New ways to raise revenue needed, says DPM Tharman

New ways to raise revenue needed, says DPM Tharman
04:46 AM Mar 02, 2012
by Neo Chai Chin
SINGAPORE - As the Government ramps up healthcare spending, keeps up social mobility and gives a leg-up to society's lowest wage earners, it will also need to find new ways of raising revenue after 2016, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday as he wrapped up the three-day Budget debate.
Even as he affirmed a judicious spending approach to avoid a heavy tax burden on middle-income earners, he rolled out examples to illustrate how the Government has addressed inequality, while promising to look into suggestions raised by Members of Parliament.

Mr Tharman, who is also Finance Minister, noted that low-income households received over S$4 in benefits - through schemes like Workfare, housing and education subsidies - for every dollar of tax they pay.
The Government pledged to do more for low-wage workers like cleaners and security guards. The Manpower Ministry is working with the National Environment Agency to help cleaners, and with the Home Affairs Ministry in the case of security guards, said Mr Tharman.
Healthcare spending over the next 20 years will go up from the current 1.6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), to 3.5 per cent of GDP by 2030, said Mr Tharman.
For the elderly, the amount of money from the Silver Housing Bonus and Lease Buyback Scheme to be locked up for the CPF Life scheme will be reviewed over the next two months. The suggestion to further tap risk-pooling and enhance portable medical insurance will be studied.
Refuting the perception of some that the sandwich class - squeezed by costs of caring for aged parents and young children - were somewhat left out of this year's Budget, Mr Tharman said the Medisave top-ups the middle-income group will receive via the GST Voucher will be enough to fund half their annual Medisave withdrawals on average.
But the Government's basic strategy to help the middle-income group is to ensure real wages rise and tax burden remains low. A "fair tax system" must be sustainable, "not just for five or 10 years, but well into our children's generation", stressed Mr Tharman.
Beyond 2016, the Government will have to find new sources of revenues, including tax revenues. "For these five years, we're okay and that's why we're setting aside monies in trust funds and endowment funds to fund future spending whilst we still have the resources," he said. "But in the 10 to 15 years after 2016, we do have a real challenge, and we'll have to think beyond growing the economy and sustaining revenues based on GDP growth."
Mr Tharman rejected Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim's suggestion to increase spending on healthcare to 6.1 per cent of GDP, as in the OECD. According to Mr Tharman, it would mean one of three scenarios: GST has to rise to about 20 per cent, corporate income taxes have to rise to about 40 per cent, or personal income taxes will have to rise to a top-line rate of about 60 per cent. Instead, he felt, the focus should be on outcomes.
URL http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120302-0000064/New-ways-to-raise-revenue-needed,-says-DPM-Tharman
Copyright 2012 MediaCorp Pte Ltd | All Rights Reserved

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A1:
07Mar2012: DPM Tharman: Government revenues need to be raised.
HWZ:
07Mar2012: DPM Tharman: Government revenues need to be raised.
SGClub:
07Mar2012: DPM Tharman: Government revenues need to be raised.
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07Mar2012: DPM Tharman: Government revenues need to be raised.
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07Mar2012: DPM Tharman: Government revenues need to be raised.
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07Mar2012: DPM Tharman: Government revenues need to be raised.