Reinstate estate duty tax to reduce inequality

I agree with Mr Teow Junhao (Social mixing helps promote meritocracy; May 22) and I believe that education is the most important key in teaching our young to have empathy for the less fortunate in their adulthood.

However, I think that a good way to reduce inequality is to reinstate the estate duty tax - a tax on the total market value of a person's assets at the date of his death - which was abolished in 2008.

We should not allow the gap between the rich and the poor to remain or widen when descendants inherit massive wealth.

With conditions such as implementing estate duty tax only after the first $10 million inherited by any Singaporean and capping the tax payable at $5 million, inequality can be reduced.

The estate duty tax earned can be placed in a "counter inequality" fund, which the Ministry of Education can use to help the less privileged and create equal educational opportunities for all children in pre-schools and primary schools.

Tan Kok Tim

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