'Enough time' to adjust to any impending tax hike

Singapore

COMPANIES and citizens will be given "enough time" to adjust to any impending tax hike, Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance Indranee Rajah stressed yesterday, without giving further details.

She was speaking to reporters after a visit to AWWA Health and Senior Care at Ang Mo Kio, one of the social service agency's centres.

Speculation about upcoming tax hikes has been rife since November, when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that rising infrastructure and social spending meant it was not a question of whether taxes would be raised, but when.

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat is widely expected to make an announcement about tax hikes in his Budget speech on Feb 19.

Yesterday, asked what would be considered "enough time", Ms Indranee replied: "It depends on what the nature of the tax hike is, which is something we have not announced yet."

Whatever measures are taken, the government will give Singaporeans enough room to adjust, she said. "It's enough time for people to plan their finances, it's enough time for businesses to think about what they do.

"Essentially, enough time to make sure you can get your financial planning in order."

Healthcare spending, particularly related to the ageing population, will be one of the biggest social items in this year's Budget, said Ms Indranee.

As Singapore's population ages, so will healthcare expenditure: "So that is something we have to see how we can fund in a sustainable way."

That is why the question of raising taxes has arisen. With economic growth being central to public revenues, the government is also "paying a lot of attention to how we can expand Singapore's growth".

But apart from public spending, she added, there is "another dimension" to supporting the elderly - involving the wider community.

One focus of Budget 2018 will be helping seniors age in place, within a familiar environment. This will involve tapping the resources not just of the government and voluntary welfare organisations, but also ordinary citizens and corporates, for a "Singapore model of supporting the aged", said Ms Indranee.

She noted that while some of the elderly have complex needs that require specialised care, some just need social interaction.

One possible model to address this is corporate volunteering, she added. For instance, a voluntary welfare organisation could work with a group of six corporations, with each one volunteering for two months each year.