By the way, I was still thinking about car prices - If the government wants to use the taxes to control the number of cars on the roads, instead of imposing an ad volerem tax like the ARF (100% of OMV), shouldn't they just allow cars which have an OMV value above say the minimum list price now to enter Singapore?

Think of it as a scale. Right now, the cars in Singapore mostly range from above SGD$50 000 to infinity, if you shift the scale by reducing the tax, but limiting the prices from say above SGD$50,000, you will still have all the cars ranging from the price of SGD$50,000, so in essence, the prices are still a deterrent for owning a car!
Just that now, the cars available for sale would be the nicer ones! :)
Because now, all the uglier cars have fallen below the SGD$50,000 range, and thus, are not available for sale in Singapore!

Think about it another way: what's happening now is that people who are willing to fork out say, SGD$75,000 for one honda civic, can actually use that same money and get a nice BMW 5 series. It's not like they're going to buy ANOTHER car just because the nicer cars are now cheaper? They will still use that SGD75,000 to buy a car, just that now they can buy a BMW 5 series instead of a Honda Civic!
Wouldn't the whole of Singapore look alot better with BMWs or Mercs or Lexus on the roads instead of say Hondas or Toyotas or Chevrolets (I have nothing against Hondas or Toyotas, but you gotta admit BMWs and Mercs and Lexus beat them all hands down) ? Doesnt the govt want Singapore to be like the Monaco of Asia?

Another idea is, the govt should just impose say a SGD$45 000 tax on each car, so , that in effect acts as a deterrent but doesnt at the same time increase substantially the price of the nicer cars!
You will have a Honda Civic costing around its actual list price now, but a BMW 5 series costing only SGD 100,000! much less than its list price right now!

The effect is that people will still stick to the number of cars they originially wanted, but now, be induced or be able to buy the nicer ones!

Tada!

Problem solved!
And now, the govt will have less money (they already have more than enough), but Singapore's roads would only be filed with the snazzy, pazzy, gorgeous cars.

YUM.

SOMEONE SUGGEST THIS TO THE LTA!
hohoho.




~

I've always enjoyed the talks on TED ever since they came out I think a decade ago...

This following one just blew my mind away:



Amazing isn't it. The endless possibilities.

~