Hong Kong's budget is truly for the people, unlike..........
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Actually, i felt that this year's budget is so-so...not the best but not the worst. From what the Govt is budgetting i believe...that they are very worried about the economy for this coming year.
Did anyone remember the FM mentioning that they(the govt) are looking into ways to "tap" the reserves for next year? I suppose what they mean was to either draw or somehow reduce the money going into the reserve.
I can almost see why they withdrew Estate Duty. They want the rich people to live and park their assets here.(Good or bad i dont know)
Truth is, it's easier for the rich people to AVOID paying taxes on their income( or company revenue). You know the like. lawyers to find a loop hole and exploit it...type Something like the F1 driver hamilton living in switzerland with a small house to avoid the higher tax bracket.
The only way to tax the rich is to tax their consumption. You can declare you own nothing, are in bad debts while living in a huge bungalow on a 10 million dollar plot of land but you will have to eat drink take a dump and sleep. So GST is the way to go and "catch" these people.
Gst drawback is that it is a consumption tax - it makes consumption a more "luxurious" good instead. So if you are really hard up, you will be unable to consume alot of things. (not that it is a bad thing to deter the spendthrift but it really ruins people who wants to splurge on occasions)
The poor and not so well off owe little and can be taxed little anyway.
By the way, not matter what happens, HK has a big brother to bring everything in their economy back under control by force. We sadly do not have such backups.
My only grouch is that because we are a FREE economy, we get strangled by
the banks(i know economy is not doing well but housing loans ARE high vs savings rates these days ridiculous to be loaning 3-4% and giving back only 0.25% - 0.5% wth?!!)
the petroleum companies ( govt declare openly liaoz they get a FIXED tax per litre which means that the petroleum companies are the culprits because they want to maintain profit margins Ie, they must have a profit of say 20% so if they fork out $1 dollar for petrol, they must make 20c profit but if they fork out $2dollars they have to make 40cents even though it's the same amount of petrol!) (Remember, Diesel used to cost only 60-70cents. Now's it's more than $1.5! That's more than double already.)
What can the the government do when they are so powderful? "if you dont let the economy be free, we will shift the operations NORTH" then we die more
What the Govt can only do is to introduce alternative fuels and FAST so with more substitutes the free market will "lower" petrol prices. Problem is that alternative fuels are slow to come. R&D will take time. *sigh*. Subsidising petrol/ price ceiling will by the way means you are subsidising the RICH more since the really poor dont own a car. For the middle income, it's always kenna squeeze in the balls.
For those who wonder why Singapore Petroleum dont start selling lower prices - you will have to study economics for a detailed explaination (oligopoly + if you are not the big boys). The end result will still be make it not so profitable to here they will move operations north.
I can rant on forever...........
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the only part i liked about the HK budget was the waiver of duty on alcoholic beverages
shiok man...
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Originally posted by CX:
the only part i liked about the HK budget was the waiver of duty on alcoholic beverages
shiok man...
even b4 the wavier it's already alot cheaper than in sg lah.. that is why i always dun drink when i go back sg... i feel like a fool when i do that
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Originally posted by maurizio13:
A post from I-like-flings(m), who currently resides in Hong Kong (replies are in red):
yes and after assess the hk package i am still fcuking happy to pay my HKD60K tax in coming jan ok... at least i only pay HKD1K for cpf nia...
knn where the fcuk u dig those out... are u stalking mi? haha.. anyway.. what i say is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth... dun believe come try try lah.....everyone please remind mi not to resign if u see mi post anything in aunt agony ok? -
Originally posted by lionnoisy:
to be fair,it is a record price in SHATIN,about 30 to 45 mins MTR ride to CBD like Mongkok and Central.
http://www.kcr.com.hk/jplanner/eng/planner_index.php?spot=1&start=68&destin=65&x=65&y=11Shatin to Mongkok 30min? Shatin is very happening now too lah..shopping mall is as pack as our jurong point ar
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Originally posted by sgdiehard:
We don't decide our budget following other examples, no country does that.
Why do you think $6 Billion is enough? just don't tell me if other countries can do it with 5 we should do it with 6.
Do you know why Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland can do it with less than 6? I am not as smart as them, that's why they are defence ministers. Obvious isn't it? you think I work as defence minister?
From what you said, we should have the SAF takes over the internal security of Singapore. Do you serve NS? are you a singaporean? never read your post at the military nuts.
The thing is, for most countries a budget of $6 billion is more than enough for defence expenditure.Did you show similar countries in size having a higher expenditure in defence?
I agree that defence is important for Singapore, but what is a appropriate amount.
We see countries like Malaysia and Indonesia without enlistment spending like $2 billion to $3 billion, whereas Singapore decides to spend $10.5 billion.
Burnei only has a defence expenditure of $291 million, isn't Brunei with it's oil rich resources more at risk of being annexed by other countries.
What is an appropriate amount for defence expenditure $10 billion, $20 billion, $40 billion, $80 billion?
Since you conclude that Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland can do with less expenditure on defence, I conclude that Singapore can also have less
expenditure on defence.
SAF has no business with Internal Security, then why are they being deployed to look for Mas Selamat Kastari?
The efficiency with which SAF captures Mas Selamat Kastari is a reflection of the effectiveness of the $10.5 billion in defence budget.
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i believe a lot of money is spent on military planes ba... They can cost a lot...
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Originally posted by lionnoisy:
ok ok lets go back to the ground,
poor HK pple stay in half of the size of the flat u can buy in SG with same prcie!!
AND U GUYS SAY HK GAVAMAN CARE FOR HER PPLE!!
to be fair,it is a record price in SHATIN,about 30 to 45 mins MTR ride to CBD like Mongkok and Central.
In Shatin,a 45 meter flat of 5 year old(like HDB resale flat) sold for 1.65million HK $$!!or S$300,000.ie S$600 psf.
Tell me how much u can get in SG in Psf??
Say a 4 room flat with 3 bedroom of 85 m2 or 915 sf sold at say $300,000 from open market or $200,000 from HDB.It is S$327 and 219 psf respectively only!!
BTW the land lease of HK run to 2047 only,yes,50 years from 1997.
Even u give discount to normal sales,HK is still much higher!!
http://hk.news.yahoo.com/080305/60/2q1di.html
2.to be fair,see for more info.
http://web.centanet.com/findproperty/
u can get transactions there to support u!!
3.tx to HK gavaman free economy policy,HK property price is still some 30 to 35 % below 1997 peak.No one dare to cool it down .
Why ?US $$ peg make HK cant use mortgage interest to regulate the economy!!
http://www.centadata.com/cci/cci.htm
I don't read Chinese.
If you want to post in Chinese join the China Forum.
Please post in official language of Singapore.
Those property prices you post are private property prices in Hong Kong.
You have to be fair when you do comparisons, don't compare Private Hong Kong properties with Public Singapore properties.
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erm there are 4 FOUR official languages in Singapore.
You dont have to know all of them.. If you dont understand just ask the poster to translate.
Oh please try to post in the -preferred- language on this forums heh.
Serious talking about justifying SAF's budget on the capture of Kastari?
What about Osama Bin Laden.
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Originally posted by deathbait:
I can't believe you think the overiding factor in deciding how much to spend in defence is the size of your country.
That's so moronic. Proximity/vulnerbility doesn't matter? Allies? No?
Where do you think the money's going? See the new camps to give soldiers better accomodation? These increase morale and reduce resentment over reservist training. Who benefits? Can I hear an "I do"?
Ever been to a Taiwan military camp? Would you like to serve there? Seriously, it's almost as if you're addicted to comparing with countries that are inferior.
Like the earlier post to sgdiehard.
Brunei is an oil resource rich country, isn't Brunei afraid that the country will be annexed.
Why is Brunei's defence budget only $291 million?
The point of contention with sgdiehard was, is the GST of $6 billion enough to fund the defence budget for another small country such as Hong Kong.
If it is enough, then the GST and defence budget will negate itself, thereby showing a better benefits distributed by the Hong Kong government (because Hong Kong does not have GST and defence) than the Singapore government.
Huh? Taiwan military inferior? On what data did you base your assessment? Maybe you can share with us?
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Who in the region can annex Brunei?
He meant army barracks condition....you have to been there to understand
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Originally posted by CM06:
erm there are 4 FOUR official languages in Singapore.
You dont have to know all of them.. If you dont understand just ask the poster to translate.
Oh please try to post in the -preferred- language on this forums heh.
Serious talking about justifying SAF's budget on the capture of Kastari?
What about Osama Bin Laden.
I err in saying official language, what I mean was the official language used in adminstration of Singapore.
Seriously, it would be time consuming and subjective asking the poster to translate his content, definitely it will not be a fair translation.
lionnoisy does not present facts and information in an unbias manner, he is subscribed to promoting the P4P propaganda.
I prefer to read and translate myself, words lose their meaning when being passed down the channels, especially if you have a bias person doing the translation.
I mean official language in Singapore is English right? Laws are all in English right?
For SAF, you are talking about capturing Singapore's No.1 Terrorist in your own house.
If a thief is in your house, I am sure you can manage to capture him if you are competent.
For US, you are talking about capturing USA's No.1 Terrorist in another person's house.
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Originally posted by CM06:
Who in the region can annex Brunei?
He meant army barracks condition....you have to been there to understand
Huh?You mean Brunei cannot be annexed? I don't know of any special circumstances where any country cannot be annexed.
"In Brunei, the Indonesian-backed North Kalimantan National Army (TNKU) revolted on December 8, 1962. They tried to capture the Sultan of Brunei, seize the oil fields and take European hostages. The Sultan escaped and asked for British help. He received British and Gurkha troops from Singapore. On December 16, British Far Eastern Command claimed that all major rebel centres had been occupied, and on April 17, 1963, the rebel commander was captured and the rebellion ended."
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I know how LN posts :)
But USA defence budget *** billioooonnn Multipower SATs can zoom to see your pee pee size
It's not a thief in your house.
If you want a scope in comparison it's a termite amongst the ants in your house.
Quote
"In Brunei, blah blahDecember 8, 1962.blah blah on April 17, 1963,blah blah
Come on.
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Originally posted by CM06:
I know how LN posts :)
But USA defence budget *** billioooonnn Multipower SATs can zoom to see your pee pee size
It's not a thief in your house.
If you want a scope in comparison it's a termite amongst the ants in your house.
Quote
"In Brunei, blah blahDecember 8, 1962.blah blah on April 17, 1963,blah blah
Come on.
It's not the lack of language of lionnoisy, but his post tend to be bias and promote P4P propaganda.I can't see the association with your ants and termite analogy.
I thought you said NO country can annex Brunei?
Is that your best response?
"Come on."?
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Ants and termite analogy.
The scope in house. A thief is so big of course can see. Trying picking out the termite amongst 5 million ants.
I said WHAT country in the right mind today will annex Brunei without considering the severe repercussions of doing so.
This question will have to be asked before the next question. Which country CAN annex Brunei and will want to do so.
It's not my "best" response, it's the response worthy of what you posted.
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for the brunei $291 million, which currency is it in??
and hor, u sure u dunno chinese? the other day in CCcrapbox you typed a lot u know.
Originally posted by maurizio13:
今天没政府？皇���王宫.
Originally posted by maurizio13:
muahahaha....锦衣�和王�都�在宫里了。
我是个拆花贼。
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in case u r curious, it's on the 23rd page of the chitchat crapbox. help u refresh your memory a bit hokayz?
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Originally posted by CM06:
Ants and termite analogy.
The scope in house. A thief is so big of course can see. Trying picking out the termite amongst 5 million ants.
I said WHAT country in the right mind today will annex Brunei without considering the severe repercussions of doing so.
This question will have to be asked before the next question. Which country CAN annex Brunei and will want to do so.
It's not my "best" response, it's the response worthy of what you posted.
Huh?Then the termite known as Osama would be in a big house (anywhere in the middle east) with a population of at least 0.5 billion.
Whereas the termite known as Mas Selamat Kastari is in a red dot of a house (Singapore), with a population of 4.5 million.
Which is harder to find?
In history, nobody outrightly goes out and annex a country, most often is done by claiming rights to the country due to historical associations.
Like what China is doing to Taiwan now, Germany during WW2 on Austria.
Indonesia and Malaysia is of close proximity to Brunei.
You are also contradicting yourself, if you claim that no country in their right mind would annex Brunei.
In that case, Singapore is also free from being annexed by other countries, since all countries would fear
the thought of repercussions.
Then aren't you indirectly stating that the money spent on defence is a foregone conclusion.
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osama is easier to find.
if you look in G Bush's bedroom, im sure u'll find him.
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Originally posted by udontknowme:
in case u r curious, it's on the 23rd page of the chitchat crapbox. help u refresh your memory a bit hokayz?
My knowledge of Chinese is limited, I can only type by using Pin Yin, but I can't read very much.Thanks for your interest.
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Yeah what's the defense budget of the US of A?
I shall state my "cryptic" language in plain speak.
It would be like your mother cutting your pocket money of 100 dollars to look for the termite amongst 50,000 ants in your kitchen.
Asking to justify military defence budgets on the success on the capture of a rogue individual on in a civil environment is not only irrelevant, it's also ridiculous.
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Originally posted by udontknowme:
osama is easier to find.
if you look in G Bush's bedroom, im sure u'll find him.
If you want to debate with me, go ahead, I think more brains are needed.If you looking for tomfoolery, then perhaps you should restrict yourself to crapbox.
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im not looking to 'debate' *snort*
im asking u....the $291 million for Brunei, what currency is it in.
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Originally posted by CM06:
Yeah what's the defense budget of the US of A?
I shall state my "cryptic" language in plain speak.
It would be like your mother cutting your pocket money of 100 dollars to look for the termite amongst 50,000 ants in your kitchen.
Asking to justify military defence budgets on the success on the capture of a rogue individual on in a civil environment is not only irrelevant, it's also ridiculous.
The scope of the USA military is much wider, they are not restricted to a small island such as Singapore.They have bases in most parts of the world.
Whereas the SAF is only restricted to a small area of influence.
We are not even talking about cutting of budget now to look for a known terrorist, why are you circumventing to a different topic.
Has the budget been cut now? It's still $10.5 billion for the defence of Singapore.
How well a military organisation plans and coordinate it's action is a clear reflection of it's efficiency and effectiveness.
Obviously there wasn't any plan or coordination, because more than a week has past and Singapore's No.1 Terrorist suspect still evades capture.