The 2020 Budget statement was delivered by Finance Minister Mr Heng Swee Keat in Parliament on 18 February. This Budget speech has been widely anticipated to be the last before the next General Election, which has to be held before April 2021.
Budget 2020 was announced against a backdrop of the COVID-19 disease outbreak and subdued economic conditions, with 2020 GDP growth now expected at -0.5 to 1.5% year-on-year. Aside from the immediate concerns of the impact of COVID-19, rising costs of living remain of concern for many Singaporean households, as does the trend in operating costs for businesses. As such, substantial stabilisation and support measures for households and businesses totalling $5.6 billion were a key part of this year’s Budget proposals, as were numerous enhancements to schemes to help workers retrain and re-skill to remain employable, raise productivity and mitigate the costs of hiring older workers. There was a continued emphasis on helping households with the costs of living, and improving the safety nets for vulnerable groups through short-term payouts to help households during this period of uncertainty, as well as longer-term measures to boost retirement adequacy.
Although the planned increase of 2% points in the Goods and Services Tax will not feature in this year’s Budget (having been postponed beyond 2021), there will be interest in what the Budget statement has revealed about how the government will balance rising spending needs and its revenue sources, especially in the light of large climate change mitigation expenditures ($100 billion or more over 100 years) as indicated in the Prime Minister's National Day Rally speech in August last year.
Join Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance Mr Lawrence Wong in a discussion with IPS Corporate Associates on Budget 2020, and how the measures announced will help to sustain and grow the economy for the benefit of Singaporeans and businesses operating here.