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3 ways Singapore can meet higher costs without taxing citizens more
Options to consider: relax the balanced budget rule, impose higher property taxes on foreign buyers and lower the GST threshold
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By 2030, total spending will be around 20 per cent of gross domestic product, compared with 15 per cent in 2010, which is a quite a jump.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
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Come Budget time, everybody seems to want more of everything.
Besides government pledges, if you comb through the wish lists put out by economists, consulting firms and the public, you will find a laundry list of items and schemes that need more funding: For the population, there are demands for higher spending on healthcare and eldercare, education, community facilities, cost-of-living payouts including more CDC vouchers, wider social safety nets, baby bonuses and paid parental leave, to cite just a few.
