ST-BT Budget 2022 roundtable with Lawrence Wong to discuss Singapore's 'new way forward'

Singapore

FINANCE Minister Lawrence Wong will speak on Singapore's aim to forge a more dynamic and greener economy anchored by a fairer tax system, at a roundtable organised by The Business Times and The Straits Times on Monday (Mar 14).

Wong will be discussing Budget announcements as part of a panel of experts featuring UOB head of research Suan Teck Kin, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general Ng Chee Meng, and economics and finance professor Sumit Agarwal from the National University of Singapore.

Moderated by The Straits Times associate editor Vikram Khanna, the ST-BT Budget Roundtable 2022 comes on the heels of the fortnight-long Budget and Committee of Supply debates in Parliament.

"The roundtable will focus on the extent to which this 'new way forward' Budget is a break from the past and how effectively it can deliver on the goals of rebuilding public finances, accelerating decarbonisation, reducing wealth inequalities and getting Singapore's workforce future-ready," Khanna said.

The topics it will cover include the overall tax system, carbon taxes, labour policies as well as the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the economy, he added.

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During Budget 2022 on Feb 18, Wong announced a series of tax reforms to support longer-term spending while ensuring the system remains fair and progressive.

This includes wealth taxes, levied on properties with a higher annual value as well as luxury cars, and higher personal income taxes for top earners.

Carbon tax will also see a five-fold increase to S$25 per tonne of emissions from 2024 - a steep hike that caught market watchers off-guard and signals the government's resolve to push the industry towards greener solutions.

Meanwhile, the goods and services tax (GST) hike will be delayed until 2023 and implemented in two steps, amid - among other reasons - the likely uneven economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic as well as rising inflation.

A week after these announcements were made, however, energy prices soared past US$100 a barrel as the Ukraine crisis deepened, threatening to further accelerate inflation, which in January hit a near-decade high.

Full coverage of the roundtable will be in Thursday's edition of The Business Times.