People take photos as helicopters fly past with a Singapore flag during the 54th National Day Parade in Singapore, on Aug 9, 2019.Jason Guan, 39, is a business development manager in the fintech industry in Singapore. With an average household income of around $12,500, his family is reasonably comfortable - the national median household income last year was $9,520.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong 's administration in June unveiled a $1.5 billion "support package" to partially shield lower-income Singaporeans from price rises. "If the situation worsens, we stand ready to do more," Lee said last month. Families like Guan's also cannot afford to own a car, which in Singapore entails buying a certificate of entitlement on top of the price of the vehicle.
"Particularly as it does not have a property gains tax or inheritance tax to even the playing field," she said. "Those who already own property, or who are born into high socioeconomic status households, are already at an advantage. With social mobility declining, it is becoming more difficult to overcome these divides and move upwards in terms of socioeconomic status."Current data does not actually show a growing rich-poor divide.
They might also have to dip into their savings and "cut down on discretionary spending like eating out, going to the movies and on holiday", Kathiravelu added. For those with secondary school education or below, only 23.8 per cent expected to do better in future, with 10.6 per cent thinking they would be worse off.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »