Singapore Matters

2022-06-13 03:27:18 You want a wealth tax. You don't want a wealth tax. Well, COE IS a type of wealth tax.

Who buys the bigger, more powerful cars that cost a few hundred thousand dollars? The wealthy, of course. In just one bid, $100,000 goes into government coffers to subsidise public transport for people who cannot afford cars.

According to ST writer, Christopher Tan, $127.7 million was collected in COE revenue from Wednesday's tender. If this quantum is sustained yearly, COE revenue will amount to $3.06 billion - more than enough to offset the $2 billion spent yearly on public transport subsidies. Open / Comment

2022-06-12 06:33:16 Singapore may not have a general wealth tax but we do tax wealth in other ways. The Government is always open to taxing wealth. They have been doing it.

The question is how to do it in a practical way so that it is not easily avoidable and it actually works.

The Singapore's approach is thus a practical one, to ensure that the tax system is progressive, fair and sustainable.

Like they say, be careful what you ask for. You may just get it. Open / Comment

2022-06-11 06:13:43 We have heard many stories of the asset-rich but cash-poor retiree who lives in a private property bought years ago when he was young. Now he is old and struggles to get by while living in a private property because he has little cash. Familiar story?

Good luck to him if there is a wealth tax. He will have to find cash to pay the tax.

ANYTHING that can be appraised a monetary value is part of your wealth.

If the wealth tax is so good, why did Europe kill theirs? There are only 3 countries with the tax.

Switzerland, which WP cited as an example, has a tax-free threshold of between 50,000 Swiss francs (S$70,241) to 250,000 Swiss francs (S$351,206) for a married couple without children. The wealth tax thus affects much of the middle class in addition to the wealthiest families, as one study on the Swiss wealth tax found.

If we apply the same threshold here, many of you will be paying the wealth tax. Open / Comment

2022-06-10 04:17:26 ​​Inflation is a serious problem everywhere.

The price of eggs sold by farmers to distributors in Indonesia has risen by $0.47.

This is due mainly to the rise in cost of poultry feed which has soared as ingredients such as wheat, corn and soya bean has been impacted by the Ukraine-Russia war.

In an interview with Nikkei Asia earlier, PM Lee said Inflation will become a very serious problem for the world if measures are not taken to address it.

Mr Lee said: “The difficulty is that now that inflation is quite high, you need quite drastic measures in order to bring it back down and to prevent inflationary expectations from taking root.

“It is very difficult to do that and have a soft landing. There is a considerable risk of your doing what you need to do but the result is provoking a recession.”

He added: “It's happened repeatedly in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. So that is a risk which we have to anticipate and watch out for. But ... you have to take that risk because if you do not act against inflation, that will become a very serious problem for the world.”

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/egg-prices-shoot-up-in-indonesia-as-country-grapples-with-food-inflation-at-near-five-year-high Open / Comment

2022-06-09 06:59:29 What's the point of planting trees and then pruning them?

Unlike forest trees, which assume various forms or shapes based on their growing environment, trees in urban environments need to be pruned for various reasons.

Young trees are pruned to direct their growth, ensuring that their mature form is structurally desirable.

The branches of roadside trees may be pruned when they grow into the path of pedestrians or vehicles. Thus, buses for example, will not slam into branches hanging over the road.

Trees may also be pruned to look tidy and attractive.

Mature trees require pruning to remove dying or diseased branches, to lighten any heavy branches, and to reduce the wind resistance of the entire canopy. This ensures safety of people.

After inspecting a tree, an arborist may prescribe specific methods of pruning in order to improve the health and safety of the tree, such as crown thinning and crown reduction. Open / Comment

2022-06-09 04:27:16 The family is important. This is why the government spends much effort working with community partners to support the family.

"Strong families are the bedrock of our society. They are crucial to develop resilient," PM Lee said.

"People raised in strong and close-knit families are more likely to form such families themselves after they grow up.

The Government will continue to support our families, and foster a Singapore Made for Families. Our marriage and parenthood benefits help Singaporeans realise their aspirations and start families. Our home ownership policies allow the vast majority to own HDB homes and raise families. We have significantly enhanced preschool education, to give every Singaporean child a good start in life; and we are continually expanding support for seniors so that they can age gracefully in the community."*ft Open / Comment

2022-06-08 07:28:38 Some 23,000 civil servants are getting a raise. You thought everyone was going to cheer.

But no, some people are not. They are aggrieved. They have also invented a falsehood to feed their 'grievance'.

Despite PWMs paying thousands of workers higher than $1400 a month, there was no let-up in the call for a mininum wage. Accusations flew that the government did not care.

Yet when the government announced pay raise for civil servants, the same group of people now feel aggrieved. They realised the pay raise will be paid out of tax dollars. AND they are not willing. Because they really don't care how much low wage workers are earning.

Those in the Operations Support Scheme (OSS) will receive higher adjustments of between 6 per cent and 14 per cent, according to PSD announcement.

"This is in line with the call by the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers to uplift the salaries of lower-wage workers," said PSD. Open / Comment

2022-06-08 05:32:49 No leader has ever accomplished much without a strong team.

The 4G Team has shown themselves a team that works closely together as they steer Singapore in this challenging time of pandemic and disruptions.

Let's also give them our strong support.

We are stronger together! Open / Comment

2022-06-07 15:39:27 Singapore is able to quickly obtain alternative food sources because we are well connected to the world.

Singapore is connected to the world through trade and agreements, through the investments we are able to attract here to create jobs for Singaporeans..

But being well connected also means being willing to embrace global talents to come here and compete on our side, as Education Minister Chan Chun Sing pointed out.

No country has all the talents they need and countries are competing for global talents. The pool of talent is limited and demand exceeds supply. UK is welcoming recent graduates from top universities in the world to go there even if they have yet to land a job there.

There are a few thousands jobs in tech and finance out there waiting for Singaporeans to fill and yet the opposition like PSP especially, continue to try to drive a wedge between local and foreign talents when we could be learning from each other and gaining new skills, ideas and perspective. Open / Comment

2022-06-07 06:46:57 Thank you, Ms Lee Bee Wah aka Sister Flower or Hua Jie. Hua Jie might have retired from politics, but she is still giving back to society in other ways.

Her biography - Plantation To Parliament: My Story So Far - was launched at the National Library on Saturday (June 4) in conjunction with the Singapore Book Fair.

It's her story 'so far', and she is still writing her story with the good she continues to do. Open / Comment