Hike with a heart
ST 1 Dec 2006
Govt fees won't change for a year; GST to be absorbed for
education, healthcare
Lin Yanqin
[email protected]
THE Government will continue to absorb
the Goods and Services Tax (GST) levied on education and subsidised
healthcare services after the GST goes up from 5 to 7 per cent,
while Government fees will not change for one year after the
hike.
.
This was announced by Second Minister for Finance Tharman
Shanmugaratnam (picture) during a Channel NewsAsia forum
yesterday.
.
"(Health Minister) Khaw Boon Wan has already asked the Government
to absorb GST on healthcare. We will do that. We will absorb GST on
healthcare as well as on education. On top of that, we will have no
fee increases for a year starting from the time of the imposition
of the GST," he said.
.
This means that public school fees, HDB
car park fees, conservancy charges and business licence fees remain
unchanged for one year after the GST increase.
.
The move was welcomed by MP and National Trades Union Congress
(NTUC) assistant secretary-general Halimah Yacob. "If they do
absorb healthcare it would be a tremendous help because people are
very concerned about that," she said. "Our population is ageing,
and more and more people are seeking healthcare services."
.
She was more concerned about higher-level education costs, she
added. "Education should be accessible to all, and preferably so
when it comes to education at post-secondary levels. Polytechnics
and universities are expensive, so I hope they will do something
there."
.
A National University of Singapore spokesperson said the university
will "assess the impact of the proposed increase when the
implementation details are announced by the Government next year",
before deciding on a course of action, if any.
.
NTUC FairPrice will also wait for the details of the offset package
to be released before deciding whether to absorb the GST increase
like it did the last time GST was raised.
.
"Apart from absorbing GST, there are other measures," said Mdm
Halimah. "My union, for example, gave out hundreds of thousands'
worth of education bursaries and back-to-school vouchers.
Collectively, we have already been giving assistance, and this will
continue."
.
Meanwhile, several members of the public were glad that GST on
healthcare and education would be absorbed.
.
"It's definitely a relief, because healthcare is something that
affects everybody. It's a basic need. If you need to see a doctor,
you really have no choice," said a boutique owner in her late
30s.
.
Others disagreed. "For me, absorbing tax healthcare doesn't really
affect me it's something more helpful for the elderly," said Mr S
W Wong, 38, who has two young children in pre-school. "But they
won't absorb taxes for petrol, or transport."
.
Mr Y H Tan, 35, who is in sales, agreed. "It's basic necessities
that shouldn't be taxed because it will be lower-income groups that
will feel it the most," he said.
.
The Government has already announced that the offset package will
shield the less well-off from the extra burden of the GST. But
absorbing it directly on "necessities" would be difficult, said Mdm
Halimah. "Take, for example, rice. Do you subsidise the more
expensive brands of rice?"
Govt fees won't change for a year; GST to be absorbed for
education, healthcare
Lin Yanqin
[email protected]
Should have posted this in a Joke Forum instead. People should
count it as a blessing (at least for 1 year) that government fees
will remain after GST increased
