COE - the world's best voluntary taxation system.
[Taxes are usually mandatory. You cannot CHOOSE not to pay it. COE is VOLUNTARY. *I* don't pay COE, because I CHOOSE not to own a car.]
And after you managed to get a vehicle with your (voluntary) overly high bid on the COE, you may find that the only way to pay for your overpriced car is to (voluntarily) become a Private Hire Vehicle (Grab) driver.
[And while people make the case for why you don't actually OWN your HDB flat but only "lease" it from the govt for 99 years (or less) and so is NOT an investment, no one makes the argument that the COE allows you to ONLY temporarily own a car for 10 years in Singapore. I guess no one needs to be reminded of this fact. If you're spending money on a car (and COE), you know it's not an investment.]
So someone who has paid a lot of money (voluntarily) for his vehicle, will then have to drive around people who did not (voluntarily) pay the govt for the right to "own" a car.
I think it is a lovely system to get the (relatively) rich(er) people to serve the (relatively) poorer people.
Only in Singapore!
[I guess one way to look at it is the (relatively) richer Singaporeans (they are "rich" enough to buy a car, and "rich" enough to voluntarily pay the COE tax to the govt) are serving the "poorer" Singaporeans (who can't afford to choose to pay COE) IF they (the richer Singaporeans) voluntarily become PHV drivers. That's some kind of social equalisation, right?]
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