Oxfam says Singapore is one of the least progressive countries in spending taxes based on reducing inequality

In the recent report from international aid agency Oxfam called THE COMMITMENT TO REDUCING INEQUALITY INDEX 2018, Singapore has arrived on the ten worst countries in reducing povertu and inequality, as per their latest.

With Singapore on the list are countries such as Bhutan, Bangladesh, Chad, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and even HAiti and Uzbekistan.

Take a look at the portion of the list below:

According to the chart above, Singapore is one of the ten worst countries when it comes to spending taxes based on reducing poverty and inequality. This means that government spending does not focus on measures that target povery alleviation and helping out the less fortunate citizens.

The report further explains that the situation with Singapore has worsened since last year. According to the report, despite raising the personal income tax, the highest earners only pay 22%, and their budget does not reflect adequately towards education, health, and social protection.

Other countries, on the other hand, such as South Korea and Thailand, put the bulk of their tax spending on these key areas, which have been priven, according to the report, to alleviate poverty and inequality.

The report goes further to say that with regards to labor, Singapore does not prioritize equal pay and non-discrimination laws for women, and the laws it has on rape and sexual harassment aren’t up to par. The only positions that earn a minimum wage in the country are security guards and cleaners.

What do netizens have to say?

While the report by Oxfam is certainly one way to look at the data on public spending and taxes, Singaporeans living in Singapore have their own opinions on the matter. Here are some of their reactions to this report:

This commenter thinks that Oxfam’s data and its analysis has no bearing on the quality of life of people on the list. Thanks to how Singaporean society and the economy works people are locked into social tiers and only consume or buy what they can afford.

While this commenter disagrees and says that there is no social movement upwards. Citizens are either stagnant or have large chances to go down the social ladder.

Some commenters say that foreigners are trying to cause trouble.

Some think that it’s a “trickle down” economic policy that is in place in Singapore.

While others say that despite being low on the list that Oxfam made, Singaporeans do not think about migrating to countries with better scores on the report. Living with the tax progressiveness in Singapore isn’t such a trial, according to this commenter.

While this commenter wants to point out that most Singaporeans have not really experienced poverty and inequality, and that other places such as Mumbai would be better to illustrate the point. Does this mean that Singaporeans’ standard of life is better than a lot of other countries?

While others have some things to say about how much ministers are paid and how many there are for Singaporean citizens.

And other commenters have their priorities straight on which public services and infrastructure matter.

What do you think of Oxfam’s assessment? Let us know in the comments!

Header image from Shutterstock, Asian woman depressed debt.