Younger S'poreans should not be burdened with taxes: K Shanmugam
By Dylan Loh | Posted: 11 March 2012 1827 hrs
To read the full article
I can't say Shanmugam is a big lying fibber because he can and will sue my pants off so I'm not going to say it. To be fair, he probably didn't tell a single lie but still manage to pull wool's over the eyes of majority of the population. What a beautiful story that Shanmugam and PAP's prostitute press crafted together.
The headline of the article says:
Younger S'poreans should not be burdened with taxes
As a 'younger Singaporean', what a warm fuzzy feeling it gives me. I feel protected and loved by my motherland. In fact, I feel like taking the next flight back home and work my life away for the PAP. Their love for me alone shall take away all my troubles and pains and we shall live happily ever after.
Unfortunately the fairy tale ended after the headline. I shouldn't have proceed reading the rest of the article, knowing that that was the red pill I shouldn't be swallowing. I wondered how many people could see through the smog by using a bit of analytical thinking over what this CNA article says. To be frank, they didn't even make much effort for this cool story.
"There's a lot of debate on whether you can survive in Singapore on S$1,000 or S$850. We don't want anyone to earn that amount, which is why we give opportunities for people to upgrade themselves. And education is made, literally free, for those who can't afford to pay for it," he said.
First Shanmugam said upgrading is free for those who can't afford to pay for it. I wondered what kind of upgrading he meant. Free? Maybe he would like to give us a list of these upgrading courses and avenues for the folks who can't afford to upgrade, the very same folks who can't afford to buy newspaper to read what goodies Shanmugan think the government has for this group of people. So that we can help spread the awareness around instead of coping with the strange feeling of phantom courses lingering around. I also wondered who are the ones that the government considered 'can't afford to pay for it'. Someone earning $500 a month maybe.
Mr Shanmugam said: "When I talk to my grassroots leaders, I just did a walkabout in my constituency, we also have to send another message, which is that, only about 50 per cent of Singaporeans pay taxes.
"And you look at all the other fees and everything else that's collected, in terms of what the government gets, and what it spends, it's all in the book.
"And today if you look at it in those terms, in terms of the revenue and expenditure, it is something the government has to be careful about."
Basically, Mr Shanmugam has a purpose this week. To make sure as many Singaporeans know that 'only 50 per cent of Singaporeans pay taxes' and therefore it was echoed through the internet, television, newspaper and probably the radio (haven't heard) as well as word of mouth marketing by their dogs grassroot leaders.
Why do we need to know this? What is the PAP trying to achieve by spreading the word around? To make the locals feel happy? To change the minds of Singaporeans considering migration? Or to make xenophobic Singaporeans feel better with the fact that foreigners pay more taxes (according to the article). I really wonder.
I'm hardly convinced about the statistic brother. 50% of the Singaporeans pay taxes or 50% of the working Singaporeans pay taxes? Don't include all the ah ma and ah gong and ginna kias in the denominator to make the figure more impressive please.
The challenge for you Mr Shanmugam: Show us the figures. By the way we are not questioning you guys did something funny to the collected tax. Don't have to be over-eager to stress that you have be spending it wisely. Unless there is really something going on.. ?
He said: "We keep our tax rates competitive, 20 per cent at the top rate. Hong Kong is 15 per cent. If you go to UK, US, you know what their tax rates are?
"You're talking about 40 per cent, 50 per cent, people are talking about even higher. We don't want those kind of rates.
"We rather people keep their money and spend it as they like, buy insurance for their health and at the same time the government supports those who despite all the help, still need further help. So inclusive society."
I can't help laughing when I read this quote from him. Can we sue him for misleading the public? Why are we talking about this kind of figures where the headlines refers to 'younger Singaporeans'? We know that younger Singaporeans at the start of their career don't make as much money as the established mature group. We all very well know that only the top tier earners get taxed highly in 40-50% region in the countries that he quoted. If we are talking about younger British or younger Americans, are they taxed that kind of figures? Selective usage of figures eh?
And who says we don't want those kind of rates? Who are the 'we' that Mr Shanmugam referred to? The group of elites or the commoners? Not the commoners.
Yes, increase that tax to 50% for the top tier earners. We want that to happen Mr Shanmugam, so that you and your friends get a 50% tax and we can use the money to help the poor. We rather people like you don't keep your money and spend it as you like or buy healthcare insurance for your $8 heart bypass surgeries so that the government can use the money they tax from you guys to help the poor.
So inclusive society.
All being said, I rather Mr Shanmugam kept his mouth shut. Between indifference or hypocrisy, I choose the former.
I like it how PAP statements use a lot of words to say absolutely nothing.
ReplyDeleteafter the suing scare, people become more creative. haha
DeleteCrap headline by gahmen. always achieving they think can appease the singaporeans. Full of nonsense.
ReplyDeleteby the way, i love your blog! gave me the continuing motivation to migrate to somewhere else some day away frm sg.
We need to take note...
ReplyDeleteShame mentioned people only pay 50% taxes...
He is right...
But he either deliberately or make himself ignorant that pay other kinds of "taxes"...like GST, ERP, etc....all these other "taxes"...well Mr Shame to his shame just can't say...
A two headed snake he has shown those who can discern the type of character the PM of Singapore keeps very close to him...hopefully in the end the PM of Singapore won't get bitten in the back to his eternal regret...
How silly these mortals are...grubbing in the dirt for trinkets...when an imicable universe can't wait to make their loved one/children/grandchildren extinct...
And we have people like Mr. Shame doing also his little part to make mankind extinct.
Too bad.
Do you mean "inimicable"?
Delete1) next time you can use the 1 word 'presstitute" . more concise.
ReplyDelete2) sham say "only 50% pay taxes" is to rebuff those the increasing noise that people been saying "why are you using my tax-payer money to do this do that"...just another shameless tactics to make you pause next time you try to "own" every cents/dollars and hold them accountable.
3) sham say only 50% pay tax - he means income tax - likely true. we don't know..no figures to show. we know how creative accounting can get. even assuming we give him benefits of doubt, ALL singaporeans pay GST tax. including students, aged and unemployed on ALL essentials like healthcare, water/electricity etc that he conveniently left out
4) all in all - just another clever sound bites that doesn't bite.
Good article. As usual, the PAP thinks all Singaporeans are stupid or naive. They really haven't learnt any lesson from last year. Plonkers, really. Pity the Singaporeans that actually buy what they say.
ReplyDeletePAP isn't the only ones who haven't learnt their lessons. Their voters, as well.
Delete"Inclusive society" must be the most over-used and over-hyped words in the PAP government recent vocabulary. Really NATO!
ReplyDeleteEverybody pay tax in Singapore.
ReplyDeleteIt is called the Goods and Service Tax.
The CPF is also a form of tax, which means every working Singaporean/PR has a minimum tax rate of 34%.
I think Singapore is overall a good tax haven before including GST, ERP, EXPENSIVE PUBLIC HOUSING, HEALTHCARE, EVER INCREASING UTILIES, PETROL AND COE, except for our SALARIES. Hence if not for those nonsensical craps, I think most true born Singaporean will stay on. However, after considering those factor, I don't think its justified the end.
ReplyDeleteGenerally speaking, the papies like to quote things out of context to justified their agenda. They like to compare with G8. However, when come to social benefits and minister salaries, they just do away with lame excuses.
Frankly, if those people still has a sting of conscience they will ask, are we plundering the next generation future? Where have we channel most of the country's wealth to? Will we end up like Pinoy exported as maid and cheap labour to various part of Asia? Perhaps the future will tell.
Singapore gov't leaders are not leaders...but leechers...no sorry leechers are useful in the ecosystem...so yes they are worse than that...definitely low life parasites / flesh eating virus...sucking / swallowing greedily everything from their hosts until they either explode or find "new" hosts to suck & suck , swallow & swallow...what a stupid narrow lifes they have...super narrow path people who do not know what living is....and what life is truely all about until on their death beds they realize too late...
ReplyDeleteSilly. No worse...the purest stupidity everyone else can see.