Hong Kong's budget is truly for the people, unlike..........
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Originally posted by maurizio13:
Like how we sell our lands to foreigners and keep it in our extremely huge reserves like NKF?
At least Hong Kong government redistribute all her surplus to the citizens.
Hong Kong is not a country. You can either say Singapore is prudent or Hong Kong is extravagant. That said, I rather they distribute the profits from land sales as it is not a significant portion of our reserves and some ppl (don't mind me but I'm not saying you) can just STFU.
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agreed, there is always the issue of statehood vs city.
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SG WRONGLY ESTIMATED budget by 9 times.
HK is 6 times.
Anyone has crystal ball.
2.Will bird flu strike next month?Will somethings happen in Twiwan Strait in March?
Do u know the answers.
3.SG already estimate stamp duty income drops one third in 2008.So u know how they see the stock and property market!!
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Singapore is very similar to Germany where they preach restraint for others and line their pockets full for themselves.
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what HK think for their next generations?
nothings!!
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erhmmm....
has any sg'rean migrated to HK ?
what is the situation in this aspect?
HK liao ! HK liao ! HK all the way!!!
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Originally posted by udontknowme:
i dunno anything about singapore budget. mi dont care about singapore budget either. or course what u read LOOKS nice lar. where got pple so stupid will put something up that looks like shit one. u really think so caring meh? what makes u think it seems good even. u need to go to hongkong and live a while.
dunno what's with pple in singapore. readread info and soak it in only. but dunno anything else that's outside of what they read. and only know how to complain and whine that other places are so much better, get so much etc etc etc. but in reality, life in singapore is so much better than so many other places. tsk. so ignorant. never been to other places but wanna say life there is better. :roll:
i wasnt comparing. i was wondering what makes you think that what u read is so good. i was talking about Hongkong and hongkong oni. ur the one comparing, that's why you say it's good.
some pple oso bery stupid. earn money in singapore and go overseas for holiday. and come back and say that life in the country they went to is damn good because everything is cheap etc. but they must have conveniently forgotten about the bloody exchange rate and they also conveniently forgot to check how much the average person in that country earns.
what's disturbing is that our gahmen forecasted that they would have a deficit budget for 2007 and therefore need to raise the gst from 5 to 7% to get the money to help the needy.
in the end it was from a deficit of $0.5b to a surplus of $6.4b! i would think that the erroneous forecast only shows 2 things:
1) the gahmen are very bad in financial planning and management; and
2) they seemed very anxious in raising the gst.
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Originally posted by lotus999:
what's disturbing is that our gahmen forecasted that they would have a deficit budget for 2007 and therefore need to raise the gst from 5 to 7% to get the money to help the needy.
in the end it was from a deficit of $0.5b to a surplus of $6.4b! i would think that the erroneous forecast only shows 2 things:
1) the gahmen are very bad in financial planning and management; and
2) they seemed very anxious in raising the gst.
1.HK also under estimated surplus by 6 times.
Wrong esimation is common.
2.HK gavaman has short of $$$.NO MONEY NO TALK.HK gavaman is NATO.
u guys think HK in a rosey situation need to think why construction workers there are unemployed.
Very few FT as construction workers there.
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1.Property market there is booming.But the stocks are dropping.Why??
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Does HK have to spend anything on defence?
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Originally posted by onlooker123:
Does HK have to spend anything on defence?
Hong Kong do not have GST for revenue, they have mainland affairs division and transfers of fund to Beijing as expenses, so this more or less cancels out the extra expenditure Singapore has on defence.With Hong Kong and Singapore both on a level playing field, Hong Kong shares more of it's surplus with her citizens than our
chee government. -
if u are a foreigner and soley look at the number sure you could explain it that way. But if you are a Sgrean than i would think u need to further into the category rather than lookin at numbers.
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Originally posted by maurizio13:
Hong Kong do not have GST for revenue, they have mainland affairs division and transfers of fund to Beijing as expenses, so this more or less cancels out the extra expenditure Singapore has on defence.With Hong Kong and Singapore both on a level playing field, Hong Kong shares more of it's surplus with her citizens than our
chee government.how much does HK mainland affairs division transfer to Beijing? How do you conclude that "this more or less cancels out the extra expenditure Signapore has on defence"?
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Originally posted by udontknowme:
Hi TS,
how much do you know about things in hongkong huh? u just read read and soak in the words issit?? u ever lived in HK before anot...
I live b4 leh.. then i'm telling u.. it's government is alot better than SG one lah......anyway...i will save over SGD5K in tax due to this now... and how much i got from those gst rebate?? SGD500?
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Originally posted by maurizio13:
Hong Kong do not have GST for revenue, they have mainland affairs division and transfers of fund to Beijing as expenses, so this more or less cancels out the extra expenditure Singapore has on defence.With Hong Kong and Singapore both on a level playing field, Hong Kong shares more of it's surplus with her citizens than our
chee government.Can share how much they transfer? I not very familiar with HK finances but I have scanned through their budget statement and I didn't pick up any transfers.
Also see this file:
http://www.budget.gov.hk/2008/eng/pdf/e-appen-a.pdf
Which line item?
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all this selamat thingie almost i forgooten the surplus thingie!
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Originally posted by onlooker123:
Can share how much they transfer? I not very familiar with HK finances but I have scanned through their budget statement and I didn't pick up any transfers.
Also see this file:
http://www.budget.gov.hk/2008/eng/pdf/e-appen-a.pdf
Which line item?
sgdiehard & onlooker123,Suggest you read my initial statement harder, if you still don't understand, suggest you consult another person with better linguistic skills.
My initial statement:
Hong Kong do not have GST for revenue, they have mainland affairs division and transfers of fund to Beijing as expenses, so this more or less cancels out the extra expenditure Singapore has on defence.
Do you know what is the meaning of a comma ","?
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Originally posted by lionnoisy:
1.HK also under estimated surplus by 6 times.
Wrong esimation is common.
2.HK gavaman has short of $$$.NO MONEY NO TALK.HK gavaman is NATO.
u guys think HK in a rosey situation need to think why construction workers there are unemployed.
Very few FT as construction workers there.
1.Property market there is booming.But the stocks are dropping.Why??
at least the hk gahmen wouldn't be guilty of deliberately making negative projection of its budget so that it could raise some tax like what our gahmen did.
you think there are no unemployed here?
don't you know that hk stock market is well known for its volatility?
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Originally posted by lotus999:
at least the hk gahmen wouldn't be guilty of deliberately making negative projection of its budget so that it could raise some tax like what our gahmen did.
you think there are no unemployed here?
don't you know that hk stock market is well known for its volatility?
1.HK also project wrongly for budget.2.There are only 1 places of market economy got no GST---,HK .Do u think all the G8 and western countries and Asia countries are so stupid cant find better way to raise funds and turn to the ugly GST?
GST is not a good tax,BUT THIS IS THE BEST TAX OR WAY.
No policy is good policy for u can give me 1000 reasons why we shall do this or that.
But at the end it is the best mix of pro and con which determine the policy u choose.
Do u think HK dunt choose GST is good?
For the time being is yes.But Look at the long term.
Either HK is smarter than other countries or she is stupid than others.
3.HK people and govt just forget they have a hidden burden----retired civil servants pension which increase by HK1 billion more a year..
Head 120 — PENSIONS
--HK$$’000
Actual
expenditure
2006–07................13,654,294
Approved
estimate
2007–08....................15,040,411
Revised
estimate
2007–08...................14,917,782
Estimate
2008–09...........................16,525,011
————— ————— ————— —————]
/www.budget.gov.hk/2008/eng/pdf/head120.pdf
this 16.5b out of 237 HK billions budget!!
in year 2001-02, the Government pays about $12 billion on pension benefits to retired civil servants.---
Take note for every retired civil servant,u may have give him/her a lump sum and a monthly pension,until they pass away.
If u dunt give him a lump sum,the monthly pension is higher.
Every year there are four thousand retire and the no is increasing.The pension is a time bomb for fiscal policy.
Look at the 1st link then u know.
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Originally posted by maurizio13:
sgdiehard & onlooker123,Suggest you read my initial statement harder, if you still don't understand, suggest you consult another person with better linguistic skills.
My initial statement:
Hong Kong do not have GST for revenue, they have mainland affairs division and transfers of fund to Beijing as expenses, so this more or less cancels out the extra expenditure Singapore has on defence.
Do you know what is the meaning of a comma ","?
so how does the equation works now?
Amount of Singapore GST revenue + transfers of fund to Beijing = Singapore expenditure on defence??
Or Singapore expenditure on defence - GST revenue = transfer of fund to Beijing??
you sure you know what you are talking about?
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lionnoisy,
nobody is saying gst is good or bad. the argument here is that our gahmen appeared to be sneaky in deliberating making negative projection for its budget so that it could increase gst on us.
btw, gst has got nothing to do with pension fund.
too much of research apparently isn't doing you good. you become confused and distracted.
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Originally posted by sgdiehard:
so how does the equation works now?
Amount of Singapore GST revenue + transfers of fund to Beijing = Singapore expenditure on defence??
Or Singapore expenditure on defence - GST revenue = transfer of fund to Beijing??
you sure you know what you are talking about?
Since you don't understand, then I will elaborate further.Singapore has defence spending expense and GST revenue. They more or less cancel each other out.
Singapore's GST revenue for 2008 is going to approximate to $6 billion to $7 billion.
Hong Kong does not have this defence spending and GST revenue. Equates to zero.
You still have problems understanding?
Anybody else have problems understanding?
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i was in Hong Kong for work when the budget was announced. All I can say is that anyone who thinks that Hong Kong is a better place to live in, please go there and try. I would choose singapore anytime despite of all its shortcomings.
People complain Taxi in singapore expensive - try HK taxis.
People complain MRT in singapore expensive - try the airport express or MTR, they are equally expensive if not more expensive, and much more crowded.
People complain housing in singapore too expensive - trying finding a 100SQM flat in HK for the kind of price we pay.
People complain parking in Sg too expensive. - Try parking in HK.
Everywhere is the same my fren. I talk to taxi drivers in HK and they are just like taxi drivers in Singapore. They complain how unfair their government is! When they know i am from Singapore, they will say wah, your singapore so good, how singapore is so advanced despite being a young country.... so are they wrong? nope. are they totally right? nope....
its just the the other side of the fence looks better syndrome.
Stop complaining. Do something...like maybe...migrating.
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Originally posted by gasband:
i was in Hong Kong for work when the budget was announced. All I can say is that anyone who thinks that Hong Kong is a better place to live in, please go there and try. I would choose singapore anytime despite of all its shortcomings.
People complain Taxi in singapore expensive - try HK taxis.
People complain MRT in singapore expensive - try the airport express or MTR, they are equally expensive if not more expensive, and much more crowded.
People complain housing in singapore too expensive - trying finding a 100SQM flat in HK for the kind of price we pay.
People complain parking in Sg too expensive. - Try parking in HK.
Everywhere is the same my fren. I talk to taxi drivers in HK and they are just like taxi drivers in Singapore. They complain how unfair their government is! When they know i am from Singapore, they will say wah, your singapore so good, how singapore is so advanced despite being a young country.... so are they wrong? nope. are they totally right? nope....
its just the the other side of the fence looks better syndrome.
Stop complaining. Do something...like maybe...migrating.
I was comparing to the quantitative figures, the benefits that the caring Hong Kong government shared with her citizens.
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well i guess if you read the HK newspapers, they are also not totally happy with the budget especially it doesnt really comprehensively cover the senior citizens, i did not read all the commentaries but obviously, no matter how good a budget is, it will never satisfy and cover all angles.
I am not saying that Singapore's budget is damn good. It has always been the government's policy to provide a means to an end, not using the budget to provide an end to itself. I mean sometimes i wonder, if you have a surplus of $400mllion, why not just give everyone of us $100K cash or $50K cash or whatever, and not what give money to education lah etc etc, how would it help to give me $400 for a whole year but yet u collect GST for every year..... but then that would be terminal thinking, it is not sustainable.
Again i say, the budgets of both countries have their merits but the dangers with giving too many goodies like what the Finance Minister of HK is doing with his first budgetary speech is that people would expect more and more and eventually there would be groups of people who think they can depend on the government....and thats the last thing we want in our country.
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Originally posted by gasband:
well i guess if you read the HK newspapers, they are also not totally happy with the budget especially it doesnt really comprehensively cover the senior citizens, i did not read all the commentaries but obviously, no matter how good a budget is, it will never satisfy and cover all angles.
I am not saying that Singapore's budget is damn good. It has always been the government's policy to provide a means to an end, not using the budget to provide an end to itself. I mean sometimes i wonder, if you have a surplus of $400mllion, why not just give everyone of us $100K cash or $50K cash or whatever, and not what give money to education lah etc etc, how would it help to give me $400 for a whole year but yet u collect GST for every year..... but then that would be terminal thinking, it is not sustainable.
Again i say, the budgets of both countries have their merits but the dangers with giving too many goodies like what the Finance Minister of HK is doing with his first budgetary speech is that people would expect more and more and eventually there would be groups of people who think they can depend on the government....and thats the last thing we want in our country.
Well, the important thing is Hong Kong distributed all her surplus to her citizens, though senior citizens might receive more benefits.
But the main point is Hong Kong distributed all of her surplus.
What did Singapore do?
Put the surplus back into the coffers, like how NKF build huge reserves for never to happen calamities.
They are like another NKF organisation waiting for the plumber to unravel the golden wash basins and taps.
I thought our bald headed Singapore Minister of Finance was a debut budget speech too?
What's the point of building hundreds of billion in surpluses when these surpluses are used to frivolously purchase bad companies?
What's the point of having "paper" surpluses when citizens who have dire needs have no access to?
It's like a can see and will never touch surplus.
While citizens are having financial hardship, they take the opportunity to increase GST to make life more unbearable, not forgetting that they give you an annual GST offset package for afew years to smooth in the transition from 5% to 7%. At the end of the few years of GST offset, they will have increase their revenues by another few billions, while leaving the poor and middle income to suffer the consequence of the increase.
The poor and middle income earners have nothing to gain from the reduction in income taxes, from it's high of 33% for high income earners in the 1980s, to the current reduction to 20%.
In Singapore, only the rich will get richer, while the middle income and the poor get poorer.