GST Hike to 7% wef Feb 2007

Dear all,

I wonder, have u guys watched the news?! I'm sure many singaporeans feels a burden in their pocket right now, even before actual hike....... Just need to remind all of u out there: we are still in the 5% now, but get use to changes.

Extracted from http://news.asiaone.com/a1news/20061113_story4_1.html [today, Nov 14, 0000hrs]


Singapore's goods and services tax (GST) will be raised from 5 per cent to 7 per cent, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in Parliament today.

Bloomberg news agency said he would announce the details when he presents next year's budget on Feb 15. The Government is also making changes to income taxes to make Singapore more competitive, and is also proposing an amendment to the constitution to extend government's spending from national reserves' investment income to include realised capital gains, on top of dividends and interest, said Bloomberg.

Responding to issues raised by MPs, who are debating on the President's address, PM Lee said that the GST increase would help finance enhanced social safety nets to help lower-income Singaporeans.

He said it was better to increase the GST when the economy is doing well so that "we can manage the adjustment, and we have the flexibility to adjust our programs depending on how things turn out.'' PM Lee said that globalisation had led to a widening income gap in Singapore, and ngaporeans would have to deal with its impact.

He added that this was something that could strain the country's social compact, and this was why it was essential to have a whole set of measures to tilt playing field in favour of the lower income group.

GST is a tax on domestic consumption and the wholesale and retail trade sector contributes a significant portion of the annual net GST revenue.

The tax is paid when personal income is spent rather than when it is earned.

This encourages savings and prudent investments instead of consumption, rewards enterprise and strengthens Singapore's position as an attractive business hub for foreign investments.
GST is a multi-stage tax collected at every stage of the production and distribution cycle. The tax is collected by GST registered businesses (collection agents), and a credit offset mechanism allows the GST registered businesses to recover the taxes paid on their purchases.

GST is not a direct cost to a business unless it supplies exempt goods or services, provides employee fringe benefits or does not register as a collection agent. Thus, the final and total burden of GST is borne by the domestic consumer.


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Yesterday, i was at Gym. And after that i was desperately in need of a carbo-intake (i think i accidentally over-sauna-ed myself), so i found myself at the Indian stall at the Food court. i wanted to order prata (wha... real carbs, and lotsa of oil... tsk tsk). Anyway, i didn't notice who was at the stove, until i was kinda more clear-headed. It was a Malay gal at the stove cooking. And the amazing thing is, she was flipping the dough in quite a professional manner. I mean, that's really amazing.

Because this is the first time i ever seen a roti-prata lady. Wow. I mean, in my mind, i always thought that this job is only for the men. My spectacles nearly dropped. The taste of the prata is ok, not chao-ta, but think it will taste better if it's been cooked slightly longer. Anyway, i think many people who are queuing for prata are quite amazed too.

*****

I don't attend gym on Mondays anymore. My new schedule's is Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. I guess it's a good thing, since i know that my saturdays are free-up for various classes..... Looking forward to Combat this saturday. =)

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I'm using a new version of Blogger which is called Beta. Actually there isn't much difference. Ok, there's a small wee bit of difference. But i still love blogging. =)