Many people said - "We have a budget surplus of $9.6 billion n 2017. There is no need to increate GST. Let us keep it at 7%.
I disagree.
We should not keep GST at 7%. We should remove GST totally.
Why?
If we remove GST totally, we will reduce the cost of living by 9% to 10%. 7% is from GST directly. Another 2% to 3% is from the additional cost that business has to incur to handle the accounting for GST. The business pass this cost to the consumers.
If GST is removed, how does the government find another $11 billion in tax revenue to replace it?
They do not need to replace this tax revenue. They collect $20 to $30 billion each year from the sale of land.
The finance minister might argue that the sale of land is "capital" item and should not be counted as "recurring revenue". If that is the case, I ask the finance minister - why are you taking the cost of building roads and MRT as "current expenses". They amount to a large part of the $13.7 billion allocated to transport. These are also capital items and can be funded separately.
The cost of living and the cost of business has been increasing for the past 30 years. GST is an important factor that contributes to this situation. It is time to remove GST totally.
Do you agree?
I disagree.
We should not keep GST at 7%. We should remove GST totally.
Why?
If we remove GST totally, we will reduce the cost of living by 9% to 10%. 7% is from GST directly. Another 2% to 3% is from the additional cost that business has to incur to handle the accounting for GST. The business pass this cost to the consumers.
If GST is removed, how does the government find another $11 billion in tax revenue to replace it?
They do not need to replace this tax revenue. They collect $20 to $30 billion each year from the sale of land.
The finance minister might argue that the sale of land is "capital" item and should not be counted as "recurring revenue". If that is the case, I ask the finance minister - why are you taking the cost of building roads and MRT as "current expenses". They amount to a large part of the $13.7 billion allocated to transport. These are also capital items and can be funded separately.
The cost of living and the cost of business has been increasing for the past 30 years. GST is an important factor that contributes to this situation. It is time to remove GST totally.
Do you agree?
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