Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Feedback to FISCA

If you have any feedback on FISCA, use the Enquiry tab at the FISCA website. It will be attended by the FISCA admin staff.

Business Mail - Overview

Here is an overview of Business Mail. It is written for businesses and consumers.
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GST and Government Spending

This article explains the share of GST to tax revenue and how it is spent. TKL Website

Sydney 13 to 23 May 2011

I will be in Sydney from 13 to 23 May on holidays. If any of my blog readers wish to meet me in Sydney, send an e-mail to kinlian@gmail.com. I will continue to update my blog, as the internet connection in Sydney should be quite good. However, it will not be as regular as when I am in Singapore.

FISCA website - buying a HDB flat

A FISCA committee member is writing a 3 part article giving tips on buying a HDB flat. Part 1 is now posted and is available to members after login. Go to www.easysearch.sg/fisca.

GST is unnecessary and bad

I have been against GST since its implementation. It is unnecessary and bad for Singapore. Here are my reasons.

a) There is no need to get revenue from GST in the first place. Unlike Western countries, Singapore does not provide much in welfare benefits, e.g. old age pension or unemployment benefit.
b) The Government already collect a lot of money from ERP, COE, land sale and foreign worker's levy.

So, the government does not really need this source of revenue. The introduction of GST (from 3%, 5% to 7%) has resulted in increase in the cost of living and added additional cost in compliance and collection. This also increased the cost of doing business.

I need your help to do some research for me, as follow:

a) How much is the GST collected in each year, and also the government surplus? (This will show that GST revenue is NOT necessary for Singapore)
b) Average income in Singapore and the number of taxpayers that earn above $100,000 and $500,000 a year.

I wish to write a paper to argue that GST should be scrapped entirely (and not just removed for essential items, or to reduce to 3% - as suggested by some opposition parties).

Tan Kin Lian

FISCA Educational talks

Here are the educational talks organized by FISCA in May 2011.
http://easyapps.sg/assn/Org/Event.aspx?id=5

These talks are educational and useful, and guide you on how to invest your savings to get a better return. The talks are sponsored by SGX, so you only pay a modest fee. They are conducted by FISCA, with the view of educating consumers to choose the right financial products.

Swan Lake - a great performance

A great performance of Swan Lake. This is the first classical score that I heard 50 years ago, and loved it over the years.  TKL website