Are you ready for 7 million people on tiny Singapore?
-
Harlequin:
Summon credit card statement for what? Go overseas cannot buy personal stuff overseas?
Never. Cos I always declare.
But I have seen people being caught.... unpacked and bagged in luggage. Note that they can summon your credit cards statement, once they tell you that, then you better own up. These are usually the luxury designer items lah.
Buy for personal consumption, need to pay GST? never heard of before. -
limlim:
Yet another uninformed statement.
Summon credit card statement for what? Go overseas cannot buy personal stuff overseas?Harlequin:
Never. Cos I always declare.
But I have seen people being caught.... unpacked and bagged in luggage. Note that they can summon your credit cards statement, once they tell you that, then you better own up. These are usually the luxury designer items lah.
Buy for personal consumption, need to pay GST? never heard of before.
You bring back goods from overseas, personal usage or not, is declarable at customs if exceed $400. -
3Boys:
Yet another uninformed statement.
Summon credit card statement for what? Go overseas cannot buy personal stuff overseas?limlim:
[quote=\"Harlequin\"]
Never. Cos I always declare.
But I have seen people being caught.... unpacked and bagged in luggage. Note that they can summon your credit cards statement, once they tell you that, then you better own up. These are usually the luxury designer items lah.
Buy for personal consumption, need to pay GST? never heard of before.
You bring back goods from overseas, personal usage or not, is declarable at customs if exceed $400.[/quote]Oh ok.. next time bring Cash.. :evil: -
limlim:
Did the pple who kpkb even go thru or experience (self or close friends/relatives) the hassles of having a foreigner spouse?
Geez....did you even reflect before you said that???3Boys:
[quote=\"limlim\"]
How would I not understand this. If one wanna get a foreign spouse, one shd willingly pay the cost.
I did, as I mentioned I went to ICA and at times more in a year than your total trips to renew passports combined.
And I tell you, it is not as fun as queuing for passport (which essentially is fuss free as the efficient govt make it for Singaporeans). Did you ever joined a queue OUTSIDE ICA building at 0750hrs on a Saturday morning?
As someone(not saying you, not personal) who never go thru all these, I wonder they kpkb so much for what.
If I get a foreigner spouse, I am prepare to go all the way. That little inconvenience meant nothing. I have essentially experienced all the hassles and inconvenience.
So, what is it you expect me to reflect on?
Why am I beginning to feel the Singaporeans are indeed too pampered.. Want foreign spouse and expect residency delivered in a platter? A given?
There is no barrier to true love. If he/she is worth it, go for it.
Different story if it is marriage of convenience. It is really NOT convenient.[/quote]But to what end??? -
The way you are you saying is like all the rich will evade taxes & govt need to implement GST to get back evaded tax from them?
Then how do you explain cutting the rich's income tax by 5% to save them more taxes & taxes everybody else more as a result of GSt? Am I missing something here?pirate:
Because top tier personal income tax is easily avoided by a little bit of tax planning. Only the salarymen and professionals get hit. The big towkays can structure their income into something else. As for the criminals and their undeclared income...limlim:
GST if necessary, is fine with me. But it should be kept low at say, 3% and still contribute to revenue.
If not enough, then the income tax of top tier shouldn't be reduced. Why can't they keep it at say, 25% while introducing GST?
Reducing income tax and increasing GST just doesn't makes sense to me other than benefiting the rich.
I'm okay with GST but don't agree with reducing top tier income tax to increase GST.
On the other hand, if you want to ride around in your very own $500,000 Mercedes in Singapore, you have to pay $35,000 GST. It doesn't matter if you make your money from bank interest, stock dividends, capital appreciation, speculating on the stock market, gambling at the casino, underdeclaring the number of plates of char kway teow you sell, loansharking or rigging soccer games in Europe. You still have to pay $35,000 GST. -
limlim:
Oh ok.. next time bring Cash.. :evil:[/quote]Why do you insist on taking on all kinds of preposterous positions based on misinformation? So you still think there are billions of dollars of GST leak from overseas shopping?
Yet another uninformed statement.3Boys:
[quote=\"limlim\"]
Summon credit card statement for what? Go overseas cannot buy personal stuff overseas?
Buy for personal consumption, need to pay GST? never heard of before.
You bring back goods from overseas, personal usage or not, is declarable at customs if exceed $400. -
Mdm Koh:
All I am saying is, it is more comfortable for for the government to maintain high revenues which include the collection of a value-added tax on medical services. If they do away with this source of revenue (no matter how small you think it is, your suggested percentage is inferred and unproven), the overall revenue figures will be affected and they will not look good.
Well, here...3Boys:
[quote=\"Mdm Koh\"]
When did I say that? :?Mdm Koh:
If you think the g'ment is not making money off people overall, then what's the issue with GST?I think exemption of GST on healthcare can be done; it's whether the government wants to do it. It's much more comfortable for them to maintain high revenues, but at what cost to the people?
However, while it is clear that GST on a $100 hairdressing service is valid, when it comes to essentials like healthcare, the pros and cons need to be carefully weighed. There are different viewpoints on the matter, so I do not think that you should dismiss my view as \"barking up the wrong tree\" or one that is based on clouded judgement.
I believe you know that a VAT like the GST is problematic. It has its critics and it is not applied for essential goods and services in a number of countries. It is unpopular because it affects people's lives negatively. But that is not to say that it has no merit at all. I think the important thing is to balance its economic efficacy with its impact on the citizens.[/quote]
Mdm Koh, you are free to derive your own figures, you will get nowhere close to 10%. In lieu of you coming to your own numbers, I ask that you grant me the courtesy of accepting the figure as being extremely generous. You can check the provided links and come to your own conclusions, it's all there. -
How do you define as \"poor\"?
GST + income tax reduction IMHO only benefits the rich while penalises most of the lower income groups not defined as \"poor\" group. I am 1 of the beneficiary but I must also say that GST should be exempted for basic food necessities & medicine, have a heart for majority of Singapoeans struggling to make a living otherwise many can't even retire.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.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?
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. -
limlim:
\"Low Class\"?
Must marry up, cannot marry down :siam:Harlequin:
[quote=\"pirate\"]
Ya lor. Must discourage Singaporeans from marrying foreigners from those low class countries. We don't want them muddying the pure bloodlines of true blue Singaporeans.
They already send a man to space, SG didn't even come close to that. What kind of childish remark is that..[/quote]Wei Wei Wei, I didn't said low class hor.... I said must marry up (north), cannot marry down (south) hor....
That childish pirate is having his Valentina's Day candle lights dinner, wait after dinner he would show you how man he is :rotflmao: :lovesite: -
3Boys:
Why do you insist on taking on all kinds of preposterous positions based on misinformation? So you still think there are billions of dollars of GST leak from overseas shopping?[/quote]I didn't say that. Why read so much into a simple remark?
Oh ok.. next time bring Cash.. :evil:limlim:
[quote=\"3Boys\"]
Yet another uninformed statement.
You bring back goods from overseas, personal usage or not, is declarable at customs if exceed $400.
I say I would bring cash for my own shopping.. I wouldn't speculate what others would do. I didn't realise personal consumption also will tax.. Previously I have the impression that those bring in to sell then will kena tax.
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