The Business Times
business-time-50
SINGAPORE BUDGET 2023

Singapore can pay for higher social spending without hiking income taxes for the time being: analysts

Future revenue could come from 10% GST, capital gains tax on property sales

google-preferred-sourceAdd BT as a preferred source
    • Corporate income tax is the largest source of tax revenue for Singapore, but watchers see limited room for raising the rate.
    • Corporate income tax is the largest source of tax revenue for Singapore, but watchers see limited room for raising the rate. PHOTO: YEN MENG JIIN, BT

    Annabeth Leow

    Published Tue, Feb 21, 2023 · 05:50 AM

    SINGAPORE’S ambitious social agenda can continue to be funded without drastic new tax moves – at least in the near future, watchers have told The Business Times. But if new policies require more revenue, possible sources include further goods and services tax (GST) hikes and property-related taxes.

    Budget 2023 – which beefs up support for parents, seniors, and lower-income workers – is expected to run a deficit of about S$0.4 billion, or 0.1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

    Watchers do not expect personal and corporate income tax hikes to be announced in 2024, especially given last year’s personal income tax increases and the two-step hike in the GST rate.

    Singapore Budget 2023fiscal policyTaxesSpotlight

    TRENDING NOW

    Traffic through the strait has been resuming but with interruptions, and there is still little clarity over a permanent solution for passages through the chokepoint.

    Qatari LNG ship struck in Strait of Hormuz, testing US talks

    This comes after a Citi note on Tuesday that lifted target prices for all Singapore banks, with a leading preference and “buy” call for DBS.

    DBS, OCBC and UOB shares hit all-time highs as sentiment improves

    Aster deputy CEO Andre Khor, citing the age of the “polycrisis”, says: “It’s very important to be agile, to be focused on execution… We don’t know all the answers but we keep going forward.”

    ‘Baptism of fire’: Andre Khor on leading Singapore refiner Aster through an energy crisis

    Singapore ranks as the world’s most expensive city for cars and placed third globally for residential property.

    Singapore retains top spot as most expensive city for HNWIs, with five Apac cities in global top 10

    Latest T-bills Treasury Bills Results & Interest NewsLatest SSB Singapore Savings Bonds NewsLatest COE Certificate of Entitlement News
    Latest Johor-Singapore SEZ NewsLatest BTO Build To Order & Sales of Balance NewsLatest STI Straits Times Index NewsLatest SGX Dividends, Share Price NewsLatest Bonds Market NewsLatest Singapore Stocks To Buy NewsLatest Singapore Economy News
    View More