Petrol duty increase meant to set price signals and change behaviour: DPM Heng
RAISING the petrol duty is a move meant to set price signals and change behaviour as part of a deliberate decision to protect the environment, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said.
Wrapping up the three-day Budget debate in Parliament on Friday, Mr Heng said this in response to questions from MPs on why the government is raising the petrol duty with immediate effect, even though infrastructure for electric vehicles (EV) is not ready yet.
"This is not the case. The petrol duty adjustments are to set price signals and change behaviour," said Mr Heng, who is also finance minister.
"Just like how we have made deliberate decisions to protect our environment, we want people to make conscious choices about how to drive, how much to drive, and whether to even drive at all."
He added that EVs are not the only alternatives to driving, and that hybrid vehicles are another alternative that are already widely available today.
At the same time, the government is keeping public transport affordable and accessible through rail and bus subsidies, while investing in public transport infrastructure, he said.
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As for whether Singapore is sufficiently prepared for an EV future and the cost-effectiveness of electic cars compared to petrol cars, Mr Heng said the Ministry of Transport will elaborate on this at the Committee of Supply debate next week.
Acknowledging MPs' concerns that the petrol duty increase would affect those who drive for work more, Mr Heng said he understood the pressure they are facing, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He added that he has cushioned the impact for such drivers, which include taxi and private-hire car drivers and delivery riders.
"We expect to channel almost all of the increase in duty collections in 2021 back to petrol vehicle owners as offsets," said Mr Heng.
On top of the road tax rebates, more support will be provided to those who drive for work through additional petrol duty rebates, he said. This will cover the increase in petrol duty for a year for motorcycles and taxis.
He noted that taxi operators and Grab Rentals have agreed to pass the road tax rebates on to their drivers, while Gojek will also be introducing additional incentive rebates for their drivers.
Their drivers will receive rebates from next month, while motorcycle owners will receive their additional petrol duty rebates from May, he said.
Meanwhile, more than 50,000 taxi and private-hire car drivers have benefited from Covid-19 relief measures, including the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme and the Covid-19 Driver Relief Fund, which has just received a top-up for S$133 million.
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