just read an interesting article off the forum in hardwarezone about property tax. there was this netizen who got uber pissed that IRAS sent her elderly mother a late payment advice demanding payment for outstanding property tax.
He claims that IRAS sent a disturbing letter to his mother, who is only the secondary owner, because his sister, the primary owner, failed to pay her tax.
His questions were: why is the govt so heartless as to force an old lady to make payment and threaten to freeze her bank account when she isn't even liable to pay it in the first place?
look at it this way: everybody has a reason to avoid paying tax. some people quote financial difficulties, some people claim they are elderly, some people claim they are overseas...etc etc. does that mean all these people don't need to pay tax?
The tax administration has a responsibility to make sure everybody in Singapore earning an income and owning a property pays their tax accordingly, with no exceptions in between. no one is an exception, and precisely because of that, everyone has to pay. if exceptions are made, people will start asking questions as to what is the rationale behind the exception, and all hell breaks loose.
I'm neither a PAP supporter, nor against the PAP. but facts speak for itself. people complain, but they should know, deep down, that this is right. this is the way to do things. don't trade things that you don't know, for things that you know already work. i mean, how do you know that if you vote in the Opposition, they will do things exactly as you want them to?
How do you know that if (a very big if) they get voted into power, they will improve conditions? improve the way of life of Singaporeans now? how do you know if they will deliver what they say instead of making things worst then they are now?
bear in mind, a lot of the Opposition MPs have scarce experience working in the public sector. do they know how IRAS work? do they know what GIC does?
passing the baton into unexperienced hands might just lead to unexpected and unwanted consequences that could, overnight, plunge the nation into political instability. my view is that, yes maybe Singapore do need some opposition MPs, just to keep a check on the political lopsidedness. but do you really want things to change from what it is now?
being used to wealth and good living conditions, can we really weather a major change in political change?
food for thought.
in short, Singaporeans just love to complain. when things are done efficiently they complain. when things are done slowly, they also complain.
which brings me to my next topic.
since i'm singaporean, i complain too.
lol..the irony.
as usual, at the start of every sem, i have to delve through the chem eng dept and the life sciences dept in order to get what i want. can't they, for once, just make sure that things are done even before i spam them with emails?-.- seems like they must always be pushed pushed pushed before they can move their sorry butts and get their work done.
and in any case, in NUS, the minority group is always disadvantaged. just because we are the minority, our interests are usually left out until the very end, or until we complain that something needs to be done.
every start of sem, it's like we have to wage a war against the dept office, before they will look at our requests.
NUS really, stands for No Use Studying.
