Gene Kwee
Singapore Budget 2020
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat has set forth an expansionary Budget 2020. The goal was amongst others to provide a sizeable fiscal boost to the economy to counter the negative impact of the outbreak of the COVID-19, helping businesses, workers and students by giving vouchers, cash payouts, bursaries and (re-)training arrangements to facilitate all to enjoy a better tomorrow.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The measures are bold, and the Deputy Prime Minister has not shied away from looking at a budget for FY2020 resulting in one with an S$10.9 billion deficit. This deficit is the largest in close to 20 years! That said, there is no need to draw down on past reserves as there have been sufficient surpluses from the last five years. The Budget has not stopped short at looking at addressing the impact of the virus outbreak in the short term but is inclusive of measures that support the bigger picture in the long run, including investing in ‘education’ of youth, training of the workforce and a sustainable environment.
Here’s a link to download our overview of the tax measures of the budget announcement that you may want to know more about:
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Resilience Budget 2020
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat has today on the 26th March 2020, in addition to the Unity Budget presented on 18 February 2020, announced an additional set of measures known as Singapore’s Resilience Budget. This supplementary budget is valued at S$48.4 billion. It is intended as a bulwark and provides support measures to taxpayers and citizens against the brutal impact from the global coronavirus outbreak. To fund some of these measures, the government has obtained the President’s in-principle support to draw up to S$17 billion from the country’s past reserves.