Many Singaporeans do not mind GST but they like it to be exempted for food and medical care.
They do not realize that this will add to the cost of administration significantly. Imagine every retail outlet having to determine which items are subject to GST and which are exempt.
There is already a high cost of accounting for GST. If certain items are to be exempted, all invoicing system used by retail and F&B outlets will have to be re-programmed to differentiate the individual items.
We can expect this exercise to take several months to implement and the cost of changes in computer systems to be quite significant.
I know that some countries have already implemented this differentiation. Yes, they have incurred this high cost already. For us, we have to increase this cost now.
If we want to compare different countries, there are many other costs that are incurred in Singapore that they do not have to face. For example, we have different rates of charges for medical fees, different contribution rates to CPF, different wages for local and foreign workers.
Our aim should be to reduce the heavy cost of compliance and not to add more cost. Already, we have perhaps the highest cost of doing business in the world.
What should be the approach towards GST? We should abolish it totally and replace it with selective consumption taxes. Definitely, food and medical fees will not be taxed under this new approach.
An example of a selective consumption tax is the vehicle tax, which has been a part of the tax system in Singapore for many decades. And it is a big ticket item.
Instead of asking for certain items to be exempted from GST, be bold and ask for GST to be abolished and replaced with selective consumption taxes.
This is explained in this post.
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=1157
Do you agree? Remember to submit your vote.
They do not realize that this will add to the cost of administration significantly. Imagine every retail outlet having to determine which items are subject to GST and which are exempt.
There is already a high cost of accounting for GST. If certain items are to be exempted, all invoicing system used by retail and F&B outlets will have to be re-programmed to differentiate the individual items.
We can expect this exercise to take several months to implement and the cost of changes in computer systems to be quite significant.
I know that some countries have already implemented this differentiation. Yes, they have incurred this high cost already. For us, we have to increase this cost now.
If we want to compare different countries, there are many other costs that are incurred in Singapore that they do not have to face. For example, we have different rates of charges for medical fees, different contribution rates to CPF, different wages for local and foreign workers.
Our aim should be to reduce the heavy cost of compliance and not to add more cost. Already, we have perhaps the highest cost of doing business in the world.
What should be the approach towards GST? We should abolish it totally and replace it with selective consumption taxes. Definitely, food and medical fees will not be taxed under this new approach.
An example of a selective consumption tax is the vehicle tax, which has been a part of the tax system in Singapore for many decades. And it is a big ticket item.
Instead of asking for certain items to be exempted from GST, be bold and ask for GST to be abolished and replaced with selective consumption taxes.
This is explained in this post.
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=1157
Do you agree? Remember to submit your vote.
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