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 […]
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 […]
Are there compelling reasons to raise GST?
Our population is ageing rapidly. By 2030, approximately 900,000 citizens or one in four citizens will be aged 65 and older. For sure, healthcare expenditure will go up. Since the last time the GST was raised in 2007, public expenditure has gone up significantly. Between 2007 and 2019, government spending more than doubled from S$33 […]
GST is in fact a form of wealth tax. The more one spends, the more GST he pays.
When GST was first introduced in 1994, it was 3%. It went up to 4% in 2003, then 5% in 2004, and finally to 7% in 2007. It’s been 28 years since GST was first introduced in 1994 and in that 28 years, GST has gone up by 4%. 28 years is the equivalent of […]
Do not kill the hen (reserves) that lays golden eggs. Fatten it instead, says Goh Chok Tong
Aesop’s fable on “The Goose that lays the golden eggs” tells the story of a farmer whose goose lays one golden egg a day. Wanting to get all the eggs at once, the farmer kills the goose, only to find that he has lost the source of golden eggs. ‘To kill the goose that lays the […]
GST hike: the better-off should contribute a larger share but everyone needs to shoulder at least a small part of the burden
2022 will be a time of transition, PM Lee said in his New Year message. Our economy is recovering steadily and barring fresh disruptions, it should grow in step with the global economy. The past 2 years had been a long and hard fight grappling with COVID-19. The government took drastic measures to protect lives […]
WP irresponsible to mislead on our fiscal position to pursue a populist position on GST
When recurrent or operating expenditure goes up – such as salaries and subsidies – income will have to be increased to meet the increased expenditure so that you do not go into debt. That’s pretty straightforward, isn’t it? This is called living within your means. You can’t sell assets to fund your daily expenditure. It’s […]