By Hasnita A Majid | Posted: 23 April 2011 1606 hrs
SINGAPORE : Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam
has reiterated that the goods and services tax (GST) will not be
raised for at least another five years.
Mr Tharman said there is no need to raise the GST as Singapore's
budget is in a healthy state.
The GST was last raised from 5 per cent to 7 per cent in
2007.
Mr Tharman was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a
community event in Jurong on Saturday.
He said: "As Finance Minister, I have made that very clear in
Parliament that at least for the next five years - it does not mean
we will raise it in five years' time - but at least for five years,
there is absolutely no reason to raise the GST, because this was
the whole idea - we strengthen our revenue base in time. In fact,
in the good years before the crisis, it came in very handy in the
crisis but it is also going to come in handy in the next five years
when we build our infrastructure in health, in infrastructure and
we increase our support for the poor.
"Basically, the GST and changes to the constitution have provided
us a lot addition to our revenue base. Firstly, it has provided us
to react very forcefully during the crisis, it wasn't just the draw
on the reserves...we were very fortunate that we made the revenue
changes in time so that we could react forcefully to help Singapore
through the crisis and now post-crisis, it has helped us to build
up our infrastructure, education, health, including continuous
education and training.
"That was the original motivation for GST, help the poor more and
prepare Singaporeans for the future through investment income, two
very solid sources of revenue to help us in the years to
come."
Mr Tharman also said that his team is taking the opposition
seriously, whether they are well-known or otherwise.
But he said that the People's Action Party (PAP) team has a track
record in Jurong, having made many improvements for the elderly,
children and low-income families in the last 10 years.
Mr Tharman added that aside from national schemes, Jurong also has
its own local schemes that have benefited the residents there, and
so residents already know what the PAP can do more and that they
can deliver on their promises.
- CNA
