Thursday, December 2, 2010
Minimum wage - a successful government policy
Many countries have implemented the minimum wage. It has been voted as the most successful government policy in the UK according to a survey by BBC. Read SGEP.
A big sacrifice - Goh Meng Seng
Goh Meng Seng has to make a big sacrifice in going into politics. He believes in giving a choice to the people of Singapore. Read SGEP.
The monk, the clown and the minister
Who are these people and how do they affect our politics? Read SGEP.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Potential danger of joining an insurance company
The wife of an ex-insurance agent shares the unhappy experience faced by her and her husband who quit his job to join an insurance company. She explains some of the unethical practices that the husband had to practice to meet the sales quota. She is glad that he has given up the insurance job and had returned to an ordinary job.
Ask Mr. Tan
Ask Mr. Tan
CPF Life annuity - case study
Here is a case study of a person aged 58 who has to decide on whether to stay with the Minimum Sum scheme or to convert into a CPF Life Annuity.
Ask Mr. Tan
Ask Mr. Tan
High cost of operating a business in Singapore
Sent to Forum Page, Straits Times
I recently looked at the cost of renovating a small office of 1,300 sq ft and was shocked to receive several quotations exceeding $70,000, in spite of my modest requirements. This shows how costly it is to operate a business in Singapore.
Included in the cost is a sum of $3,500 to obtain the approval of the authority for fire safety. I learned later that this is the fee payable to professionals to certify the safety of the renovation. This same fee is charged for a small premise as well as a large premise of 10,000 sq ft.
It does not make sense to impose such a costly requirement for a small premise. I suggest that renovation of small premises should be exempted from the need to get the certification of a professional. Perhaps this certification should only be required in exceptional cases where the premises have activities that could impose a danger to fire safety.
Over the years, I have heard many complaints from small enterprises about the high cost of operating a business in Singapore. Several initiatives were taken to address these complaints. I am surprised to learn now that these initiatives did not seem to address this regulation, which seemed to be unnecessarily costly.
Tan Kin Lian
I recently looked at the cost of renovating a small office of 1,300 sq ft and was shocked to receive several quotations exceeding $70,000, in spite of my modest requirements. This shows how costly it is to operate a business in Singapore.
Included in the cost is a sum of $3,500 to obtain the approval of the authority for fire safety. I learned later that this is the fee payable to professionals to certify the safety of the renovation. This same fee is charged for a small premise as well as a large premise of 10,000 sq ft.
It does not make sense to impose such a costly requirement for a small premise. I suggest that renovation of small premises should be exempted from the need to get the certification of a professional. Perhaps this certification should only be required in exceptional cases where the premises have activities that could impose a danger to fire safety.
Over the years, I have heard many complaints from small enterprises about the high cost of operating a business in Singapore. Several initiatives were taken to address these complaints. I am surprised to learn now that these initiatives did not seem to address this regulation, which seemed to be unnecessarily costly.
Tan Kin Lian
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