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Younger Singaporeans and Tax Burdens

Shanmugam is the law minister and also foreign affairs minister, and he is out of his depth outside of these areas. Recently, he is like me and most of us, he talked a lot of cock regarding income and tax. A $1,000 household income is enough to afford a BTO HDB flat after factoring housing grants. Of course one who knows his plebeian lot in life and is not fussy about a life-long mortgage can afford a 2-room BTO in some corner of Singapore with no MRT within walking distance, but not enough for food, transport, utilities for the family perhaps. Then a few days ago he said younger Singaporeans should not be burdened with taxes. Which is good in intention and I almost thumped my chest with my fist in affirmation to his ideals.

However, the law minister was talking specifically about Singapore's income tax, which is truly among the lowest in the world, and along with low corporate tax is part of the PAP's golden plan to bring in FDI and talents into Singapore. Nevertheless, Singaporeans young and old, are taxed in other ways. Tax by other names.

Consumption tax like the GST is one and it is especially hurting in its current form as there is only one level of tax for essential or luxury goods and services. True the current 7% GST is low compared to other developed nations e.g. the roughly 20% in Nordic countries, but GST is regressive taxation and the lower income are relatively taxed more than the higher income. Still the PAP assured that they would not raise taxes until at least 5 more years as part of an election vote-winner, so good thing there. BTW you know if we assume younger Singaporeans because they just entered the workforce and don't earn as much compared to those who worked longer, all things equal, GST means they are arguably taxed more even!

When the younger Singaporean buys a home. He is also taxed. The last I know stamp duty aka tax when one buys HDB or private property, is age-blind for first property owners. Stamp duty is progressive and can be hefty. As far as I know, there is no discount for "younger Singaporeans" who just bought their new home. Whether they should get a discount in stamp duty if they buy a BTO vs a resale HDB vs a private property is a different complex social-economic manipulation altogether. But the bottom line is, younger generation, lets say those below 30 or 35, are taxed as much as those who upgraded their property (excluding investment property owners where there are various market-cooling stamp duties). BTW it is the same with property tax. I didn't know there was relief for "younger Singaporeans".

Keeping an eye on the ball, younger Singaporeans are already burdened with tax, just the same, if not more, than older Singaporeans. And Shanmugam.defended that younger Singaporeans should not shoulder a bigger tax burden for the less privileged in Singapore. Of course not, They should't. The more well-off should shoulder that burden instead.

Younger S'poreans should not be burdened with taxes: K Shanmugam
By Dylan Loh | Posted: 11 March 2012 1827 hrs

SINGAPORE: Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said that the government does not want younger Singaporeans to be saddled with tax burdens, even as the elderly are looked after.

He said it's important to balance the country's revenue and expenditure.

Mr Shanmugam was responding to the recently concluded Budget Debate in Parliament, at the sidelines of a community event at the Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency.

Mr Shanmugam said the government wants a society which looks after one another, especially those who can't help themselves.

"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.

This year's doubling of health care spending and help for the low income as well as disabled, all point towards an inclusive approach.

But at the same time, the accounts do not go unchecked.

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."

Mr Shanmugam said currently a significant part of taxes are paid by foreigners who are easily mobile, and by the better-off.

But the government also ensures that tax rates in Singapore remain competitive.

And rather than increasing taxes, he noted that the government would rather people keep their money and support those in need, for a truly inclusive society.

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."

TRE Trolls Are Not Safe - TRE Sells You Out!

 Poor Gary, lost his job, lost his hair, lost face and lost faith in TRE!

TR and its latest rebranding, TRE, supposed champion of Singaporean voices, yawn, does not protect you and your privacy. You are an idiot if you believe that TRE truly protects your anonymity when you comment in their website! TR previously swore that they would not reveal IP addresses of its fans who praise its shitty articles and shitted on the PAP and its cronies. Well, ask poor Gary Yue Mun Yew what he thinks about that promise of anonymity. Mr Yue got sacked from his job, and fined, lucky did not get thrown into jail too.

TRE is full of shit and what drives it is publicity and the visits to its website, to earn ad revenue. The more controversy it attracts by its sensationalist rumours and crazy comments, the more clicks to its website. TRE encouraged idiots like Gary Yue to go amok in the comments as it is generally good for business. However if the police wants the IP address of such idiots, TRE knows it has a good business model going and does not want to spoil it, and therefore gives up personal information when they have to. Why be forced to close down when all they have to do is sacrifice some gullible idiots?

Furthermore, if any other gullible TRE trolls have not realised by now, TRE has faked its stories of being DDOS or attacked constantly. Boring. All part of the grand sympathy plan. and we are attacked because we are the true voice of Singaporeans scam. KNS. TOC or Publichouse never DDOS ever despite them being more true voice of Singaporeans than TRE!

 

Man fined S$8,500 for inciting violence online
Updated 03:30 PM Mar 12, 2012

SINGAPORE - An unemployed man has been fined S$8,500 for inciting violence online.

In what's believed to be the first trial of its kind in Singapore, the court heard that 36-year-old Gary Yue Mun Yew posted a video clip depicting the assassination of former Egyptian President Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat on the Facebook page of socio-political website Temasek Review on August 9, 2010 at about 3.00 pm.

Along with the video, Yue wrote the comment: "We should re-enact a live version of this on our own grand-stand during our national's (sic) parade!".

The former engineer at Singapore Technologies was also found guilty of using a photograph deemed to incite violence on his Facebook profile in late July or early August 2010.

The picture depicted Vietnamese General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet cong prisoner.

The head of former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister, Wong Kan Seng, was superimposed on the image of the prisoner. The People's Action Party logo was also displayed on the prisoner's chest.

On each count, Yue could have faced up to five years' jail or a fine, or both.

In sentencing, District Judge Low Wee Ping made it clear that the charges were based on the acts of posting electronic documents that contained incitement of violence.

This, the judge stressed, was a big difference from the act of inciting violence itself.

Yue's lawyers had argued that he had no intent to incite violence through the posting and that the video clip was not effective in inciting violence.

But the judge said these are irrelevant.

Under Section 267 of the Penal Code, the charges Yue faced, were strictly liability offences.

The judge made it clear that the Youtube video and Yue's comment were "without doubt, an incitement to political assassination of persons on the grand-stand" on National Day.

And this was relevant in sentencing.

So he found Yue guilty on both charges and fined him S$6,000 for posting the video clip and another S$2,500 for posting the doctored photograph on his Facebook profile.

In his submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sanjiv Vaswani had urged the court to impose a nine month jail term for Yue on the charge of posting the assassination video clip.

He said this was in line with the criminal intimidation sentencing benchmark.

But defence lawyers countered that the video did not have broad exposure, that it was only established three weeks after the incident that an individual had reported the posting to authorities.

As for criminal intimidation, the defence counsel pointed out that the essence of the offence is that harm is done, which was not the case here.

The defence counsel added that although the video posting was made on National Day, it had absolutely no chance of fruition.

He told the court that the act was "a grandiose statement, hyperbolic, surreal" and the exclamation marks at the end of the comment underlined those facts.

The defence counsel noted that this case is the first of its kind in Singapore, so it is easy for the court to make an example out of the accused.

But he urged the judge not to give a custodial sentence as Yue has already lost his job and has to take care of his elderly father who is unwell.

But DPP Sanjiv argued that it would be cheap to slap Yue with a fine, given the fact that self-radicalisation is a threat.

So, he said a custodial sentence is "imperative to set the sign that such acts will not be condoned".

The district judge said the sentence to be imposed has a wide spectrum and he found that Yue has more personal mitigating factors than aggravating ones, so a fine is liable.

What Holistic Education?

Singapore's education is arguably solid internationally according to PISA standards at least in primary school maths. Although it has no mercy for those who are slower if you hear the anecdotes on how students and parents are equally stressed about schoolwork. Tsk Tsk Tsk

MOE now wants to dabble in "holistic education", nice fancy wordplay for something to learn beyond maths, science and languages. However, MOE's quest for holistic education is going to flop even before it starts particularly if holistic education classes are outside of regular curriculum time. It's a fact that most parents don't give a shit about anything that is not graded.

They just want their kids to get A* in Math, Science, English and 2nd language and then go on to a "branded" rather than a "neighbourhood" school, and preferably one with an IP. We hear stories of parents sending their children to all sorts of enrichment and tuition classes just to give their Johns and Janes a headstart over the other kids in life. Except that the other parents and kids are also doing the same thing as it is the norm, which means nobody is really ahead of anybody. Not ahead of anybody except parents who don't care about the race, or don't have the money to keep up with the kiasu pack.

Minister outlines MOE's plans for holistic education
Posted: 08 March 2012 2350 hrs

SINGAPORE: Education Minister Heng Swee Keat has outlined his ministry's plans to create a holistic education system and one where no child is left behind.

Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Mr Heng said that to prepare our students for the future, education must develop the whole person.

"It is less about content knowledge, as content will have to be re-learnt and even un-learnt during one's lifetime," he said.

"It is more about how to process information, discern truths from untruths, connect seemingly disparate dots, and create knowledge even as the context changes. It is about developing an enduring core of competencies, values and character to anchor our young and ensure they have the resilience to succeed."

"Developing the whole child must first begin with instilling the right character and values. We must adopt a student-centric, values-driven approach," added Mr Heng.

And to reflect the emphasis on a holistic, values-driven education, Mr Heng said that there will be a new Edusave Character Award to recognise students who exhibit exemplary values, such as resilience and tenacity, integrity, care and respect, as well as civic responsibility.

The minister said the Community Involvement Programme is an important part of character building as it builds a spirit of volunteerism.

It will therefore be enhanced and reframed as Values in Action to place a stronger emphasis across all schools on the inculcation of values through community involvement.

Under Values in Action, students will undertake personal and group reflections to discuss their experience and the role they can play in the community.

Students will be encouraged to choose community issues they are concerned about, understand them better and decide how they can make a difference.

Schools will also be encouraged to develop 4-year or 6-year development plans to move towards more sustainable learning through community involvement.

To ensure opportunities for all students, the Ministry of Education is significantly increasing its coverage of financial support for needy students.

More funds will also be given to financial assistance schemes.

The income limit for eligibility for the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme or FAS will be raised from S$1,500 to S$2,500.

Besides assessing applicants by household income, the ministry will assess them using a new Per Capita Income (PCI) criterion so that more students from larger families can qualify.

This means that students from households with a per capita income not exceeding S$625 per month will now be eligible.

For example, a family of six comprising two children, two parents and two grandparents living together, with a monthly income of S$3,600 (that is, per capita income of S$600) will now qualify.

Schools will also be given additional annual grants of up to S$15,000 per school every year, for the next three years.

This will allow schools to provide additional targeted support in specific ways or to students who might have just missed the FAS criteria but are deserving.

The ministry will also triple the annual funding allocated to the School Breakfast Programme, from S$4 million to S$12 million.

This is to ensure children do not start their day on an empty stomach.

However Education Minister Heng said: "But let me emphasise. It is not just about money, but an integrated approach, addressing financial, socio-emotional and learning support, in partnership with parents and the broader community.

"Ultimately, being inclusive is about giving each child the best opportunity to realise his or her potential, and in turn be able to fully participate in the workplace and in society thereafter."

The ministry will also grow the number of school-based student care centres over the next two years.

The ministry is looking to increase the number of student care centres located within schools from the current 57 to 70 by 2014.

The centres provide structured care for students, whether it's help with homework or with problems at home.

Constant interaction between the centre's staff and school teachers also means potential problems can be flagged quickly.

These centres are just one way in which the Education Ministry is lifting up students who fall behind.

The ministry also has learning support programmes in primary schools to pull up those weak in English and Maths.

Such early intervention programmes are also in place in preschools, where students from disadvantaged families are given help in English.

About 6,000 children have gone through the scheme, and another 2,200 will be included this year.

Besides helping the low-income, the ministry will also raise the level of resources to schools for them to offer more customised programmes for students.

Addressing the anxiety of parents over getting their child into a good school, Mr Heng outlined improvements made over the years, adding that his aim is to ensure that all schools are good schools.

Budget "Cutted" for Reservists!

Sure, sure, sure. NSF get more money. More money for them to spend on girls and drinks, or whatever is fun nowadays for horny, testosterone-filled guys. This Budget is actually quite pathetic if you are a reservist still stuck in your 10-year cycle, waiting for that gold watch and letter confirming your MR status!

Nobody has questioned - WTF do we reservists get? Those who voted for PAP, this is what you get. Just last year we were raving and bitching about foreigners here for a free ride, while most of us guys who have not sought a specialist yet for a downgrade in medical status, have to do ICT and IPPT.

This Budget, under a new defence minister, we didn't get more money if we pass our annual IPPT. I thought they wanted us to keep fit? Where's the incentive?

We also didn't get any one-off big income tax relief or better, an increase in the NSmen tax relief claimable from the current $1,500 and $3,000 for the non-ICT and ICT year respectively. WTF! We are not even asking for tax rebate, just a tax relief also don't have. KNS As citizens with responsibilities, I thought we were supposed to be more privileged than the PRs? Where's our reward for doing ICT?

There was nothing even for those who MRed. We complained before that the old soldiers should also be acknowledged when Mindef bragged 2 years ago that there would be CPF top-ups for those at the start, mid and end points of their ICT tour-of-duty. This is the 45th year of NS right? No CPF top-up or token tax relief either for those who unwillingly served till the end? Where's the appreciation?

Rank allowance up by S$60 for NSFs, NSmen

by Amir Hussain

04:46 AM Mar 07, 2012

SINGAPORE - The monthly National Service (NS) rank allowance will be increased by S$60 across all ranks starting next month, as part of efforts to recognise the contributions of national servicemen, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen in Parliament yesterday.

The increase applies to full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) and Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen) across the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force.

With the increase, a recruit will receive a monthly NS rank allowance of S$480, while a Lieutenant will get S$1,180. The last review of the NS allowance was in 2009, when it was increased by S$20.

Responding to questions from Members of Parliament as to whether the duration of NS could be reduced, Dr Ng stressed yesterday that "NSmen are not the second line of defence". "When needed, they are the first responders to protect Singapore when our survival is threatened. We need an adequate duration to train and prepare NSmen for their roles effectively," he added.

The reduction in NS duration in 2004 corresponded with the transformation of the 3rd Generation SAF, as well as a surge in NS intake between 2006 and 2015. But cohort size will fall from 2016, and Dr Ng said the effects of this transition has to be closely monitored. "Therefore, until further review, we should maintain the two years needed for full-time NS, and 10 years for Operationally Ready NS (ORNS), so as to bring our soldiers and units up to the level of operational readiness required to maintain a credible SAF," he added.

The Defence Ministry (MINDEF) is also looking at other ways to extend professional development opportunities to regular servicemen. For example, the SAF has joined hands with Nanyang Polytechnic to introduce a Certificate in Business Management programme for warrant Officers, specialists and military experts. The bridging programme provides these officers with a foundation in the study of business management and, upon successful completion, servicemen would qualify for direct entry into the Diploma in Business Management.

The SAF also plans to extend its online platform, LEARNet, progressively over the next five years to about 80 other units to allow servicemen access to learning resources through portable devices.

To commemorate 45 years of National Service, MINDEF will also engage Singaporeans to post their NS experiences on the NS45 website and through an online story competition, "My NS Story", which closes next month. Besides the online competition, MINDEF's mobile NS showcase will also tour the heartlands after May's Army Open House at the F1 Pit Building.