Wealth tax? The question has never been one of whether to tax wealth but how to do it effectively: Indranee
We have heard many stories of the asset-rich but cash-poor retiree who lives in a private property bought years ago when he was young. Now he is old and struggles to get by while living in a private property because he has little cash. Familiar story? Along comes the wealth tax. Well, good luck to this […]
GST from tourists. Why not? In 2019, tourism receipts was $27.7 billion
Now that our borders are open, tourists will start to come back and we will be able to collect revenue from tourists’ spending through the GST. In pre-COVID time, the bulk of net GST collected came from tourists and foreigners residing here, in addition to high income earners. At least 60% in fact. 19 million […]
Can Singapore borrow to fund soft capital like education: Jamus Lim
Sri Lanka’s financial crisis didn’t happen overnight. It began harmlessly enough. Sri Lanka operated budget deficit after budget deficit. Instead of taxes, they borrowed at commercial rates to fund public services. Everything was okay as long as they were able to repay the loans and interests on time. But when their sovereign credit rating was […]
4G Team to develop roadmap to keep the Singapore story going for many more generations to come
“I don’t know if the PAP will win the next General Election…. But I give you my word: whatever lies ahead, I will give every ounce of my strength to this movement, together with my comrades in the 4G team… to keep Singapore special and build a better Singapore in SG75.” Finance Minister Lawrence Wong […]
A tale of 2 countries. Can Singapore end up like Sri Lanka?
The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) once described Sri Lanka as “a better city than Singapore”, and it has “a thick layer of educated talent” and “sterling reserves”. Tragically, Sri Lanka has been wasting away and badly wrecked, with dwindling supply of life-saving drugs and household essentials, civil unrest, and outstanding default on domestic […]
Lawrence Wong: political leadership is about an entire team, not one person. Even a giant like Mr Lee Kuan Yew had a team.
“Throughout my life, I have never hankered for post, position or power… So I have never gone out looking for additional work, but somehow the work finds me,” Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said. He gave the example of the pandemic which started 2 years ago when he was Minister for National Development. “DPM called me […]
Did Workers’ Party propose more than one way to dip into strategic reserves?
Did Workers’ Party (WP) propose more than one way to dip into Singapore’s strategic reserves? Yes they did. WP in fact, proposed 2 ways to dip into our strategic reserves for recurrent spending: direct use of land sale proceeds and increased use of NIRC. Land sale proceeds Singapore’s reserves include physical assets like land. Currently, […]
Iswaran to Jamus Lim: there’s a need to square the circle, to explain where the money is coming from
“Fundamentally, there is a need to explain where the money is going to come from,” Transport Minister Iswaran tells WP MP Jamus Lim. The WP MP had called for free transport for seniors and persons with disabilities. He also described Minister Iswaran’s remarks on how free transport would impact fare increase on other commuters as […]
Does GST hurt the poor the most? Arguments from PSP and WP.
Despite Finance Minister Lawrence Wong taking great pains and going to great lengths to explain how the government has designed the GST in such a way that it is actually progressive and not regressive, and does not hurt the poorer segment of society, the opposition WP and PSP continue to mislead on the impact of […]
Singaporeans have made many sacrifices, stood together, and measured up as one people: Lawrence Wong
Life has not been perfect. We have stumbled and struggled, here and there. “But all things told, we can be very proud of where we are today,” said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong. Lest we forget, we are an improbable nation, a little red dot, a most unlikely country as Mr Wong reminded the House. “We […]