When the government warns us that we’re soon going to pay more for something, you can bet it’ll happen. Recently, PM Lee said in no uncertain terms that raising taxes is inevitable as the government’s spending needs increase.
Most people grudgingly accept that, given the aging population and the need to maintain and improve our current infrastructure, more tax money must be collected. But the big question is, where is this money is going to come from?
Are the rich going to bear the burden of the tax hike, or will middle income Singaporeans get squeezed even more?
There’s been a lot of speculation about where the money is coming from. Here are our top guesses.
GST
The hot favourite candidate for the impending tax hike is the GST, as it has not been raised since 2007. The current GST rate is 7 per cent.
While some might argue that the rich spend more money on GST-chargeable goods and services than the poor, a GST hike would actually affect lower and middle income earners more. That’s because a low income earner is likely to spend a larger proportion of his income on GST-chargeable goods and services than a rich person.
The government’s GST vouchers are meant to address this problem, but this isn’t a perfect solution. GST voucher amounts are determined according to the annual value of your home. So if you are a low income earner who happens to be living in a property with an annual value above the limit (eg. because it is owned by your parent or guardian, or because you are renting a room in one), you could get nothing.
How to deal: You are charged GST when you pay for goods and services provided by GST-registered businesses. But even businesses that are not GST-registered will hike up their prices, since their costs are likely to rise. That also means that by controlling your spending and budgeting strictly, you stand to save even more. If there are things you habitually pay for in other countries (e.g. contact lenses in Malaysia, clothes in Thailand), you could benefit even more by doing so now. The same applies to online shopping, but only if the government doesn’t start taxing online purchases. Which brings us to…
ONLINE SHOPPING
Unfortunately, another likely candidate for taxes is online shopping. Right now, you’re only obliged to pay GST if the value of your goods in a single shipment costs $400 and above.
But the government appears to be studying ways to tax e-commerce further. This could come in the form of blanket GST being imposed on all purchases regardless of value. But it could also come in the form of a separate tax to be applied to all goods and services being sold online to Singapore consumers.
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The worst thing is that you don’t need to be receiving an actual parcel in the mail to be taxed in this way. You could also be taxed on digital services like e-book downloads or mobile apps.
How to deal: The online stores which you usually patronise because their products are cheaper than local retailers’ may no longer offer as good a deal. So make sure you comparison shop to check that the things you routinely buy online are still worthwhile. Making sure you at least benefit with a good online shopping credit card might become significantly more important now as well.
INCOME TAX
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Singapore’s income taxes are famously low. It’s possible they’ll go up by a bit in order to raise tax revenue, but the government will still want to keep them relatively low for fear that all the rich people will up and leave.
The real question here is which tax brackets will be affected most. It is also possible that the tax brackets themselves will be adjusted so that some people get bumped up into a higher bracket.
How to deal: It is unlikely the government will raise income tax to the point where it becomes worthwhile to work less just so you fall into a lower tax bracket. So just budget for higher annual tax expenditure if you are affected, and cut back in other spending areas to make room for it.
Tax
SINGAPORE: Finding the location of the nearest recycling point as well as keeping abreast of green activities will soon be easier, with a new app launched by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) on Tuesday (Dec 12).
The SEC Green Map app will have features which will be able to tell you where the recycling bins are as well as details of upcoming green activities, like beach clean-ups and car-free events.
To encourage green living, eco-friendly products will also be showcased on the app.
By the second half of 2018, the app will also be enhanced to include a carbon calculator for individuals to track and calculate their carbon footprint on a daily basis.
The SEC Green Map app will have features such as the location of recycling bins and details of upcoming green activities, such as beach clean-ups and car-free events.
Speaking at the launch of the app, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli encouraged more to adopt a green lifestyle.
“As a small island city-state, Singapore is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Last year was the warmest year on record globally and in Singapore,” said Mr Masagos.
“Rising sea levels and intense rainfalls will have real and far-reaching implications.”
He added that businesses must also consider the impact of climate change on their operations and develop measures to reduce their carbon footprint.
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, Singapore has committed to reduce emissions intensity by 36 per cent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.
It also aims to stabilise its emissions, with the aim of peaking around 2030.
As part of Singapore’s efforts to cut greenhouse emissions, a carbon tax will be introduced in 2019.
This will encourage large emitters to reduce emissions and stimulate investments in clean, low-carbon technologies and market innovation, said Mr Masagos.
The Carbon Pricing Bill, which will set out a framework for implementing the carbon tax, including requirements for measurement, reporting and verification, will be tabled in the first quarter of 2018.
At the same event, the SEC announced that 12 pulp and paper products have been certified under its enhanced Singapore Green Labelling Scheme (SGLS).
The enhanced scheme, launched in January this year, requires companies to meet stricter environmental standards such as haze fighting measures.
The 12 products to receive certification under the enhanced SGLS are all produced by consumer goods company Kimberly-Clark.
The SEC Green Map app is already available for Android users and will be available on the Apple app store before Christmas this year.
“Of course, in this day and age, if you look at a person who is promoting paedophilia, you think that it is dangerous for the kids.” Source: YouTube
INTERNET celebrity Amos Yee has claimed he has been evicted from his Chicago home for holding pro-paedophilia views publicly expressed on his YouTube channel.
In September, 18-year-old Yee was released from an immigration detention facility after his bid for asylum in the United States was approved. He was twice jailed in his native Singapore for hate speech and harassment for posts he made mocking Jesus and the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
He now faces another challenge in finding housing in the US, in his own words: “Because of my views on paedophilia. The host of this house was perfectly fine with my opinions.”
SEE ALSO: Singapore: Lawyers reject claims blogger Amos Yee was persecuted
“He didn’t agree with it, but he didn’t think that it was violent or really harmful and you shouldn’t hate a person just for that one opinion … but who isn’t fine with those opinions, however, was child protection services,” he explained in a YouTube video posted on Dec 2.
According to Yee there were several foster children living in the same house. “Of course, in this day and age, if you look at a person who is promoting paedophilia, you think that it is dangerous for the kids,” he added.
The controversial figure has since posted a request for the internet to help him find new accommodation, claiming he is currently “sleeping on a couch owned by modern-day hippies.”
Yee was recently scheduled to peak at Harvard University but the event was subsequently cancelled.
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SINGAPORE: A motorcyclist was taken to hospital after an accident involving a car along the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) on Tuesday (Dec 12).
The police said they were alerted to an accident involving a car and a motorcycle along the PIE towards Tuas near Stevens Road exit at around 8.30am.
The male motorcyclist was taken conscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
The accident involved a car and a motorcycle along the PIE. (Photo: Jason Leong)
Finance manager Jason Leong, 40, told Channel NewsAsia that he was on a bus when he saw a traffic jam at the Whitley Road entrance onto the PIE.
“I saw an uncle who had fallen off his motorcycle and his face and hands were bleeding,” said Mr Leong.
There was also an SCDF vehicle “ferrying a number of SCDF men” at the scene, he added.
“Upon seeing the accident, the officers immediately got off the lorry and headed to assist the uncle. Some of them were assisting to direct traffic.”
There were also two cars parked along the emergency stopping lane, and people from those cars also got out to help, said Mr Leong.
“When I saw the uncle, he was already on the floor. He was conscious when the officers were helping him.”
Police investigations are ongoing.
A video of strong tidal waves hitting a jetty has been circulating online, accompanied by a statement claiming that a tsunami had struck Bedok Jetty.
Stomp contributor Chaz and Suaidi alerted Stomp to the video.
According to Suaidi, the statement claimed that the jetty in the video was the Bedok Jetty, and warned people to stay away.
The message read:
“This happened an hour ago at Bedok Jetty so wherever you are, don’t go (to the) sea side.”
However, eagle-eyed netizens are quick to point out differences between the Bedok Jetty and the jetty in the video.
While there are several shelters erected along the stretch of Bedok Jetty, these structures are clearly missing in the video.
This has led some to conclude that the incident did not happen in Singapore.
Others have found the same video on YouTube, posted on Oct 28, 2017.
An accompanying caption explained that the video was taken at the Minicoy Eastern Jetty, located on the island of Minicoy, India.
So if you’re wary about visiting the Bedok Jetty, you can put that worry to rest now.
Tsunamis
SINGAPORE: Fifty cases of windows falling off their frames have occurred this year, the highest number since 2013, according to statistics released on Tuesday (Dec 12) by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and Housing Development Board (HDB).
While there have been no injuries arising from the cases reported, the number of cases have increased by four from last year. Most of these cases involved casement and sliding windows.
The average number of fallen windows remains at 44 cases per year, over the last five years. (Image: BCA and HDB)
The casement windows fell due to corroded aluminum rivets, compromising the functionality and strength of the rivets, BCA and HDB said.
Since 2014, homeowners are required to replace aluminum rivets in casement windows with rivets made of stainless steel. Homeowners should also check that window rivets and fasteners are not rusty or loose and regularly clean and lubricate joints and moving parts.
Cases involving sliding windows were mostly caused by the lack of proper safety stoppers and angle strips which help to keep window panels within the tracks. This can result in window panels detaching and falling when homeowners force open or close their windows.
Safety stoppers and angle strips in sliding windows should be replaced if they are worn out or damaged.
“Falling windows pose a huge danger to the public. We should all do our part to eliminate this risk. All homeowners and tenants should regularly maintain their windows at least once every six months,” said Mr Lim Beng Kwee, director of BCA’s Special Functions Group.
Homeowners can face a penalty of up to $5,000 and/or jail term of up to six months for failing to replace all aluminium rivets in casement windows with stainless steel rivets. In addition, if a window falls out due to lack of maintenance, homeowners can face a maximum fine of $10,000 and a jail term of up to one year.
Since 2006, 326 people have been fined, and 86 people have been prosecuted for fallen windows.
After months of speculations, Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has tied the knot with Bollywood actress and long time girlfriend Anushka Sharma today in Milan, Italy.
Both Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli shared photos from their wedding ceremony in their Twitter profiles this evening.
Rumours of the celebrity couple’s wedding started swirling when Kohli pulled out of India’s limited-overs matches against Sri Lanka and Sharma also ducked out of her busy acting schedule in December.
The couple and their families have flown out of India for the week-long celebrations. A grand reception is also planned in Mumbai on December 26.
Kohli and Sharma, both 29, started dating in 2013 after they met during the filming of a shampoo advert.The high-profile couple made their first public appearance a year later during a football match.
The duo will be the latest in a list of Bollywood-cricket weddings. From former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore to the recent Zaheer Khan-Sagarika Ghatge union, India has a long history of marriages between cricket players and movie stars.
SINGAPORE: The Housing & Development Board (HDB), launched a residential site at Sumang Walk for sale by public tender on Tuesday (Dec 12), under the Confirmed List of 2nd Half 2017 Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme.
In its press release, HDB said the 99-year leasehold site has an area of 27,056.4 sq m, and can potentially yield about 820 residential units.
A five-year Project Completion Period (PCP) will be granted starting from the tender of this Executive Condominium site.
Land Parcel at Sumang Walk (Image: HDB)
The tender for the land parcel at Sumang Walk will close Jan 30, 2018.
HDB said the tender closing for this site is batched with two other residential sites at Chong Kuo Road and Handy Road, which were launched by URA in October and November 2017 respectively under the 2nd Half 2017 GLS Programme.
