7/21/2014

The most evil form of taxes

I have not seen a hospital bill for a long time. I am still wondering whether these bills are subject to GST. Anyone got any idea on this? I can’t imagine that people who are sick, some dying and seeking medical treatments would have to pay GST. I hope I am wrong, being taxed when one is sick and suffering from terminal illnesses. Such bills are often in tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. A 7% GST on $100k is $7,000!
 

What about those suffering from diabetes and kidney problems that need regular dialysis? Are they paying GST as well on their bills?
 

And with the push and pleading by the govt for more baby makings, and with a tin of baby milk powder costing $50 or more, would anyone think it is timely to remove GST from baby food at the very least.
If medical bills and baby food are still being taxed, would the prudent govt start to have a change of heart and reconsider if such life and death items be taxed exempted? Too troublesome and difficult to work out and need 56 man years?


Kopi Level - Green

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

/// If medical bills and baby food are still being taxed, would the prudent govt start to have a change of heart and reconsider if such life and death items be taxed exempted? ///

ROFL.
When pigs fly.

I hope it does not require 56 man years for Singaporeans to vote out this sorry excuse of a government.

Anonymous said...

Because the ministers' pay are too high. They need to collect more tax to feed them. So you know what to do when 2016 come.

Anonymous said...

That's why you should go over to JB when you are sick.

No GST.

And the sinking Dinggit will get you more for your dollar.

Anonymous said...


I think patients pay NO GST on their bills........

BUT....I think most of the
items and medications used by
patients supplied to the
hospitals and clinics from
suppliers should had already GSTed......

Anonymous said...

GST is an evil idea that is formulated to screw us literally 'from the womb to the grave' and beyond.

For every $2K expenses sinkies pay $140 in GST. Multiply that by 12 for a year and you can see why they are reducing personal income taxes over the years and resorting to increading GST. Sure, they give you a few peanuts, like giving lollipops to kids, to pacify them temporarily for a few yers, and then it is money in the bank forever and ever. How much income tax were most lower income workers paying compared to what GST has taken from their pockets?

Anonymous said...

And not to forget that when you stop working, you stop paying income tax.

But with GST, working or not, you just pay and pay and they just take and take.

Anonymous said...

Many ideas are meant to tax the rich and relief the poor, just like RobinHood. Very noble. But wait and look closer, the objective of GST, COE, ERP, Medisave, Medishield are all complex models that benefit very few. Who benefits from all these? Looks like government for sure.

Anonymous said...

80,000 civil servants, median salary how much? Annually $8b or more?

Anonymous said...

First vote out PAP.
Then we Singaporeans can work with a more transparent government to clean up the mess created by PAP and LKY.

Anonymous said...

"I can’t imagine that people who are sick, some dying and seeking medical treatments would have to pay GST."
RB

But it happened even before 2011.

Yet 60% were happy and satisfied to vote for PAP in GE 2011.

U can't imagine? Carry on can't imagine lah.

oldhorse42 said...

tin of baby powder costing $50 or more, RB ??????????????

I almost died of shock when I read this. I think RB is talking about milk powder and not baby powder.
There is a lots of difference between the two - one can be taken by baby whilst the other cannot.

As for gst on medical bills, I checked my latest medical bill and saw the remark " GST at 7% is absorbed by the Singapore Govt.

Well I am sure that our rich govt can also absorb GST for baby milk powder. Just press hard for it~!

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Thank you oldhorse. At least you are reading. Old horse not blind. My fingers were moving too fast. But all of you know what I meant. Ok will correct the error.

Thanks, and kopi for you.

Anonymous said...

I confirmed with someone that private hospital bills, GST included.

Virgo49 said...

My younger son suffered from Type I
Diabetes since the age of thirteen.

Warded at that time, said no B2 ward available. So asked for B1 ward.

Now at age 30 have to go annual check up four times a year under B1 so called "private" class patient at specialist clinic.

Each visit nearly four hundred plus dollars. Working but not advantage of Company's medical benefits for this chronic sickness.

Had declared to the HR and interviewer at time of application of job. Even take own annual leave for check up.

Asked to downgrade to B2/C class patient. Cannot as warded at that time under B1 class patient. So till now have to pay private patient rates. Each time pay GST and even medicines not classified as standard drugs had to get them at private dispensary.

So per annum about nearly thousand plus dollars excluding GST.

Luckily or unluckily can use my spouse plus mine and his medisave savings. Sibling not allowed.

If those earning low income, real strain. Now already seventeen years paid nearly 25K for medical expenses excluding GST from 3 percent to now 7 percent.

Even when he started working, suppose to automatically cover DPS. The insurance companies even reject his coverage. Had to kpkb to CPF Board and in the end under instruction from the Board they covered him but with exceptions.

I said why exceptions, DPS is like a PA. Why exceptions?? They really cherry picked.

So, think carefully under Medisheld Life. If you opted for Class B1, after outpatient you are going to pay B1 private patient rates per visit to the specialist clinics.

Unless you have IP and other rider, then advisable to opy for class C and B2.

b said...

Must charge all locals and foreigners and give back as gst rebate to locals. Rationale: There are too many foreigners here using the medical facilities so they must pay their share of tax. This is how smart out gov is ($$$). Unfortunately, the gst rebate given back is too little.

b said...

A better option is to allow locals to claim back the gst.

b said...

All milk products in spore are highly inflated and sometimes wonder are they attracting luxury tax. If u go oz, nz, eu or us, their milk products are many times lower. Someone up there controlling the market and limiting competition so that their pockets are forever overflowed.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Sickness and illnesses are not self inflicted injury for some spurious purposes. They are not something desired. And many of these are very costly under the current regime. I always like to compare kidney dialysis as a life sentence and a heavy financial burden on the affected.

The govt must seriously review its policies on how to regard such illnesses and how to subsidise the patients. It is no joke paying for a life time of medicine and treatment.

Anonymous said...

"The govt must seriously review its policies on how to regard such illnesses and how to subsidise the patients."
RB 3:10 pm

But how many people or Sinkies with such illness and need kidney dialysis?

Even if they or their families are unhappy with PAP for not giving enough subsidies, are there enough of them to vote PAP out?

Are there more Sinkies who are rich, healthy and satisfied with PAP? If I were PM Lee, this is what matters more.

Tio bo, u tell me lah.

Anonymous said...

It is not difficult to make 60% Sinkies happy and satisfied out of 5 or even 6.9 million population lah.

If there are not enough real Sinkies, just simply get foreigners from the whole, wide, world to become Sinkies lah. Whole, wide, world u know, so sure can get some what, tio bo?

Anonymous said...

I have been at NUH for 6 surgeries since 2010 and I can confirm I paid 7% GST on EVERY bill!

Anonymous said...

"The govt must seriously review its policies on how to regard such illnesses and how to subsidise the patients."

ROFL.
Better is;
"Singaporeans must seriously review our choice of political leaders because they will decide the policies on how to subsidize the patients."

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Thank you anon 5:10. That confirms the GST on medical bills. The more serious the illness, the bigger the bills, the heftier the tax.

Is it right to tax on the sick and those dying? It is a sick tax!

Anonymous said...

@ July 21, 2014 8:55 pm
"Is it right to tax on the sick and those dying? It is a sick tax!"
redbean


“What’s wrong with collecting more money?”
Lee Kuan Yew

http://sgtalk.org/mybb/Thread-Ngiam-Tong-Dow-had-a-big-fight-with-Lee-Kuan-Yew-over-COE

So who is more powderful?
redbean or Lee Kuan Yew?

Anonymous said...

Of course LKY is more powerful. RD is just a kopi junkie who write for a cup of kopi or teh tarik. RB speaks the truth while the other one speaks ......?

Singaporean will always be at the mercy of the elite ministers in the government. Why are you quibbling over 7% GST when you have a caring group of ministers who are always thinking up ways to increase the national reserves. With the fantastic medical services provided in Singapore, there should not be any question of the 7% GST. Be happy people are well taken care of. The minister can afford this 7%, so why should they care whether the rest can pay or not.

Anonymous said...

Actually hah, this evil sick tax is just small evil. The real evil tax is the silent tax of CPF investment return. Everyone got taxed $1 million. And we don't even feel it. Real evil, right?

Anonymous said...

And we still wonder why some chose to jump to their deaths rather than be a burden to their children, this is the only place that sucks its citizens money dry, place 2nd class importance to its ppl, and can still smile doing it, taking as if its gods will to put such predicament on its locals, all this while still drawing their fat cheques.

Anonymous said...

Many Sinkies may hate this sick evil tax but only 40% hate it so much that they did not want to vote PAP. And that was in 2011 when prata N's salary was $4M a year.

Now KFC Tan's salary is only $1M or so a year. So logically, I think less Sinkies are angry now than in 2011. And with more opposition parties now due to Hainan Ah Ko, all these will be in favour of PAP in coming election, tio bo?

Anonymous said...

Hainan Ah Ko Tan split the votes in PE 2011 for KFC Tan to come first (number of votes) and won with only 35% votes!

So will Hainan Ah Ko Sinkie First party split the opposition votes in GE 2016 for PAP to come first (in number of votes) and win again?

Will history repeat itself?

agongkia said...

When I do sales,I always jack up the price from 1K to 1,200 and when asked for a discount,will give 200 as discount,still selling at 1 K.
Same goes to JST,can say I exempt you you but actually I have oredi raised the actual bill.

How come so many gongkias here.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Don't you people feel sorry for Tony Tan? He worked so hard and only got $1m. We are short changing him. So unfair.

Anonymous said...

/// He worked so hard and only got $1m ///

Not happy, resign lah.
There are many 3rd world talents who can replace him at half his current salary.
Many Singaporeans will be happy to do it at a quarter of his salary.

Anonymous said...

RB, KFC Tan really worked hard meh? Are you sure or not? Is the job too hard or did he find the easy job too hard?

Whenever I see him, like his predecessor, just shaking hands and waving seems to be a chore to them. $1M is already too much. I am sure there are thousands here willing to do the hand shaking and waving at a quarter of that salary.

By the way, if such easy chores as mentioned above is too difficult for him, just resign lor? Maybe we can get a foreigner for the job at just a few thousand dollars a month. Such foreigners can be cheaper, faster and better at shaking hands anc more energetic in waving hands.

Anonymous said...

He is guarding your CPF money you know.

Anonymous said...

All the ministers and MPs think it is right to tax on the sick. That is the level of thinking among these caring people.

Anonymous said...

"He is guarding your CPF money you know"

No wonder Roy thinks our CPF all gone with such people doing the guarding. Ai-si, ai-si, boh lak, kia lor sian ai puak toh.