Singapore used 20 years of previous budget surpluses to combat Covid-19: DPM

Published Fri, Aug 28, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

SINGAPORE has drawn on its reserves - equivalent to over 20 years of past Budget surpluses - to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Friday.

"We have used a generation's worth of savings to combat a crisis of a generation. We must therefore ensure that our fiscal balance is put back on a stable path when the economy recovers," he wrote in his ministry's addendum to the President's Address.

He said the government will take steps to strengthen its revenue position, and will do so in a way that fosters collective responsibility, with each generation contributing its "fair share". One way is to raise the goods and services tax (GST), but he reiterated …