Why can poor people in Singapore receive money?

In 2022, Singapore’s GDP will exceed US$460 billion, and per capita will exceed US$80,000, setting a new high. Although the year-on-year growth rate dropped to 3.6, it clearly still outperformed most countries. Compared with the per capita average of US$70,000 in 2021, he continues to be the richest man in Asia. Economic development is accompanied by inflation. In the three years since the epidemic, Singapore's currency has remained high. The reason is also very simple. As a country that relies almost entirely on imports, rising prices of energy and food caused by geopolitics, coupled with multiple interest rate hikes in the US dollar, rising prices are inevitable.

What's more, in 2023, Singapore has raised its consumption tax by 1 point starting from January 1, raising the original 7 points on all goods to 8 points, and will increase it to 9 points in 2024. . Prices have already risen by up to 7 points in 2022, but the Singapore government will levy an additional 1 point of consumption tax in 2023. It is foreseeable that inflation in Singapore will continue in 2023. The government has also stated frankly that Singapore’s inflation will strive to maintain between 5.5 and 6.5 in 2023. You must know that the internationally recognized inflation level is within 3. Inflation in the United States in January was 6.4, which has made the Federal Reserve unable to sit still. It will continue to raise interest rates and vow to control the CPI within 3. And Singapore obviously knows where its currency crux lies. It is necessary to tax goods to increase national revenue and at the same time ensure the stability of commodity prices, so issuing money may temporarily alleviate the contradictions among the masses.

Therefore, Singapore decided to issue money. But distributing money is definitely not "paying money to the poor and taxing the rich" as the title says. This title is a bit rhythmic and artificially divides class antagonisms. In fact, what Singapore does is "tax everyone and give money to some residents."

1. Tax increases, especially consumption taxes, are tax increases on all commodities. Not looking at people. Whether it is chicken, duck or fish, both poor and rich people have to pay a consumption tax of 8%. This is printed on the shopping receipt. You can clearly see the price of the product, the consumption tax and the total amount. In 2023, Singapore increased by 1 point, from 7 points to 8 points, and will continue to increase from 8 points to 9 points next year. Does China have a consumption tax? Yes, it does, but not for all goods, only for some goods. The scope of consumption tax is mainly cigarettes, alcohol, cars, cosmetics, gasoline and other specific non-essential goods. The tax rates levied also range from 3 to 56 for cigarettes. However, for food and other daily necessities such as pork, chicken, vegetables, fruits, and rice, not only are no consumption taxes imposed, some are also exempt from value-added tax (Singapore all requires a value-added tax of 17) . Why do I want to compare China here? Nowadays, many articles like to beautify countries such as Europe and the United States. Singapore was once considered the most suitable country for immigrants. But in fact, from the perspective of tax burden, China has given a lot of basic support to ensure that more than one billion people have enough food. It is not as simple as issuing money to a small country like Singapore.

2. Distribute money. Singapore has collected an extra 1% of the overall consumption tax. Let’s see how much money it has distributed to the people. February 14th is the day when Singapore’s 2023 budget will be released