GST...

[Yappy]

Tax is fine... but a 2% point increase when times are bad and with a reported surplus? that is just sick.

../azul123

Don't buy anything and you will not be GSTed.

Or buy from those companies who are not registered and they will not charge you GST.

 

[lennyl]

Corporate pays tax.

All the extras is accountable for.

I'm not sure I follow your post. Can you elaborate?

 

[Yappy]

I'm not sure I follow your post. Can you elaborate?

Temasek pays tax and their account is open to all to read.

 

[lennyl]

Temasek pays tax and their account is open to all to read.

Isn't that besides the point?

Let's follow this through, with fictitious numbers.

I pay $1 more than I have to, over the course of 1 week. I spend $100 in a week. Other $99 goes towards paying salaries, electricity, equipment, some amount put aside for expansion and replacement, etc.

SMRT takes that $1 and pay it to shareholders as dividends.

54 cents of this $1 goes to Temasek.

Assuming they pay all 54 cents to IRAS as tax, or the money goes back to the government's accounts in some other way (I really have no idea, but I'm not doubting this is all above board and honest) I'm still paying 54 cents more per week than I have to - the other 36 cents goes to other shareholders - and the money goes to the government for them to spend in next year's budget. So, is that tax?

BTW - Temasek Holdings pay tax? I'm not doubting you, since I know very little about Temasek Holdings. But the very concept is strange to me. Left hand giving right hand money to spend?

 

[azul123]

Don't buy anything and you will not be GSTed.

Or buy from those companies who are not registered and they will not charge you GST.

Where got such a thing... even if buying from company that doesn't collect GST like buying food from hawker stall, their raw material they buy from wholesaler cost more as the wholesaler maybe the one collecting GST.

There is no getting away from it, poor people are taxed too... if they fall sick they are taxed like others do, buy medicine taxed, buy essential food also taxed.

If they remove taxes on essential stuff then I think it would benefit the poor. Say a certain brand of bread, rice etc.. cheaper stuff.

So those who ate quality branded stuff like premium bread or high grade quality rice etc.. pay GST, there must be some way to help the less well off.

../azul123

 

[Yappy]

Where got such a thing... even if buying from company that doesn't collect GST like buying food from hawker stall, their raw material they buy from wholesaler cost more as the wholesaler maybe the one collecting GST.

There is no getting away from it, poor people are taxed too... if they fall sick they are taxed like others do, buy medicine taxed, buy essential food also taxed.

If they remove taxes on essential stuff then I think it would benefit the poor. Say a certain brand of bread, rice etc.. cheaper stuff.

So those who ate quality branded stuff like premium bread or high grade quality rice etc.. pay GST, there must be some way to help the less well off.

../azul123

I agreed with you.

The place without tax must be only... where? Would you like to let us know. I am sure all of us want to know.

 

[lennyl]

If they remove taxes on essential stuff then I think it would benefit the poor. Say a certain brand of bread, rice etc.. cheaper stuff.

It's always a trade-off. How complicated do you want to make your tax collection process to be? You can make it more "fair", but in the process you spend more money and effort enforcing it.

In the end, deep down, what we all (or at least most of us) want is for the tax collector to tax someone else other than ourselves

 

[azul123]

FYI, I pay quite a bit on taxes, was told I fall within top 30%, so no matter how I will pay taxes... not posting this for my own self interest...

../azul123

 

[Yappy]

It's always a trade-off. How complicated do you want to make your tax collection process to be? You can make it more "fair", but in the process you spend more money and effort enforcing it.

In the end, deep down, what we all (or at least most of us) want is for the tax collector to tax someone else other than ourselves

Nobody likes the pay tax but without tax a country cannot operate. It is a question of how fair is the load being distributed, but never 100%. Every system has it gap and the authority can only make the gap smaller.
Is GST a perfect system? It is far from it. But I think it is better than the old way of collecting tax. Spend more pay more. but everyone needs to spend so the poor spends on the necessity but the rich spends on the extras.
So everybody in a way contribute to the maintenance of a nation. Without it, no nation can function.

 

[Yappy]

FYI, I pay quite a bit on taxes, was told I fall within top 30%, so no matter how I will pay taxes... not posting this for my own self interest...

../azul123

I think I really don't mind if I am within the 30% and pay the tax. To reach this level, one needs to be a professional.
Every developed countries face the same problem. How to narrow the income gap or to distribute the wealth evenly.... Tough job!

 

[azul123]

Someone passed me a copy of the Today's paper at work, I am happy that some MPs raised the concerns what I was saying in this thread.

Excerpts from that story which is close to what I am concern about is as follows:

MP Arthur Fong (West Coast GRC) and Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim, in particular, zeroed in on bread-and-butter issues. Ms Lim said there would be little justification for “further hiking GST or raising Government fees and charges”. MP Lim Biow Chuan (Marine Parade GRC), who went further to suggest a reduction in GST, also had property tax and public transport fares on his wish list.

“I prefer that the Government finds ways to keep the overall cost of living lower, rather than provide targeted financial aid to the needy as the only solution,” said Mr Lim.

“I watch with concern each time with the transport fares or telephone charges or utilities, and what we see is a long queue of people at the community centres or community clubs applying for financial help to cope with these increases. But, there’s really nothing much they can do, as the cost of living is simply too much to bear for many of them.”

../azul123

 

[Yappy]

Someone passed me a copy of the Today's paper at work, I am happy that some MPs raised the concerns what I was saying in this thread.

Excerpts from that story which is close to what I am concern about is as follows:



../azul123

Good news if they reduce GST. Everybody is happy. How about income tax? Any deduction?
I rather they cut income tax than GST.

The rich will benefit more!

 

[azul123]

Good news if they reduce GST. Everybody is happy. How about income tax? Any deduction?
I rather they cut income tax than GST.

The rich will benefit more!

Rather they take the shortfall from budget surplus.

../azul123

 

[Yappy]

Rather they take the shortfall from budget surplus.

../azul123

Any suggestion to use the surplus?

 

[azul123]

Any suggestion to use the surplus?

Got plenty of suggestions... but they have enough smart people to think about it liow. Smart but slow to react. :dunno:

../azul123

 

[sORe-EyEz]

Got plenty of suggestions... but they have enough smart people to think about it liow. Smart but slow to react. :dunno:

../azul123

true loh, they are paid their worth. no? :embrass:

 

[Yappy]

Got plenty of suggestions... but they have enough smart people to think about it liow. Smart but slow to react. :dunno:

../azul123

Maybe we can help to speed up!

 

[sORe-EyEz]

Maybe we can help to speed up!

get even smarter people! :bsmilie:

 

[Yappy]

Got plenty of suggestions... but they have enough smart people to think about it liow. Smart but slow to react. :dunno:

../azul123

get even smarter people! :bsmilie:

Don't let them claim all the credit!

 

[sORe-EyEz]

Don't let them claim all the credit!

bobian, bobian, they too smart liow... :bsmilie:

dealing with credits, they are fast. :bsmilie: