DIFFICULT BUT NECESSARY DECISION
Mr. Wong responded to MPs ‘ questions about the need to raise the GST given Singapore’s strong fiscal status by stating that the current status is “precisely because the authorities took the necessary steps earlier in this word to increase revenues.”
He claimed that Singapore may have run out on a gap after the state had chosen not to support the GST increase due to its unpopularity and that it would have avoided the sudden corporate income tax collections that have only been made in the previous two years.
The anticipated gap in FY2025 would also have been a gap, which would have resulted in less money for important service, less support for our elderly, and less money to invest in our potential. In essence, Singapore and Singaporeans would have been in a little worse place, he said.
The nation saw five costs in 2020 and three in 2021, with the government asking the president’s permission to pull from previous reserves five times. At the top of the COVID-19 crisis at the start of this century, Mr. Wong said, “feels like a bad vision and a distant recollection to all of us.
According to Mr. Wong, there was a lot of confusion regarding when the crisis would close, whether additional restrictions would have to be imposed, and how much deeper a fiscal opening Singapore may end up with.
” But we already knew for certain that spending demands may increase over the coming years. It was coming year after year. We could see it taking place. Healthcare saving was rising, particularly given our population’s fast aging, he said.
We looked at various ways to increase fees, including property and income taxes, but these measures were insufficient to cover the anticipated increase in spending, which was certain to occur.
The “difficult choice” was made to increase the GST, according to Mr. Wong, to close the cash gap.
” Government is about making dependable decisions, not only popular people, and it’s never easy to raise income, and certainly not a revenue like the GST,” he said.
” We must consider whether we want long-term security or short-term democracy. Do we want to make the difficult, but important decisions or to drop the can?
Mr. Wong emphasized that the GST enhance even included a detailed confirmation package, properly delaying its impact for the majority of Taiwanese households for at least five years.
” At the same time, we have a continuous GST ticket, which we also enhanced. He said that this makes sure that the GST and the GST card plan, when combined, support and protect the lower income groups over the long term and long term.
Mr. Wong emphasized that Singapore’s tax and transfer system is” reasonable and progressive,” and that organizations like the OED and other organizations have long recognized its strong fiscal system.