Budget 2026: With fiscal marksmanship now harder to achieve, tax changes need stronger justification

[SINGAPORE] The government announces a GST hike; ends up with an unexpectedly large fiscal surplus; and draws criticism. This describes not just this year’s Budget debate, nor just last year’s similar arguments, but an objection that goes back nearly two decades.

Criticism of the government’s fiscal projections has come up in recent Budget debates – but is far from new.

In Budget 2007, it was announced that the goods and services tax would be hiked to 7 per cent in July, from 5 per cent before. A year later, revised figures showed a S$6.4 billion surplus for the 2007 fiscal year, in contrast to the originally projected S$700 million deficit.