Singapore says it’s open for business even as taxes to rise

Bloomberg

Singapore remains a competitive destination for businesses even though it’s raising taxes and maintaining some restrictions on foreign workers, Minister for Trade and Industry
S. Iswaran said.
“When you take into account the whole scheme of taxes, including corporate tax regimes, personal tax regimes, I think Singapore still remains a competitive destination in relative terms,” Iswaran said. “We never compete on the basis of tax or cost alone” but on value, he said.
Singapore’s budget focussed on future tax hikes to help boost revenue that has become more dependent in recent years on reserves to finance spending. With the threat of an aging population looming, the government is preparing to spend more on healthcare and pensions, while also allocating extra money for infrastructure and security.
The lesson from the budget was the “Singaporean approach” of balancing the financial burden over time, Iswaran said.
“You draw on the past reserves, some of the benefits from the past,” he said.
“You do what you can from your current generation, and then you also make sure that the future generation will have to do their part, but you don’t pass—if you can help it—an undue burden.”
Among the tax announcements were an increase in the goods-and-services levy, property duties and a carbon tax. While businesses must still contend with a levy on foreign workers in some industries, those were left unchanged in the budget.
“We have been very clear that Singapore remains open—open as an economy, not just in terms of trade flow or investment flows or capital flows, but also in terms of talent flow,” Iswaran said. Businesses did see some wins in the budget, including an extension of the corporate income tax rebate and more support for research and development projects.