Singapore managers 3rd in Asia in spending power
Singapore managers have the third-highest spending power in Asia, local media reported on Wednesday.
They rank behind those in China's Hong Kong and Thailand, a study by management consultancy Hay Group, which calculated spending power by taking into account salaries, cost of living and taxes, local English newspaper The Straits Times reported.
Last year, Singapore managers ranked 4th in Asia and 22nd in the world in terms of spending power. But Hay Group said the comparison to this year's figures may not be suitable as it has changed the way it calculates the cost of living.
One reason Singapore managers have lower spending power than their counterparts in economies like China's Hong Kong is that taxes here are higher.
Singapore's highest tax rate of 20 percent has remained unchanged for a number of years. Compared to China's Hong Kong, where the highest tax rate is now 15 percent, higher wage earners in Singapore, such as managers, would have a lower income after tax.
Still, Singapore managers are better off than those in many other Asian countries or territories this year, in part because of the generous recession cushions provided by the government, the report said.