SINGAPORE - There is no “slack” in Singapore’s Budget and in fact, without the tax moves announced in 2023 and 2022, Singapore would not be able to meet its spending needs, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday. Read more at straitstimes.com.
SINGAPORE - There is no “slack” in Singapore’s Budget and in fact, without the tax moves announced in 2023 and 2022, Singapore would not be able to meet its spending needs, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday.
Explaining why there is no fiscal slack, he said that during the pandemic, projects were deferred, and many planned and budgeted activities could not be carried out. Hence the Government reallocated these resources towards the more urgent task of fighting Covid-19.these funds have to be channelled back to what they were originally meant for, he added.
For example, the GST Voucher Fund and Progressive Wage Credit Scheme fund require top-ups when the parameters of the underlying schemes are enhanced, as was done in 2022 and in 2023’s Budget. The monies in these funds are already being drawn down today and not just in the future.He urged the House to assess Singapore’s fiscal position not by considering the year-to-year changes but the broader medium-term trend.
“This is not just a hypothetical worry. The MNEs are already making this clear to us in our consultation sessions with them,” he added.We cannot afford to price ourselves out of the competition, or else Singapore and Singaporeans will end up the biggest loser.”PSP Non-Constituency MP Hazel Poa had also suggested spending the proceeds from land sales by treating it as revenue divided over the period of the lease.
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