I am 40 years old 'sandwich' class 'heartlander' Singaporean, 3rm HDB flat dweller and been in the work force for abt 2 decades with a current total CPF of $139K consisting- 70K in OA, 18K in SA and 51K used under Property. Base on current CPF 1.5 time the prevailing Minimum Sum which is $94.6K x 1.5 = $141.9K for me. As such, I do not benefit or qualify for such expansion even to top-up both my retired parent's 'Zero' CPF retirement a/cs.

The country is great crowded everyday it goes. Is this healthy?
The total number of condo, HDB,cars, road are too increasing each day. Yet, the total number of trees are decreasing at an alarming rate.
Carbon emission is ever increasing. What the budget is doing? Increase medical, increase education, increase research.... Is this necessary? How about increase in greenary effort? Increase sport features for our neighbor where ppl can socialize. Is this society just about money? Where can u find time to socialize btw neighbours now. I miss the old days where one can seat below a hundred years old tree to enjoy the birds song, color butterfly and shady day that we use to have when Singapore has a population of 2 millions. So please kindly get the budget to allow more greenery to attract the song birds, they need to eat too. Color flowers to attract butterfly, they have a life too.

Dear Hon.P.Minister,
May I congratulate U for a well thought out balanced budget, something for everyone.Thaman is an excellent 2nd Finance man and should eventually make a good Finance Minister.
Having said that,a lot of questions have been raised on the removal of the Estate Duty Act.In my and other like thinking citizens we feel that the Est. Duty Act should stay, but it needed fine tuning in the non-residential properties areas to increase the ceiling cash amount to $1.0M.
Furthermore,in the event of death the beneficiaries must be allowed to immediately use any cash/choices in action in fixed deposits/shares to be used to pay for any estate duty imposed on the estate, EVEN BEFORE Letter of Administration etc has been issued; by the immediate members of the deceased.This will help to avoid any unnecessary burden in interest cost imposed by the Tax authority.
In this budget not much has been provided to the middle income group, however it is in the right direction.More need to be done otherwise, the present disparity of income/wealth between the rich and the middle income group will widen, and social problems may arise as seen in other countries.There is a need to help the poor elevate themselves into the middle income group and decrease the poor section to achieve a more equalitalian society in our beloved country.
With Best Wishes,

Kennethchew

I applaud the SAF and the men and women that has been part of the rapid changes of this organisation.
I truly urged the Ministry of Defence to continually purchased advanced and sophiscated weaponry along profeessionally trained servicemen and women.
We do not have the desire to be aggressor but we need a technology advantage to leverage on the scarce manpower resources that Singapore have.
Dear Minister Sir, do re-consider your plans when you reiterated that we are not buying new equipments to replace the number of obsolute equipment by quantity.
We need more F-15SG, F-16 Block 52+, stealth frigates and other advanced weapons.
Thank you.


Yours Truly,
Soetomo

With 3 kids of my own, just wondering if there would be a time when more can be done for fathers to spend time with their children, and to help during the maternity period.

Would it be possible or feasible to consider having the 3 months split between the parents? This would help with the woman's career, as she is not away for so long (or she could be for the 3 months if the family chooses), and the man can spend bonding time with the child as well. Just a thought as we move into a new era, and one where we ask of fathers to participate more in the raising of their child.

I take the children to the Zoo this Saturday. A time I look forward to as my wife would be staying at home to rest.

While I agree with many that having more handouts from the Government will help defray the cost of living, having a child is not all about money. Having children and starting a family is a decision to grow, to make sacrifices. Marriage is a sacrifice, for 1 has to give up some freedom to share a life with another. Having a child is not just about the money. The Government could give me money, but it would not make child raising any easier. It may help in terms of purchasing items for the child, but shouldn't the sacrifice come from the parents? Sacrifices in terms of sleep, finances, and time. Yes, as a parent with 3 children, more money is great. It would be great if I was in the >$4000 category, but I live within what I have. It is a choice. High class dinners each night or home cooked food? Bread and better over Croissants? A choice needs to be made. We can always ask for more, but as we have heard in the past, "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". I always look at myself as poor, but there are others that are poorer than me, and with more difficult situations (such as elderly parents who require medical attention, or a child with special needs). We need to be less selfish, and think more of the community needs and wants. The budget works, I am happy. Would I ask for more? YES! I am human. But I also realise that I need to give more in order to ask for more.

Give long due recognition to homemakers. Treat women not like a birth machine. Give birth to young and employed a maid or get childcare to take care of your kids. Send a strong message to women who want to have kids, go ahead, provide incentives to them if they are willing to put career on hold to pass the right values and mould the characters of their young charges. Provide a scheme to intergrate them to the workforce when they are ready.

i think nothin much in budget 2007 has really help the middle income earners.these arE the ppl aged 24-29yrs old plannin to get married but was still considerin due to the fact that they are financially strained. since govt is encouraging ppl to get married & have kids... i felt these group of ppl who earn less than 4k should be given some incentives.they have neglected the fact that declining birth rate in the young middle income are due to the fact that they are financially constrained. nowadays, hdb are not as cheap as before and it so difficult to wait to queue up for a new hdb fr hdb when they jus release very few units at ago which thousand of applicants but so limited units.

another grp of ppl they have neglected are the regulars(civil servant sign ons than are earn less than 3k a mth -lower middle income)..there seem to have rebates for NSmen and NSFs, including those aged below 21, will also get an additional $100 of GST Credits, to recognise their contributions to national security. however, regulars are not nsmen nor nsfs. and those civil servants that sign on for 6yrs or more are those that contribute to the national security and defence directly... why do the regulars being excluded in the $100 incentives???

I feel that the GST Offset Credits that are given out to the people should not be constrained solely to those above 21 years of age. As long as one has been contributing to the workforce for a fair period of time, regardless of their age, they should be entitled to the GST Offset Credits.
When one starts working and earns money, the chances of them depending on their income earned is very high, which brings me to the point that they do spend a substantial amount of money, therefore they will be affected by the increased GST.
Since they are not excluded from schemes such as the payment of income tax, I do not see why they should not be included in this scheme either. Age is purely a number and a benefit of such should not be confined to ones age but to how one contributes to the economy.

Prior to the budget announcement, there were some discussion on the effectiveness of our current baby bonus scheme on our 'still-low' birth rate. However, we waited in anticipation of some revision on the scheme but to our disappointment. With the GST hike, it will raise the costs of child birth/raising, especially the high and frequent medical expenses. Would the government make any subsidise arrangements or alternative measures to aid in lowering costs in these areas, and hence encourage more births?