The GST increase will also pay for 'anything we want to spend more on, education, for example'.
'That is very important. Invest more in the people, invest more in the elderly - all these require funds,' he said.
The need for 'painful' policies to finance these programmes is something that 'every Singaporean' knows, he said.
'And in five years, the pain must produce good results, and everybody will say that the pain was worth it. And if the pain is not worth it, we will lose more support at the election.
'But every time, the pain was worth it. That is the beauty of working with Singaporeans. A lot of complaints, but at the end of the day, they understand.'
SM Goh declined to give details of the offset package to compensate those affected by the planned GST increase.
But when asked about the political impact of the hike, he said: 'The biggest impact we hope will be the positive side - how we will use the GST.
'What you do with the funds that you have managed to raise through the increase, whether 1 or 2 per cent, that is more important.
'The benefits must outweigh the increase in prices.
However, we must question whether this will benefit even us students.
this increment will mean that we cannot bring our boyfriends/girlfriends to dine at some posh restaurant or even buying a gift for him/her would be a problem.
this problem, to adults already seem to be a major headache, moreover for us, teenagers, students who cant earn money. this is a major finanical burden to us, teenagers nowadays like to shop, and so they will definetely be affected by this increase, and so sales of shops will decrease, due to a drop in number of customers. therefore , i really question the benefits of this increment, whether it will really be of gain to us, probably in the near future. and i hope the government can prove to us that their judgement and foresightedness will not be wrong, so as to keep the singapore residents happy. although this is a situation where moeny is taken from the poor to help the poorer, this may not seem to be a long-term benefit
The worst off from this GST hike will (again) be the poor. This additional 2 % will affect them more than the rich. As mentioned by KPMG, more merchants will voluntarily register for GST and hence there will be less retailers/merchants who will absorb this tax. The middle-class will also want to claim that they will once again be forgotten by everyone except their creditors.
Granted that GST is an indirect tax that punishes only those who consume, but we don't need reminding that even the poorest or the most frugal still need to eat and use mundane household items.
The only ones to gain is (again) the government. Sigh!
There is no doubt that a balanced budget is important for continued economic growth. Didn’t I just read somewhere that the Inland Revenue people are having record collections from tax-payers? Be honest, have our low COE prices ironically done us in? I am sure conspiracy theorists will be out in droves to (again) make their point that our reserves are not as vast and as secure as have been presumed, what with Shin Corp becoming a part ( now no doubt a long-term holding) of Temasek’s portfolio etc ( you get my drift?).
I think it is about time to consider exempting GST from stable foods and essential services (including medical service- ok, I declare my pecuniary interest here).
Nah! The government leaders have already made up their minds and this is just some futile ranting of another helpless and hopeless Singaporean.
Therefore, i conclude and object to this policy being implemented, and i hope that the public be educated on this situation. Instead of not knowing what we are paying all these moeny for.
Friday, January 19, 2007
lol..the nxt post is for ss project..
so long nvr post then suddenly post sth lidat..
but its okay la..talk abit abt govt policy oso quite fun..hahas
like mr brown lidat..lol
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
hey hey!!
long time no post again..paiseh..
little updates on wad's going on in my life..
er..just put up my deathnote poster dat were left rotting..
very big..very nice..hahas..
today was a normal day..juz dat sky abit dark..yeah
oooh...someone is telling me to "say u miss me say u miss me!!"
lol..yeah..I MISS YOU! =)
din bring hp and wallet today..suay
haish..so din msg for one day, and din haf lunch too..
but its okay la! i careless ma..hahas...
den during ms koh lesson, we were breakdancing at e back..
lmfao...stupid sia...but quite exciting la..haha
juz finished dinner, den doubt i can sleep tonite..lol
argh..guaiboyboy-ness is haunting me..
what i gotta do to be one? someone enlighten me..please.
Quote of the day: Don't pick roadside flowers, don't even think of touching them."
Thursday, January 04, 2007
yo!! happy new year!!!
lmfao..quite a long time since i blogged le..
sorry la..no time ma...busy pia-ing hw..
sian..till now haven finish sia..hahas..
anw..as yall can see..i changed my blogskin!
lol..din reali like the previous one..
but its okay..
new year, new blogskin, nth wrong..
hmmms...today things went pretty well..
second day of school...
lalala...so shuang..
slp till so darn late den wake up..best sia
oh..wenxin was like:
"ey! ure command why like 'sch sedi....YAH!!!'"
lmfao...thanks for the tip..
neways..saw mr chua at linkway..
caught a gurl wif coloured bra???
duno..just went past...siao ey..see tiko..
go notice gurl's bra for wad..let female cher do e job la..lawl
had chai for pe today..turned out pretty well..
thought he would scream at us can..
but he was GOOD, cuz he say jokes he can hav no expressions one leh..
pro-ded..even i cant reach those kind of jing4 jie4 *claps*
weird fella la..
hmmm...so nth much le lor..
haish..new yr le..Os coming oso..
not very prepared though
but, i will...
try to be prepared. lawl
kkaes...gotta go do my zuowen le..
enjoy PRISON BREAK!! nitexx!!
Quote of the day: "You are not motivated by me, but I am motivated by YOU"
-Mr Chai