Originally Posted by tomder55
GST (Goods & Services Tax )is also known as Consuption Tax by some and a Value Added Tax(VAT) by others . In Singapore it mostly applies to purchases of foreign goods. The theory is that the government can get taxes through the sales of goods indirectly and then can reduce the rates of other direct taxes like taxes on incomes. Besides Singapore other local nations like Australia and New Zealand ,and Malaysia have a simular tax format.
Since implemented it has been raised from 3% to about 7% in Singapore . I have no opinion on it's effectiveness in Singapore but I am watching with interest as there are more and more nations;especially in East Europe ,are willing to go to an alternative besides income taxes. One benefit to the government would be that the tax collecting responsibility shifts from the government to business. But I'm not sure the businesses appreciate being the tax man.
My biggest concern would be that the government would add it without reducing or eliminating other parts of it's tax confiscation matrix. Too many governments rely on muti-tiered schemes to pick our pockets as it is