http://www.newsintercom.org/index.php?itemid=580
Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, MP for Aljunied GRC and President of CASE said:
"So far, we haven't seen a phenomenon of businesses profiteering from
the GST rise,' said Mr Yeo, who is the deputy chairman of the Committee
Against GST Profiteering.
"Most importantly, prices of basic necessities have remained stable."
(Straits Times, Aug 24, 2007)
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2007 FACTS
Jan: All diesel-driven vehicles to undergo smoke test.
Jan: NUH's A&E fee raised from $70 to $80.
Jan: Skilled Foreign workers levy raised by $50, from $100 to $150, for
all sectors.
Jan 26: SMU Law Course to cost more, NUS says it may increase fees too.
Feb: KK Women's and Children's Hospital hikes ward treatment fees.
Feb 14: Tax penalties from GST audits could increase. With the hike in
Goods and Services Tax (GST) by two percentage points, tax analysts
said tax penalties arising from businesses making mistakes in GST audits
may also increase.
Feb 25: Sunny Cove: Fees to Pulau Hantu Raised - As of 24th February
2007 (Saturday), the operator had increased the price for the chartering
of boat to local water. With the price hike, all courses conducted at local
water will be subjected to the increase from 25th February 2007 (Sunday)
onwards.
Feb 25: Eldershield premiums to go up by year's end.
April 1: Singapore Medical Association withdraws guidelines on fees.
Doctors now have more flexibility to adjust their fees, following a decision
by the Singapore Medical Association (SMA) to withdraw its guidelines on
fees, as of 1 April.
April 1: URA increase fees for Housing Developers's Licence from
between $500 to $8,000.
April 2: NUS revise car park charges.
April 8: Means testing for hospital admission to start within a year.
Subsidised patients that stay more than five days in a public hospital
can expect some questions about their income.
April 11: Ikea to start charging customers for plastic bags.
(ST, 11 April, 2007)
April 25: The Singapore American School increased tuition fees by
between $425 and $1,000.
April: Within hours of each other, the four petrol companies in Singapore -
First Shell, then Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC), ExxonMobil and
lastly Chevron - each revised its prices. The retail price of petrol and
diesel rose by 10 cents. (Electric New Paper)
May 12: Inflation heads for a higher plane. For now, the major public
concern is a rise in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 5% to 7% in
July, which is likely to exacerbate the series of worrying price increases
over the past year. (Littlespeck)
May 14: NUH increase ward charges for B2 and C-class wards by $2,
increases of 4 and 8 per cent.
May 23: DBS raises its e-transaction fee for initial public offering (IPO)
applications. Retail investors who applied for IPO shares launched on or
after that date, through the local bank's ATMs and Internet banking, were
surprised that they now have to pay $2.
May 29: New fee hikes at public hospitals and polyclinics. A NEW round
of fee hikes is underway at most public hospitals and some polyclinics.
Subsidised patients at four public hospitals will now pay $24 or $25 for
every visit to a specialist clinic, up from about $21. All 18 polyclinics,
which used to charge a standard consultation fee of $8 for adults, now
charge anything from $8-$8.80.
May: From milk to Milo, cooking oil to coffee, canned foods, processed
foods, wheat products and more, prices have been rising recently at
supermarkets and hypermarts here.
June 1: Prices of milk go up. The price increase for condensed milk
ranged from $0.10 to $0.50, which means the prices for some brands of
condensed milk have gone up by nearly 45 per cent. The price increase
for evaporated milk ranged from $0.15 to $0.47, marking a percentage
increase of between 18 per cent to 48 per cent.
June 4: Online hosiery shop increases price. There will be a overall price
increase on 4th June 2007 for all brands due to increased cost of yarns
and cost of shipping.
June 6: Even before the Nets fee hike kicks in, a shoe shop in Parkway
Parade has already started charging customers extra to cover the
increase.
June 7: Wholesale price of ducks goes up. The wholesale price of ducks
has increased by 20 cents a kilogram.
June 7: Eggs price increase. Eggs now cost between 17 cents and
18 cents each.
June 29: Rental space rents rise. Islandwide, rents at Grade A malls have
moved up by between 5-7 per cent in the first half of this year and could
increase by another 5-6 per cent by end-2007, analysts said. (Business
Times, June 29, 2007)
June 29: Fees up by 14% on average at NUS. Two days before the higher
7-per-cent GST kicked in on July 1, prospective students of the continuing
education arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS) received
news that fees for many courses had gone up — by an average
14 per cent.
July 1st: GST increased from 5% to 7%.
July 1st: THE Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC) and market leader
ExxonMobil became the first companies to raise pump prices at their
petrol stations following the GST hike. The two companies increased prices
across the board for their three grades of petrol and diesel by 0.23 cents
to 0.33 cents per litre from 7am. Caltex will be increasing its pump prices
on Monday. (ST, July 1, 2007)
July 1st: NETS announced a price hike for its Electronic Funds Transfer
Point-of-Sale (EFTPOS) and CashCard Services to between 1.5% and
1.8%.
July 1st: Pasir Ris – Punggol Town Council revise penalties for late
payment of S&C charges to 2% and absorb 7% GST. (2004 rates)
(2007 rates)
July 1st: Cigarette prices up as bar ban kicks in. Tobacco companies
raised the prices of popular brands by an average of 40 cents. This
brought the price of a 20-stick pack of Marlboro or Dunhill cigarettes,
for example, to $11.60. (AsiaOne)
July 3: Resale price index for HDB flats rise 2.9% from 3 months before.
July 4: The Committee Against GST Profiteering (CAP) has found price
changes to be generally moderate since the announcement of the GST
increase in November 2006.
July 10: Changi General Hospital increases A&E charges. Following in the
wake of earlier hikes by the National University Hospital and Alexandra
Hospital, CGH this month increased its A&E attendance fee by $10 or 15
per cent to $75. For the B2 and C-class wards, the daily treatment fee
went up by $1, representing a 6-to-10-per-cent increment. The daily ward
charge for B2 wards also rose by $1, or 2 per cent.
July 11: Starhub raise prices for cable tv packages. SCV subscribers pay
$4 more across the board.
July 11: The Committee Against GST Profiteering has received 33
complaints in the past six months about price increases, all dealing with
food items. About 10 cases involve chain businesses. (ST, July 11, 2007)
July 15: Electricity tariffs to be raised by almost 9% for July to September.
July 18: Govt raises development charge from 50% to 70% for new
building projects from 50 per cent to 70 per cent of the increase in
value of the land.
July 21: HDB rents at 10-year high. For the first time in recent memory,
monthly rents for some HDB flats have pushed northwards of $2,000 in
leases signed in the last couple of months. (ST, 21 July 2007)
July 25: Hospital bills up 10% to 30% across all ward classes.
July: July inflation hits 2.6%, highest in over 12 years.
July (CPI): Housing costs increased 4.9 per cent because of higher housing
maintenance charges, electricity tariffs and rented accommodation costs.
(ST, Aug 23, 2007)
July (CPI): Food prices went up by 1.4 per cent, mainly due to dearer
cooked food, fresh fish, fruits, vegetables and milk powder.
July (CPI): Transport and communication prices moved up by 1 per cent,
reflecting mainly dearer petrol and higher car prices.
July (CPI): The index for education and stationery rose by 2.1 per cent as
a result of higher fees at commercial institutions and universities.
July (CPI): Prices of clothing and footwear increased by 3.9 per cent. ink)
July (CPI): Health care cost rose by 2.2 per cent on account of dearer
chinese herbs and higher charges for general medical consultation and
dental treatment.
Aug 2: SBS, SMRT seeking bus, train fare increases. If approved,
transport fares could rise by up to three cents from October.
Aug 2: Singapore Airlines raises fuel surcharge – from between US$2,
US$5 and US$9.
Aug 6: ERP rates at Orchard, YMCA and Fort Canning Tunnel to go up.
From August 6, cars passing the Orchard, YMCA and Fort Canning Tunnel
gantries will be charged an additional $0.50. That makes it $1 per entry.
Rates for motorcycles will also double to $0.50. Goods vehicles and small
buses will now be charged $1.50. Heavy goods vehicles and big buses will
be charged $2.
Aug 7: Student made to pay adult fare.
Aug 7: Cost of living in S'pore getting higher compared to neighbours.
Singapore retains its 9th position out of 41 Asian locations as the most
costly city. (CNA)
Aug 7: Car insurance premiums likely to increase. Higher premium rates
for car insurance look almost certain, after the motor sector suffered a
second consecutive quarter of losses. Rises could be between 5 and
10 per cent, according to one insurer, as the industry battles higher
claims. (AsiaOne, ST, Aug 7, 2007)
Aug 8: 17% hike in Delifrance's tuna croissant sandwich, from $5.05 to
$5.90.
Aug 10: Change of supplier sees spike in price of medicine. A 80ml bottle
of Minoxi 5 from Trima Pharmaceutical used to cost $38.50. This time
round, the price was $45.50 for a 60ml bottle. Going by volume, the price
increase was a hefty 57.6 per cent. (ST Forum, Aug 10, 2007)
Aug 13: Up to 30% levy imposed on hotel room revenues during F1 race.
The Trade and Industry Ministry (MTI) has decided a levy of 30 per cent
for hotels on the trackside, and 20 per cent for others.
Aug 23: More ERP gantries, extended hours.
Aug 24: By Aug 24, the Committee Against GST Profiteering had received
115 complaints on alleged GST profiteering. In the first two weeks of July,
after the GST increase came into effect, 49 complaints were received,
surpassing the 30 complaints received in May. (ST, Aug 29, 2007)
Aug 27: Singapore raises 2007 inflation forecast to 1-2 per cent.
Singapore's central bank confirmed an apparent off-the-cuff remark by
Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang in parliament that inflation
would come in at 1-2 percent this year, above the government's previous
forecast of 0.5-1.5 percent. (Reuters)
Aug 29: Middle-aged suicide rate up. In 2003, there were 14 suicides
(of men in their 40s and 50s) per 100,000. In 2006, it went up to 19 per
100,000. For women, there were 8 per 100,000. In 2006, it went up to 13
per 100,000. (TODAY, Aug 29, 2007)
Aug 29: Storage boom as rents rise. Companies which provide
self-storage facilities are reporting a rise in rentals by foreigners as
rising rental prices force more of them to downsize.
(The Electric New Paper, Aug 29, 2007)
Aug 31: Government raises property development charges. For
non-landed residential use, the charge was raised by an average of
58 percent with prime areas like Cantonment Road seeing the biggest
jump of 112 percent. Areas seeing the highest increase (of over 100
percent) include Telok Ayer, Maxwell, Shenton, Anson and South Bridge
Road. (CNA)
Sept 1st: New dog licensing rules. To discourage dog owners from
keeping unlicensed dogs, allowing their dogs to stray or not muzzling dogs
of breeds2 that are required to be muzzled in a public place (eg, the
Rottweiller or Mastiff); the maximum fine for such offences has been
raised from $500 to $5,000.
Sept 5: Esso won't go public on fuel price changes. IF YOU are an Esso
customer, you will not know if the price of your fuel has changed until you
drive right up to a pump. ExxonMobil - the biggest player here with 74 out
of the total of about 200 stations - has adopted a new policy against
revealing changes in pump prices to the media. Neither does it display
prices at station entrances. (Straits Times, Sept 5, 2007)
Sept 11: Adult EZ-link fares for buses upped from October. From 1
October, adult EZ-link fares for buses will increase by between one and
two cents. But there will be no increase for train fares. (CNA)
Sept 12: Special needs school raise fees by 100%. I was shocked to
receive a letter in July stating that school fees would increase by 100 per
cent from this month. No other institution - even private schools - operates
in this manner by increasing its fees by 100 per cent. (Letter to ST forum)
Sept 13: Employers to buy medical insurance for foreign workers. From
January next year (2008), employers will have to buy and maintain
insurance for the medical expenses of all foreign workers on Work Permit
or S Pass. (CNA)
Sept 25: Electricity tariffs to go up because of higher oil prices. Barely 2
months after the increase of 9% in July, electricity tariffs will again go up
later this year because of higher oil prices. SP Services said electricity
tariffs will be raised by an average of 0.86 cent, or 4.29 percent, per
kilowatt-hour, for the three months from October to December. (CNA)
Sept 25: Cosmetics costing more? Taking a hit from the Goods and
Services Tax hike, prices of consumer products in Singapore grew at a
pace not seen since 1994. (TODAY)
Sept 27: Gardenia loaf of bread cost 5% more in three months. "Yesterday
we found out that its price has soared to $2. If you work that out against
the original $1.90, it means that the total price increased is 5.3 per cent in
three months." (Letter to ST forum page.)
Sept 29: Why higher fees for vacant flat? "MY LATE grandfather, who was
the sole owner and occupier of a three-room HDB flat, had been paying
$38 a month in conservancy fees to the town council. His estate now has
to pay $55 a month (a 45 per cent increase) for the vacant flat, the reason
being that the $38 concessionary charge no longer applies as it is now
unoccupied." (Letter to ST Forum Page)
Sept: Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society to increase fees from between
$5 to $10 due to the society becoming a GST-registered entity.
Oct: Starhub Cable TV sports channels subscribers pay $10 more.
Oct 1: Public transport fare increase takes effect.
Oct 1: Private home prices in Q3 up by 8%: URA flash estimate. The
prices of private residential property in Singapore increased by eight
per cent in the third quarter of this year.. (CNA)
Oct 1: HDB resale prices up by 6.5% in Q3: HDB's flash estimate. Public
housing resale prices went up by 6.5 percent in the third quarter of this
year, compared to the previous three months. (CNA)
Oct 1: Petrol, diesel price up 3-5 cents. At 10am, Caltex increased its
petrol and diesel prices by 3 cents a litre, while Shell upped its rates by
5 cents a litre. By 3pm, Singapore Petroleum Co followed suit by raising
its pump rates by 5 cents a litre. The increase is the fifth upward revision
since July, as crude oil prices hover at record levels above US$80 a barrel.
(AsiaOne)
Oct 1: Hotel room rates expected to go up by 25% in Q4. Hotel room rates
in Singapore in the fourth quarter are expected to be 25 per cent higher
than that of last year, according to industry players. (CNA)
Oct 3: The price of chickens has risen by 20 to 50 per cent here since last
week, caused by the wholesale price hike from Malaysia, among the
factors, according to media reports. (Bernama)
Oct 4: Queensway Shopping Centre, Sim Lim Square and sky-high rentals
in Singapore. As the leases are expiring about now, get ready for a radical
change in Sim Lim Square, the highest�rentals for the shops selling the
lowest margin products ever. (C Net Asia)
Oct 19: SIA ups fuel surcharge by between $3 and $9. The new charges,
which are between $3 and nearly $9 more than the current surcharges,
will apply to tickets issued from Oct 24 and to both SIA and SilkAir flights.
(TODAY)
Oct 20: Price of flour up 30%. The price of flour has increased again, but
this time it has gone up by thirty percent. This is the biggest ever hike,
according to industry watchers. From January, it will cost 20 cents more
to buy a loaf of bread. (CNA)
Oct 22: Caltex petrol, diesel prices up. AMERICAN oil company Chevron
raised pump prices of its Caltex petrol and diesel by five cents a litre on
Monday - the sixth increase since July and the second in about a fortnight.
The others - Shell, ExxonMobil and Singapore Petroleum - are likely to do
likewise in the coming days. Chevron's move brings its pump prices to
record levels. (Straits Times)
Oct 26: Private home prices up 8.3% in Q3. Singapore private home
prices rose 8.3 percent between July and September to their highest
level in a decade. (Asia One)
Oct 27: Prices of HDB resale flats keep accelerating. 'As at
end-September, the HDB resale price index has increased by about
11 per cent since the start of the year,' the HDB said. For five-room flats,
the median resale price in Queenstown is the highest at $603,000,
followed by Marine Parade at $560,000 and Bukit Merah at $530,000.
(Straits Times)
Oct 28: Singapore raises noodle prices. Starting Nov. 1, the price of
noodles in Singapore will increase 20 percent to 30 per cent, the
Singapore Noodles Manufacturers' Association announced on Sunday.
(AHN News)
Oct 30: ERP rates going up again for third time this year. Electronic Road
Pricing (ERP) rates are going up again for the third time this year. There
will also be new gantries erected. From November 5, motorists will pay
$3.50 from 7:30am to 8:00am. The amount charged goes up to $5.00
between 8:30am and 9:00am. This is a $1.50 increase in the 8:30am to
9:00am period since February this year. (CNA)
Oct 30: 100 bakeries to raise bread prices by up to 20%. OVER 100
bakeries have indicated that they will be raising bread prices by up to
20 per cent, following a jump in flour prices. (Straits Times)
Nov 2: Expect steep hikes in tyre, wheel and battery prices. BESIDES
record fuel prices and higher Electronic Road Pricing rates, motorists
must prepare to pay more for batteries, tyres and wheels. The Singapore
Motor Tyre Dealers Association is preparing to announce sizeable price
hikes, with battery prices going up by as much as 50 to 70 per cent.
Tyre prices will go up by 20 to 30 per cent, and wheels by 10 to 20 per
cent, the association's assistant secretary, Mr Robert Tng, told The Straits
Times. (Straits Times)
Nov 5: A TRIP to the supermarket will cost more now than it did at the
beginning of the year. A Straits Times check on a random basket of basic
goods sold at supermarkets here revealed price increases in almost every
category, from fresh chicken to coffee and milk formula. (Straits Times)
Nov 5: Prices for Singapore Petroleum Company Limited (SPC) motor
gasoline across all three grades and diesel will be increased by seven
cents per litre. (SPC)
Nov 8: Raffles Place retailers face space crunch, soaring rents. A recent
study by property consultant Cushman & Wakefield found rent rises of
up to 24 per cent over the past two years in the area. (Straits Times)
Nov 23: Singapore's October CPI up 3.6% on-year, 1.3% on-month.
Singapore's October consumer prices rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier
after an increase in the Goods and Services Tax (GST), government data
showed on Friday. (CNA)
Nov 29: Pump prices increase by 5 cents. All four oil companies Shell,
Caltex, ExxonMobil and Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC) have
increased pump prices for petrol and diesel by five cents. In the past
11 months, the price of petrol has shot up nine times and twice just in
this month alone. (CNA)
Nov 29: Second Link toll charges to go up next year. VEHICLES from
Singapore crossing into Johor via the Second Link Expressway will have
to pay higher tolls from Jan 1, the Malaysian government announced
yesterday. Passenger cars using the Second Link route will have to pay
RM10.80 (S$4.60) next year, compared with RM8.40 now. (Asia One)
Dec 9: Price of luncheon meat soar, from $1 to as high as $3. Prices of
luncheon meat have been on the rise since August when the Agri-Food
and Veterinary Authority (AVA) rejected and destroyed a consignment of
canned pork products from two food processing plants in China.
(New Paper)
Dec 10: ComfortDelgro raises taxi fares. Commuters will pay between
18 per cent and 49 per cent more for a taxi ride home from the city from
5pm to midnight. (Straits Times) (CNA)
Dec 11: SCHOOL bus fares will go up by at least $5 to $10 in January,
sparked by the increase in diesel prices in recent months. (Straits Times)
Dec 14: Singapore's second-largest taxi operator SMRT will be raising its
fares from next Friday, December 21. The changes are in line with the
adjustments made by market leader ComfortDelGro which will be
increasing fares from December 17. (CNA)
Dec 14: Hike in POSB coins charge excessive. "IN THE past, whenever I
made a deposit or withdrawal in coins, I paid $5 in service charge for
every $500. Now, I have to pay $15 for every $500. So if I changed
$1,000 into coins, I would lose $30." (ST Forum Page)
Dec 14: Adjustment rate for housing loan changed unilaterally. "This
unilateral change in adjustment rate is an increase in effective interest
on the loan, and it is done without changing the loan interest rates. Is it
fair for banks to offer adjustment rates as a 'feature' to woo customers
but, six months into the loan, unilaterally reduce the benefits of the
feature?" (ST Forum Page)
Dec 14: Hike in luggage surcharge wasn't publicized. "When they were at
the check-in counter, they were informed that the overweight charge was
$20, not $8, and if they did not pay up they would not get their boarding
passes. They had no choice but to pay." (ST Forum Page)
Dec 20: Potong Pasir to raise S&C charges. THE opposition-held Potong
Pasir ward is raising its service and conservancy (S&C) charges for the
first time in a decade. Residents there will pay between $2.50 and $8
more a month, depending on the size of their HDB flat. (Straits Times)
Dec 20: Expect to pay more for food from next month. SINGAPOREANS
should brace themselves for a sharp hike in food prices starting from New
Year's Day, which could affect anything from curry puffs to ice cream.
(Asia One)
Dec 28: Electricity tariffs to go up. Highest since 2001. From next month
(Jan 2008), electricity tariffs will go up nearly 6 per cent, to 22.62 cents
per kilowatt-hour (kwh). (Straits Times)
2007: HDB ups valuation and administrative fees for valuation report of
flats. This is to include the new 7% GST.
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What kind of MPs do we have? We have Dr Maliki who labelled us as
"A Nation of Complainers" in Parliament. We have Mr Wee Siew Kim who
went all out to defend his daughter Wee Shu Min for her "Elite Uncaring
Face". Now we have this one who tries to ...... Moreover, he is also the
President of CASE! Are we scraping the bottom?
Obviously, it looks like someone simply makes a comment without making
any market research or survey, no? Or he must have got the wrong
feedback from his "Yes" men who only feed him with what he likes to
hear, yes?
It seems to me that "The Emperor has no clothes" syndrome is not only
confined to one person, but it seems also to apply to others who live in the
comfort of their air-con ivory towers, yes or no?
Isn't this another case of complacency and taking the people for granted,
thinking that the people are so stupid that they can be easily taken for a
ride?
If anyone wishes to spin a story, for goodness sake go and do your
homework first. Earn your pay, man! Otherwise, you will be a laughing
stork to the rest of the world. You lose your credibility and sincerity,
and, perhaps, integrity also, man!
One can bluff some people all the time but one cannot bluff all the people
all the time, especially so in this Internet Age.
I can't help but think that this is another sign of decay and decline!
