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06-09-2015, 10:20 AM
An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQDxvLWhK9uZW5Mj&w=470&h=246&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.channelnewsasia.com%2Fimage%2 F2104778%2F1441466723000%2Flarge16x9%2F640%2F360%2 Fpap-tharman.jpg&cfs=1&upscale=1&sx=0&sy=8&sw=640&sh=335
SINGAPORE: With opposition parties presenting proposals galore ranging from free health care to handouts and a minimum wage, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam took to the rally stage on Saturday (Sep 5) night urging Singaporeans to “see through” such “false promises”.
“There is no country in the world that has been able to provide something for everyone without raising taxes for the middle-income group – not France, not Germany, not the UK,” said Mr Tharman, who is also the Minister forFinance.
“The middle classpays very high taxes in order that everyone gets something. It’s a very expensive system for the middle class - not just for the rich.”
Alluding to the Workers’ Party’s proposal to increase taxes on the wealthiest group, Mr Tharman said: “I’ve been studying it for years. You can’t do it by just taxing the top 1 per cent. That’s a bluff. First, because the top 1 per cent know how to movemoney around the world.
“But secondly, you can’t jack up thetax rate for the top 1 per cent without affecting the next 5 or 10 per cent.”
Mr Tharman, who was speaking at a People’s Action Party rally held at Petir Road in Bukit Panjang, said theGovernment took “very seriously” the concerns of social mobility, workforce inequality and the elderly who need support. It has worked to address these issues, and is continuing to do more.
“But let me make this very clear - we are doing it in a way that is fair, where the richpay more and the poor get more. We’re doing it in a way that is fair, because we’re not pushing the burden to the next generation, to our children and grandchildren. That is what fairness is about,” said the candidate for Jurong Group Representation Constituency.
THE MYTH OF EGALITARIAN ‘FREE’ SYSTEMS
Mr Tharman pointed out that in France, the average worker pays “well over 20 per cent” of his or her income to the government, in the form of income tax and a value-added tax.
It would be the equivalent of a median worker in Singapore, who earns about S$3,800 a month, paying S$850 in income tax and goods and services tax (GST), he said.
“So, when you think of free healthcare and free social services, you must realise it is not free. The average citizen is paying for it big time in these countries… because everybody, including the rich, is benefitting,” he added. “It is a complete myth to think they are egalitarian systems.”
In Singapore, for every S$1 that a middle-income family pays in tax in one form or another, they get back S$2 in subsidies – such as for education, healthcare and in retirement.
Compare that to Finland, said Mr Tharman, where for every $1 the middle-income group pays, they get back $1.30.
As for the bottom 10 per cent in Singapore, they get back S$6 in subsidies for every S$1 of tax – mainly GST – that they pay, he added. The top 10 per cent, meanwhile, get back 20 cents for every S$1 paid. “That’s what I call a fair system,” he said.
THE MYTH OF TAKING FROM INVESTMENT RESERVES
To ensure that a heavy burden is not placed on the middle-income group, Mr Tharman said the way was to keep income taxes “low or close to zero” for them and to “try as far as possible to keep GST low in years to come”.
But he called it a “myth” to think it was possible to draw more money from the investment reserves.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?215118-Knn-opposition-talk-bloody-cock!!!!&goto=newpost).
https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQDxvLWhK9uZW5Mj&w=470&h=246&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.channelnewsasia.com%2Fimage%2 F2104778%2F1441466723000%2Flarge16x9%2F640%2F360%2 Fpap-tharman.jpg&cfs=1&upscale=1&sx=0&sy=8&sw=640&sh=335
SINGAPORE: With opposition parties presenting proposals galore ranging from free health care to handouts and a minimum wage, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam took to the rally stage on Saturday (Sep 5) night urging Singaporeans to “see through” such “false promises”.
“There is no country in the world that has been able to provide something for everyone without raising taxes for the middle-income group – not France, not Germany, not the UK,” said Mr Tharman, who is also the Minister forFinance.
“The middle classpays very high taxes in order that everyone gets something. It’s a very expensive system for the middle class - not just for the rich.”
Alluding to the Workers’ Party’s proposal to increase taxes on the wealthiest group, Mr Tharman said: “I’ve been studying it for years. You can’t do it by just taxing the top 1 per cent. That’s a bluff. First, because the top 1 per cent know how to movemoney around the world.
“But secondly, you can’t jack up thetax rate for the top 1 per cent without affecting the next 5 or 10 per cent.”
Mr Tharman, who was speaking at a People’s Action Party rally held at Petir Road in Bukit Panjang, said theGovernment took “very seriously” the concerns of social mobility, workforce inequality and the elderly who need support. It has worked to address these issues, and is continuing to do more.
“But let me make this very clear - we are doing it in a way that is fair, where the richpay more and the poor get more. We’re doing it in a way that is fair, because we’re not pushing the burden to the next generation, to our children and grandchildren. That is what fairness is about,” said the candidate for Jurong Group Representation Constituency.
THE MYTH OF EGALITARIAN ‘FREE’ SYSTEMS
Mr Tharman pointed out that in France, the average worker pays “well over 20 per cent” of his or her income to the government, in the form of income tax and a value-added tax.
It would be the equivalent of a median worker in Singapore, who earns about S$3,800 a month, paying S$850 in income tax and goods and services tax (GST), he said.
“So, when you think of free healthcare and free social services, you must realise it is not free. The average citizen is paying for it big time in these countries… because everybody, including the rich, is benefitting,” he added. “It is a complete myth to think they are egalitarian systems.”
In Singapore, for every S$1 that a middle-income family pays in tax in one form or another, they get back S$2 in subsidies – such as for education, healthcare and in retirement.
Compare that to Finland, said Mr Tharman, where for every $1 the middle-income group pays, they get back $1.30.
As for the bottom 10 per cent in Singapore, they get back S$6 in subsidies for every S$1 of tax – mainly GST – that they pay, he added. The top 10 per cent, meanwhile, get back 20 cents for every S$1 paid. “That’s what I call a fair system,” he said.
THE MYTH OF TAKING FROM INVESTMENT RESERVES
To ensure that a heavy burden is not placed on the middle-income group, Mr Tharman said the way was to keep income taxes “low or close to zero” for them and to “try as far as possible to keep GST low in years to come”.
But he called it a “myth” to think it was possible to draw more money from the investment reserves.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?215118-Knn-opposition-talk-bloody-cock!!!!&goto=newpost).