Please say Yes to fixed rate GST.

Inix wrote:

Discussion Thread: Property in Singapore taxed less than food and water...why?
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cherry6
As usual, you are making a mockery of yourself. The poor don't pay property tax. The rich does. The rich pays more in GST than the poor in terms of value. The rich don't get as much handouts from the government as the poor. GST does not cause a major dent in the normal day-to-day living. Other self-inflicted cost of living issues by the government did that.


I would support removing GST from core products like certain types of food, services and medication, but the effect only last for a year, if not 2, and thats really the non-emotional reason why the PAP refuses to remove GST and instead opts for targeted assistance.

My gripe with targeted assistance is that these bunch of Ivory Tower seating civil servants refuses to acknowledges that S$1.5K a person a month isn't really that much considering our recent inflation.

Hi Inix,
Kindly clarify: "Other self-inflicted cost of living issues by the government did that.": 'self-inflicted' and 'government' are mutually contradictory items in the same sentence.

I agree with the government's stance that flat rate GST is the way to go because Singapore is a modern society and every person here can be accounted for (more or less) unlike some undeveloped countries/ outpost where people carry no official identity and no formal banking/ security system exists. This is firstly because the about the tiering of goods is an oft difficult and controversial affair that should be avoided in lieu of a more efficient rebate system unlike in countries/ states where absent financial infrastructure/ corruption make rebates a tall order/ an impossibility.

A standardized rate also facilitates more efficient taxation since consumables can be taxed at source (beef can be taxed 7% at the port) since it would be very confusing if the input and out put GST were to be differently rated: e.g. beef being taxed as food at port (distributor) at 5% and at posh restaurant (Iggys) at 15% at supermarket at 7%. Iggys's chefs would need to study accountancy to total their GST input taxes to claim against output GST collected. Should oysters, lobsters and escargots be taxed the same rate as white bread and potatoes? Can IRAS officials tell the difference between a large prawn and a medium sized one? What would be the appropriate GST for take-away food at Iggy's?

Who is to say that a patient were bathing in luxury when seeking treatment at Mt Elizabeth hospital (MEH)l only because his condition were so rare, no other specialist in Singapore were qualified to treat it. What rate of GST should apply to such a patient as compared to a tourist being admitted to MEH for a purely cosmetic nose shaping medical procedure.

I rather a fixed rate GST than a cronyism run bureaucracy plagued with corruption and inefficiency.
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HWZ:
11May2012: Property in Singapore taxed less than food and water...why?