Are you ready for 7 million people on tiny Singapore?
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2012 Budget in brief
http://www.mof.gov.sg/budget_2012/download/FY2012_Budget_in_Brief.pdf -
3Boys,
I think that 7% GST is reasonable if we compare the tax rate to that of other developed countries. However, in order for the tax to benefit Singaporeans, I think that there are certain goods that ought to be exempted from GST, such as healthcare (especially for major surgeries in restructured hospitals).
Why should healthcare in restructured hospitals be exempted from GST?
First, GST on healthcare affects the lower-income group the most. While low-income earners can be thrifty and refrain from consuming luxury goods, it is not possible for them to lead illness-free lives. For a major operation with an estimated cost of $10,000, a patient will have to pay $700 in GST. The additional cost is a burden on patients who are already struggling with their healthcare bills.
As the social safety net here is flimsy (Singapore prides itself on not being a "welfare state"), it is not fair to add a taxation burden on those who are already stricken by illnesses and who are not able to receive any form of help from the government as their income is "not low enough". Not only are these people falling through the cracks in our 3M healthcare system, they are also being taxed more. Where is the logic?
Second, the people who are most likely to avoid this GST cost in their healthcare are people who are able to afford health insurance with high premiums. So ironically, it is actually the low-income who are less likely to have health insurance who fall through the cracks and have to pay additional taxes on healthcare. Their family members may even have to borrow from relatives and friends to pay off their medical debts. Every dollar matters to a family who has to deal with a health crisis. The government should be helping such families and not imposing GST on them.
This is my non-economist opinion, based on experience and anecdotal accounts from friends. You are free to disagree. -
IIRC, GST is absorbed by the hospital for subsidized patients.
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Mdm Koh:
Mdm Koh, I understand where you are coming from, and I strongly agree we can do more to help the poor when it comes to healthcare.3Boys,
I think that 7% GST is reasonable if we compare the tax rate to that of other developed countries. However, in order for the tax to benefit Singaporeans, I think that there are certain goods that ought to be exempted from GST, such as healthcare (especially for major surgeries in restructured hospitals).
My preferred approach, rather than a en-bloc tweaking of the GST for healthcare, which then frees up the taxable portion for the wealthy also, and hence unnecessarily loses tax revenue, is to provide direct grants or subsidies to the poor when it comes to healthcare, to offset some of the costs, equal to or exceeding the GST portion. As it is, healthcare for C-class is very heavily subsidised.
Reasonable?
Rather than look at the GST only, one needs to consider the totality of healthcare costs. If our healthcare delivery is inefficient and costs are high as a result, the GST is the least of our worries.
Also, if there are people falling through the cracks, the answer is to fix those cracks, not change the signposts. So I believe a GST fix in this situation does not address the key issue and is merely a patch. -
My plea would be to leave the GST alone and find other ways, through direct transfers, grants and subsidies, to help those in need. There will always be a clamouring for exemptions. Healthcare, Education, Transport, Essential goods, Sports, the Arts…the list goes on. All these things make the whole system unwieldy. Better leave the tax structure alone, and instead of committing resources to administer all the exceptions (which are non-targeted and therefore inefficient), commit those resources instead to identifying those families in need and deliver the necessary aid.
A far more effective use of dollars and time, with a better outcome for those families. -
Dora1:
IIRC, GST is absorbed by the hospital for subsidized patients.
Thanks, I have checked and it is true. It turns out that the $1000 GST on my parent's bill a few years ago was because of a transfer to B1. :slapshead:3Boys:
I think we need reexamine our idea of what it means to be poor or rich? Every family who has a health crisis needs to tighten its purse strings. Even if the patient is rich, it doesn't seem right to tax him more when he's already ill? Illnesses can be chronic and he may need follow-up care. So, is the idea to tax the \"rich\" until they become poor, and then we help them?
Mdm Koh, I understand where you are coming from, and I strongly agree we can do more to help the poor when it comes to healthcare.Mdm Koh:
3Boys,
I think that 7% GST is reasonable if we compare the tax rate to that of other developed countries. However, in order for the tax to benefit Singaporeans, I think that there are certain goods that ought to be exempted from GST, such as healthcare (especially for major surgeries in restructured hospitals).
My preferred approach, rather than a en-bloc tweaking of the GST for healthcare, which then frees up the taxable portion for the wealthy also, and hence unnecessarily loses tax revenue, is to provide direct grants or subsidies to the poor when it comes to healthcare, to offset some of the costs, equal to or exceeding the GST portion. As it is, healthcare for C-class is very heavily subsidised.
Reasonable?
To my knowledge, a patient can only be considered \"subsidised\" if he is referred to a restructured hospital by a polyclinic. He may have to wait a few months for an appointment, which can cause his health condition to worsen.
Some patients who do not want to wait for months or who switch to paying class so that they can be operated on by more experienced doctors (reasonable for major surgeries) have problems going back to subsidised class if their family income per head is above $1,000.
I think that no matter what a family's circumstances are, it is counter-productive to tax for healthcare. I appreciate that Singaporeans are conditioned to be self-reliant and I think many of us would like to remain so. It would be good if we are not being charged extra GST for something as basic as healthcare.
There is also GST on visits to the GP, which are not covered by the hospital and polyclinic GST grants...
In a good system, people who fall through the cracks are the exceptions and they can be helped effectively with grants. But based on the general unhappiness among Singaporeans, those who fall through the cracks may have become the norm. -
3Boys:
You are funny! :? Since when did I call to scrap GST? You need not to justify why GST is implementing here and we all knew very well that GST is the crucial source of income for government. Why you keep making me to stress so many time that I welcome the white paper and supporter of PAP. GST does not affect you and me does not mean that it does not affect others. Otherwise, why are there so much complaints about the high cost of living from the ground? you meant people are making noise from nothing? :rotflmao:My plea would be to leave the GST alone and find other ways, through direct transfers, grants and subsidies, to help those in need. There will always be a clamouring for exemptions. Healthcare, Education, Transport, Essential goods, Sports, the Arts...the list goes on. All these things make the whole system unwieldy. Better leave the tax structure alone, and instead of committing resources to administer all the exceptions (which are non-targeted and therefore inefficient), commit those resources instead to identifying those families in need and deliver the necessary aid.
A far more effective use of dollars and time, with a better outcome for those families.
But they have to recognize the causes of problem of high cost of living and solve them. If PAP continue to use your approach to brushing people off and refuse to find the root cause of the issues, they will wake up even more in 2016.
I've to recognize that you and me are not in the same frequency or rather you like defend for the sake of defending and missed all the points that I'm trying to drive.
Off to go now. -
JannettLee:
Funny. I was under the impression that you put GST as the top cause of the high cost of living in Singapore. Here it is:
You are funny! :? Since when did I call to scrap GST? You need not to justify why GST is implementing here and we all knew very well that GST is the crucial source of income for government. Why you keep making me to stress so many time that I welcome the white paper and supporter of PAP. GST does not affect you and me does not mean that it does not affect others. Otherwise, why are there so much complaints about the high cost of living from the ground? you meant people are making noise from nothing? :rotflmao: But they have to recognize the causes of problem of high cost of living and solve them. If PAP continue to use your approach to brushing people off and refuse to find the root cause of the issues, they will wake up even more in 2016.
I've to recognize that you and me are not in the same frequency or rather you like defend for the sake of defending and missed all the points that I'm trying to drive.
Off to go now.JannettLee:
But, if you are really in business, you will know that businesses in Singapore will tell you that the highest components of their costs are actually:In summary, why we are in this current situation - high cost of living today?
It is the consequences of Gahman's policies all these years.
1) GST
2) Commercial & industrial properties prices and hence rental escalation
3) Transportation cost
1) Salaries and wages
2) Rent
At least you are right about the rent part. I won't argue with you over that. -
Mdm Koh:
I think we need reexamine our idea of what it means to be poor or rich? Every family who has a health crisis needs to tighten its purse strings. Even if the patient is rich, it doesn't seem right to tax him more when he's already ill? Illnesses can be chronic and he may need follow-up care. So, is the idea to tax the \"rich\" until they become poor, and then we help them?Dora1:
IIRC, GST is absorbed by the hospital for subsidized patients.
Thanks, I have checked and it is true. It turns out that the $1000 GST on my parent's bill a few years ago was because of a transfer to B1. :slapshead:3Boys:
Mdm Koh, I understand where you are coming from, and I strongly agree we can do more to help the poor when it comes to healthcare.[quote=\"Mdm Koh\"]3Boys,
I think that 7% GST is reasonable if we compare the tax rate to that of other developed countries. However, in order for the tax to benefit Singaporeans, I think that there are certain goods that ought to be exempted from GST, such as healthcare (especially for major surgeries in restructured hospitals).
My preferred approach, rather than a en-bloc tweaking of the GST for healthcare, which then frees up the taxable portion for the wealthy also, and hence unnecessarily loses tax revenue, is to provide direct grants or subsidies to the poor when it comes to healthcare, to offset some of the costs, equal to or exceeding the GST portion. As it is, healthcare for C-class is very heavily subsidised.
Reasonable?
To my knowledge, a patient can only be considered \"subsidised\" if he is referred to a restructured hospital by a polyclinic. He may have to wait a few months for an appointment, which can cause his health condition to worsen.
Some patients who do not want to wait for months or who switch to paying class so that they can be operated on by more experienced doctors (reasonable for major surgeries) have problems going back to subsidised class if their family income per head is above $1,000.
I think that no matter what a family's circumstances are, it is counter-productive to tax for healthcare. I appreciate that Singaporeans are conditioned to be self-reliant and I think many of us would like to remain so. It would be good if we are not being charged extra GST for something as basic as healthcare.
There is also GST on visits to the GP, which are not covered by the hospital and polyclinic GST grants...
In a good system, people who fall through the cracks are the exceptions and they can be helped effectively with grants. But based on the general unhappiness among Singaporeans, those who fall through the cracks may have become the norm.[/quote]Mdm Koh,
on these points, I have to disagree with you. Healthcare costs is more than just the GST, I feel you are missing the woods for the trees.
Healthcare is a service, why exempt from taxation? Quite a bit of healthcare these days is reasonably discretionary. You happy to forgo tax on an expat undergoing breast augmentation? Laser acne removal? Recreational Viagra for the coffee shop ah pek?
The aesthetic surgeons will be sending you flowers on this V-Day for your suggestion.
And to say 'tax the rich until they are poor' is unfortunately quite a naughty misrepresentation. GST contributes 7% of the healthcare cost. It is not the tax that will cause the poverty, but the cost of healthcare. You must be careful not to conflate the two.
One previous health minister said, people are happy to pay $100 for a hairdo or $10,000 for a overseas holiday, but healthcare, even high end sophisticated stuff, people want for free.
Find ways to bring down healthcare costs, subsidise for the poor....but keep the taxes as they are. -
JannettLee:
:whut:
You are funny! :? Since when did I call to scrap GST? You need not to justify why GST is implementing here and we all knew very well that GST is the crucial source of income for government.
:siao:
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