Bro, I cannot take it anymore. Every year around tax season, I open my IRAS portal and my heart literally stop beating for 3 seconds. The amount of income tax I pay can buy one standard resale HDB flat toilet already.
And for what? So I can read news and see government handing out GST Voucher $850 cash, $500 CDC vouchers, U-Save rebates, MediSave top-ups to people who do nothing all day?
Eh, you walk around neighbourhood hawker center at 2pm on a Tuesday. Got so many young, healthy uncles and aunties sitting there sipping kopi-O, playing handphone, talking cock, and complaining about life. Ask them go find job, they say “Wah low salary, very tired, boss very toxic.” Hello?! You think my boss is my biological father is it? You think I go work every day because I love my company’s culture? I go work because I don’t want to starve!
Meanwhile, what do middle-income slaves like us get?
“Thank you for your contribution to Singapore’s nation building.”
LJ LA! Nation building my foot. I work 60 hours a week, OT until my eye bag bigger than my future, get high blood pressure and backache, just to bracket into the higher tax tier. The moment GSTV payout date come, my bank account still dry like Sahara desert. Zero dollar. Not even 50 cents to buy small kopi.
When I apply for anything:
- “Your household income exceeds $X per capita. Application rejected.”
- “Your property annual value higher than limit. Not eligible.”
- “You exist and earn decent money. Please pay more tax.”
Why the incentive structure in Singapore so upside down one? Hardworking people get punished with higher tax and zero benefits, while those who refuse to work or forever under-declare income get free money dropped into their PayNow every few months. At this rate, better I quit my corporate job, sit at void deck, drink beer, become professional freeloaders, and wait for CDC vouchers. At least my blood pressure won’t hit 200.
I agree there are people who really need help, but and again I know so many people just among my friends who are getting all these yearly benefits and they are completely lazy.
Anyone else feel like a total sucker paying tax in this country, or am I the only idiot working hard to fund other people’s free lunch?