of course singapore works
i'll tell you how i know
i had some questions about your tax system
i am new to paying taxes in singapore
so i rang up your tax service yesterday
and --
they answered the phone!
[laughter]
you're laughing but this doesn't happen back home
you'd get a machine
but i rang up the hotline number
and this young man answered the phone in a short time
so i asked this official my questions
and he explained what i wanted to know in a few minutes
i said thank you very much
and then he went on to say:
actually, did you know, there is this singapore-us tax treaty? it may apply to your situation.
and he then said
all right, i'll get someone from that department to call you back.
and i thought, my god, back home i would have had to pay someone a few hundred dollars to get that advice.
that is one of the things i've always liked about singapore. we simply don't have an adversarial relationship with our tax authorities or tax system, there's no need to make jokes, as i would elsewhere, about the rapaciousness or intractability of the evil empire, nor hairtearing over the arcane formulae and forms. the tax services themselves are practically falling over themselves to remind you of what deductions you're entitled to in case you miss out on one, and even send sms notices telling you that you *needn't* file taxes (i was selected for no-filing service this year.) they collect, quietly and efficiently and with the minimum of fuss, with a filing system that is easy to use and which -- because this country is small enough and we register everything we do with an id number -- precalculates most eligible rebates, deductions, donations for you from on-file records. not a penny more not a penny less, and at the end of tax assessment, and on the envelope, they print, my favourite line: "thank you for your contribution to nation-building."
