See each Budget as a building block towards national priorities

EVERY year, after the Singapore Budget is unveiled, no matter how broad its scope and reach, inevitably some quarters come away disappointed. This year is no different, even as the Budget debate in Parliament kicks off on Tuesday.

With speculation rife over impending elections, there were high hopes that Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat's 2019 Budget would be brimming with goodies. In fact there were some big-ticket giveaways, including a S$6.1 billion fund to meet the Merdeka Generation's healthcare needs for people born in the 1950s; a S$1.1 billion package to celebrate Singapore's bicentennial; and S$4.6 billion over three years to help workers and companies upgrade.

But some begrudge the Budget for its absence of significant tax changes for corporates and individuals and the lack of taxes on the super wealthy. Others said the Budget and its one-off packages fail to address urgent issues like Singapore's triple demographic challenge of fewer babies, decreased immigration, and ageing population.