Singapore demands a $67,000 "permit" fee to purchase an auto!

[FelixDeCat]

Besides a registration tax of 150% of the market value of your car (flippn crazy), before you can even purchase a vehicle you must pay the government a permit fee of (currently) $67,000.00!!! That is a 100%+ increase since early 2012, when the cost was only $30k.

Singapore is home to some of the wealthiest people in the world, but the commoners are being weened off autos in favor of mass transportation, thus the outrageous fees and taxes.

Since so few cars are allowed to be sold in Singapore, a BMW that goes for $50,000 here goes for $260,000+ there.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-04/singapore-family-sedan-matches-cost-of-a-u-s-home.html

With a new Toyota Motor Corp. Yaris costing about $68,000 in Singapore, compared with $15,300 in New York and $18,100 in London, some are reluctant to buy at all.

 

[blackangst1]

yep

 

[kache]

Wealthy people just buy them in China.They didn't become rich by wasting money.

 

[Apex]

Wealthy people just buy them in China.They didn't become rich by wasting money.

Yep. That way they only need to pay for the COE ($65,000 for a car with smaller than a 1.6L engine, typical BMW/Mercedes sized engine 2x that amount), import duty (31% car value), ARF (100% car value).

 

[kache]

Yep. That way they only need to pay for the COE ($65,000 for a car with smaller than a 1.6L engine, typical BMW/Mercedes sized engine 2x that amount), import duty (31% car value), ARF (100% car value).

I doubt that.
People in Italy were bypassing Italian taxes on supercars by buying them in Germany and giving property to a german leasing company which leased the car to them for a symbolic price. And that was for what, 10keuro?
For the milions in taxes needed to buy a Veyron in Singapore I think richies found much more creative solutions.

 

[jagec]

I doubt that.
People in Italy were bypassing Italian taxes on supercars by buying them in Germany and giving property to a german leasing company which leased the car to them for a symbolic price. And that was for what, 10keuro?
For the milions in taxes needed to buy a Veyron in Singapore I think richies found much more creative solutions.

Singapore's government isn't nearly as corrupt as Italy's, so I don't doubt that they can find ways of closing all the loopholes.

 

[cronos]

They just don't want these cars on the roads. You probably should look up how many total miles of roadways there are in the whole country, there aren't that many at all.

They of course complement these with a pretty excellent public transportation system. At least that's what I heard.

 

[Jeff7]

Wow.
>7200 people per square kilometer in Singapore.
Washington DC: >3800
New Jersey: 459

 

[andylawcc]

ya, and you still see cars everywhere in SGP.

 

[Phokus]

Good for Singapore. We need to get off dependency on autos.

The Netherlands also has very high taxes on autos as well.

 

[Jeff7]

Good for Singapore. We need to get off dependency on autos.

The Netherlands also has very high taxes on autos as well.

Or else make them more efficient.


But even so, the US does use a lot of resources. We're also responsible for a lot of the world's GDP.

 

[JoLLyRoGer]

They should have that here. Too many assholes here that can't drive worth a damn that should be taking the bus anyway. I'm guessing gridlock on I-5 would be a thing of the past. Bully for Singapore.

 

[CPA]

Good for Singapore. We need to get off dependency on autos.

The Netherlands also has very high taxes on autos as well.

That's right, back to the horse and buggy.

 

[SparkyJJO]

They should have that here. Too many assholes here that can't drive worth a damn that should be taking the bus anyway. I'm guessing gridlock on I-5 would be a thing of the past. Bully for Singapore.

Yeah now how do a huge chunk of our population get to work or do their jobs? Don't forget that a lot of people don't just have a 9 to 5 job in an office somewhere but have to go places throughout the day.

Why do you hate the working man?

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Singapore needs to use its wealth, canes, and all-around awesomeness to start annexing portions of Malaysia.

That's right, back to the horse and buggy.

To be fair, Singapore really can't afford American-level car ownership. If every citizen owned a Yaris, cars alone would inhabit 5% of their country. When you consider the number of things vital to a country that can't be scaled down proportionately (airports, seaports, etc), it would be a clusterfuck not to regulate car ownership there.

 

[foghorn67]

Good for Singapore. We need to get off dependency on autos.

The Netherlands also has very high taxes on autos as well.

That might work for you, but not all of us live in a shithole.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

That might work for you, but not all of us live in a shithole.

Singapore is a shithole? lolno. They're basically a capitalist, right-wing paradise. As a far-right extremist that hates gum chewers and graffiti myself, I basically idolize their government. If concessions in automobile and land ownership have to be made due to their tiny size, so be it. They still kick ass.

 

[Phokus]

That's right, back to the horse and buggy.

Ever heard of walking, cycling, and using public transportation?

 

[Phokus]

That might work for you, but not all of us live in a shithole.

Heh, if you live in a shithole, you're probably more dependent on cars (for reference, i used to live in Boston and now i live near NYC).

 

[SparkyJJO]

Ever heard of walking, cycling, and using public transportation?

None of those are an option for me (and thousands of other people), partly because of the line of work they're in.

 

[AnMig]

Been there 3 times, very clean place, hot and humid as hell. Still a lot of cars but not crazy congested.
Now if they can just regulate those horrendous amount of motorcycles that Malaysian workers use to go back and forth Singapore. I dont think they allow them in the city. Its crazy the way these motorcycle riders drive, no concern for their personal safety at all.

My friend has a Minivan I think it cost around 70$ to own and use.

I think they consider themselves a democratic country but I have heard a lot of locals describe their leader as a benevolent dictator.

I believe you can chew gum, they are not allowed to sell it along with proctor and gamble stuff (memory may be fading on this), Ivory soap is a hot item to bring in the country.

They also claim to have a very low crime rate.

 

[JulesMaximus]

We should do that here.

 

[OverVolt]

well thats not gonna lead to a black market or anything

 

[JulesMaximus]

well thats not gonna lead to a black market or anything

Hire more cops.

Problem solved.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

well thats not gonna lead to a black market or anything

You are correct, it's not. Putting aside the fact that Singapore is a very small country with very harsh penalties for transgressions of the law, how exactly are you going to make a black market of very large items (vehicles) whose purpose is to be used outdoors in open view? I think what you meant was permit fraud, but even that would be very risky in such a country.