In these days of increasing prices and ERP tolls, most people are giving their bills a greater scrutiny.

Take for instance our utilities bill.

I used to give it scant attention but this time round I paid more attention to it.

My household consists of only three working people. At weekends, we use the washing machine and, as for cooking, it's a rare activity.

Yet we have to pay a water tax which comes on top of the GST.

Why are consumers paying 2 taxes on the same bill? Bizzare.

People have written to the papers to complain but only to be greeted with a deafening silence.

I'm conscious of doing my part by not wasting water and I dutifully recycle water, but I am hit by the water conservation tax.

So sometimes I think trying to save water or recycle it is a sheer waste of time and effort.

Like the ERP, which has its operating hours extended every now and then, no one escapes the water tax. (Are we having a water crisis?)

That is, unless I bathe in the nearby Punggol River!