[BicCherry]

Estate Duties Replacement, an important New Government Revenue Source for Singapore.
(Instead of GST increase as forewarned
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-budget-2018-gst-to-be-raised-from-7-to-9-sometime-between-2021-and-2025).

Welcome freehold / extended leasehold property annual tenure retention levy Singapore.

Gahmen should ask those staying in private property of freehold / >99yrs (extended leasehold) to contribute a special annual tax levy for all freehold / extended leasehold properties in Singapore (this is in lieu of Singapore's removal of estate duties (of up to 10%) on 15 February 2008 https://www.iras.gov.sg/IRASHome/Other-Taxes/Estate-duty/ ):

Either they volunteer to immediately revise the lease to 99yrs and be exempt or else pay additional special freehold retention fee (equivalent to ~33%* of property annual value) to annually retain current freehold/999yr leasehold status (otherwise will automatically (irreversibly/ with exception of payment of high penalty fee and 6% penalty interest on retention fee) revert to 99yrs leasehold after grace period to pay levy of 1 yr onwards).

This can be a new source of revenue that everyone, including foreigners owning 999yr leasehold /freehold properties can contribute to.

These folks also have much more to lose if Singapore is captured by another invading military force, thus their special contribution to SAF $13B p.a. budget is called for.

All Singaporeans serving NS will also be happy to learn that rich Singaporeans and foreigners who own freehold / extended leasehold properties are not freeloading on Singapore's very EXPENSIVE SAF and Home team running costs to fund their investments but are only contributing their fair share towards running these important services. (SAF annual budget was $14.76B in 2018 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Armed_Forces)

Since 90% of Singaporeans live in HDB which are by default all 99yr leasehold or less and of the other 10% private properties, majority are also on 99yr leasehold tenure, the new freehold / extended leasehold levy will only affect less than 5% of residential properties, a large number of which being owned by foreign entities who should pay for their fair share of upkeep costs or else accept reversion to 99yr leasehold status from the date of failure to renew the freehold / extended leasehold extension levy onwards.

Private extended leasehold / freehold property owners should be very happy that their asset values remain 'enhanced' vz the payment of annual levy to remain on their current extended leasehold / freehold property tenures, HDB/99yr leasehold owners don't even have that opportunity to protect their "nest eggs": once the remaining lease hits zero, the entire property is to be returned to the gahmen land bank with zero compensation refunded. http://theindependent.sg/low-thia-khiang-only-scratched-the-surface-of-flawed-hdb-asset-enhancement-scheme-opposition-sec-gen-rebuts/

This will allow the gahmen to have an important revenue source to compensate for the high costs (S$14.76Billion p.a. of running SAF etc) equitably raised from the appropriate parties concerned.

So PAP, pls don't say no other revenue source option possible; special freehold/ extended leasehold property taxes is one additional very BIG REVENUE SOURCE to postpone need for GST increase for a very long while.

* '33% of annual value' is calculated based upon the fact at at current fixed deposit interest rate of 1%, $1 will be 1.01^99= $2.678 after 99 years, thus, the freehold / extended leasehold yearly retention fee should be 1/2.678 = 37.34% of annual value. (33% is a discount from this figure) (use of POSB bank savings deposit rate of 0.05% will churn out a much higher retention fee of 95.17% annual value).