PM Lee said that the GST increase would help finance enhanced social safety nets to help lower-income Singaporeans.
He also 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 gobalisation had led to a widening income gap in Singapore, and Singaporeans would have to deal with its impact.
Taken from http://news.asiaone.com.sg.
To Singaporeans, what matters is the present, not the future, therefore they do not look at how the hike would help in long term, and only how it affects them now. They feel that the Government only wants to "earn" their money, especially the lower-income people, who is already complaining about the heavy amount of taxes they have to pay. The government do think of the lower-income people, therefore they introduce the GST Offset Package.
I believe that the GST Offset Package introduced will help the lower income in the long run. The GST Offset Package is a set of comprehensive measures to help Singaporeans with the increase in GST, with more for lower-income Singaporeans. With the Offset Package introduced, there will be many bonuses, rebates, credits and subsidies for Singaporeans, and this will relieve Singaporeans from the taxes that they have to pay. In long terms, the lower-income people may receive up to $1000 from GST credits, HDB household rebates of up to $1020, property tax rebate of $100. Besides the rebates, the government is also giving out more monetary assistances to the lower-income people. The government is also paying out a lot of money to aid the lower-income people.
- Public Transport Fund
The Government will commit $10 million to a Public Transport Fund (PTF), to be set up in October 2007, to be given out over 3 years to help lower income households cope with their public transport costs where necessary.
- Assistance through Citizens’ Consultative Committees (CCCs), Self-Help Groups and VWOs
The CCC ComCare Fund will receive a top-up of $5 million over 5 years to provide flexible assistance to low-income families who may face financial difficulties following the GST increase. In addition, the Government will provide $3 million over 5 years for Government-funded VWO programmes and $2 million over 5 years to the Self-Help Groups to support their efforts to help lower-income Singaporean families.
-Additional Subsidies for Healthcare, Education and Service and Conservancy Charges
The Government will continue to absorb the GST on subsidised education at $40 million a year, healthcare services at $12 million a year and will provide additional grants of $10 million a year to Town Councils to absorb GST payable on S&CC.
All this shows the efforts the government is putting in to help out the lower-income people.Taken from --
The increase in GST will also help Singapore in terms of investments, to finance the spendings, when technology improves, which will happen over the next 5 to 10 years. And as the economy is doing quite well now, it is better to make use of the opportunity to increase the GST, so that there will be sufficient money for the government for development. With sufficient money, if economy is to decline in the future, the government will be able to cope and react well.Therefore, i feel that what the government is doing is right, and that the GST hike will help out in the long run.
