The government's surplus exceeded expectations for two consecutive fiscal years, and Workers' Party Secretary-General Bi Danxing questioned why the government should raise the consumption tax in 2023 and 2024.

“The government's good fiscal situation beyond expectations has led many Singaporeans to question why the consumption tax should be raised in 2023 and 2024,” Bi Danxing said in Congress on Wednesday (February 26).

The government is expected to have a surplus of 6.4 billion yuan and a surplus of 6.8 billion yuan in fiscal 2024 and 2025 respectively. From fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2025, the accumulated surplus of this government is estimated to be as high as 14.3 billion yuan.

After my country implemented the Domestic Top-up Tax, some additional corporate taxes can be levied from fiscal year 2027.

“So, despite the changing international situation and all eyes are focused on Sino-US relations, Singapore can still attract investment,” Bi Danxing said.

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Although the United States announced its withdrawal from the second-generation plan to prevent tax base erosion and profit transfer (BEPS 2.0 for short), Bidenxing believes that Singapore will not be no longer attractive to multinational companies overnight.

Bi Danxing also said: “Input-based inflation has pushed up local prices, and the People's Action Party government does not need to add fuel to the fire, raise consumption tax, and further push up inflation. Even if it decides to raise consumption tax in 2023, the government has enough policy space to postpone the consumption tax that needs to be raised in 2024.”

“The decision to continue to raise the GST in a situation of high inflation is wrong. The government reduces the burden on the Chinese people through Assurance Package and the Community Development Council's Neighborhood Shopping Voucher. These measures are not permanent and once it is over, the 9% GST will continue.”

Judging from the surplus that exceeds expectations, Bi Danxing believes that it is difficult to predict the government's revenue. “If this situation continues, it will be difficult to support the policy of raising tax rates in the future.”

Bukit Ban Rang Parliamentarian Lian Ronghua, who spoke, believes that our country's fiscal policy will not only take into account the present moment, but will also pave the way for the future.

He pointed out that each fiscal budget will have sufficient financial resources to meet the challenges we are facing. For example, this fiscal budget will continue to strengthen its efforts to help Chinese people alleviate the current high living expenses.

“In addition, we also ensure that there are sufficient financial resources to solve the challenges faced in the medium and long term in the future, such as building more medical facilities to cope with the needs of future population changes, building long-term and stable energy supply, continuously renovating our municipalities, strengthening public security and national defense, taking good care of vulnerable groups in society that need to be cared for, etc.”