GST from tourists. Why not? In 2019, tourism receipts was $27.7 billion
Now that our borders are open, tourists will start to come back and we will be able to collect revenue from tourists’ spending through the GST. In pre-COVID time, the bulk of net GST collected came from tourists and foreigners residing here, in addition to high income earners. At least 60% in fact. 19 million […]
Lessons from WP on how to keep the golden goose lean and thin
The Workers Party (WP) which opposes the GST hike, proposes to raise revenue to fund increased spending in the following ways: Use land sale proceeds to fund budget spending; Increase NIRC ( Net Investment Returns Contribution) from 50% to 60%. Point 1 Currently, proceeds from land sales are already being used – indirectly – for budget […]
Coming Soon: Finance Minister Lawrence Wong to unveil Budget 2022 on 18 Feb
Come 18 February, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong will deliver Singapore’s Budget 2022 statement in Parliament. This will be the first time he will be delivering the Budget statement as Finance Minister, having taken over the portfolio from Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat last year! Every year after the national Budget is announced to the public, […]
Are we rich? We should manage our critical Reserves with a founder’s mindset and be careful not to chip it away.
Our Reserves are a critical resource and society, as a whole, must be wise in how we manage this resource so that it is not eaten away over time. The calls to spend more from our reserves is not a new one. Twenty years ago, there were already calls to stop accumulating reserves and to […]
Do not kill the hen (reserves) that lays golden eggs. Fatten it instead, says Goh Chok Tong
Aesop’s fable on “The Goose that lays the golden eggs” tells the story of a farmer whose goose lays one golden egg a day. Wanting to get all the eggs at once, the farmer kills the goose, only to find that he has lost the source of golden eggs. ‘To kill the goose that lays the […]
GST hike: the better-off should contribute a larger share but everyone needs to shoulder at least a small part of the burden
2022 will be a time of transition, PM Lee said in his New Year message. Our economy is recovering steadily and barring fresh disruptions, it should grow in step with the global economy. The past 2 years had been a long and hard fight grappling with COVID-19. The government took drastic measures to protect lives […]
We have to manage our finances in a responsible way: Lawrence Wong
In 1959, Singapore won self-governing status from the British, and general elections were held. Dr Goh Keng Swee resigned as a civil servant to contest as a PAP candidate. When the PAP won, Dr Goh became Singapore’s first Finance Minister. He soon discovered that the government was almost broke, and expected a budget deficit of […]
Ease of connectivity, not geography per se that determines economic relations, says Chan Chun Sing
“Historically, geographical distances have shaped economic cooperation,” Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said. “By virtue of Southeast Asia’s geographical position, goods, capital, people and culture have flowed between Southeast Asia and China for thousands of years. Physical proximity was a natural enabler of the development of interdependencies.” But is Geography still Destiny? Speaking at the […]
Singapore is second most attractive city to build data centres: Arcadis
The Arcadis Data Centre Location Index 2021 ranked Singapore the second most attractive city to build data centres, out of a total of 50 cities. In first place is the US. Demand for data infrastructure was already sky-high before 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a massive surge in internet traffic. This is largely […]
Jamus ‘happy as a clam’ when he heard the government’s fiscal strategy
DPM Heng Swee Keat was happy to hear that WP Jamus Lim was ‘happy as a clam when he when he heard that our fiscal strategy reflected a number of elements that he had previously outlined.’ Excerpt from DPM Heng’s round-up speech: I was happy to hear that Associate Professor Jamus Lim was “happy as […]