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The idea of reintroducing the inheritance tax as well as having other forms of wealth taxation to help address inequality in society has been discussed recently. For more than 50 years, our society has been driven by meritocracy and a strong work ethic. And we have applauded those who worked hard to achieve economic success for themselves and their families. In that time, Singapore has attracted top talent and investors, who bring their skills, work ethic and wealth here to grow the local economy. Now, Singapore is fast becoming an attractive destination for ultra-rich families to sink roots here or set up businesses or family offices. Implementing wealth and inheritance taxes may cause well-off older Singaporeans to migrate or move their assets elsewhere. The same goes for wealthy foreigners. The impact on the wealth-management sector and on property prices – which incidentally determine the bulk of the net worth of most Singaporeans – could be significant. A much better approach is to attract many more rich people to Singapore, so that there are more wealthy residents spending a lot more money locally, resulting in a trickle-down effect on the economy and creating jobs and boosting wages. In addition, the Government could consider introducing higher tiers of the goods and services tax (GST) for luxury products and services. A wealthy resident who pays a 20 per cent value-added tax in Europe for luxury goods will not mind paying 10 to 15 per cent GST on luxury goods and services here. In the same vein, the Government could consider having higher property taxes for high-end properties that wealthy residents own. Judiciously raising taxes on items consumed by the wealthy will result in much larger tax revenues. Raising the spectre of wealth taxation may only serve to frighten the wealthy away to more friendly tax jurisdictions.