Govt needs to raise revenue to do more for S'poreans, says Lawrence Wong who rejects claim GST hike hurts poor
CNA screengrabFinance Minister Lawrence Wong speaking in Parliament on March 2, 2022.
- Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said the Government cannot be expected to do more for the country without raising revenues
- He said relying on the reserves alone could lead to a downward fiscal spiral
- Mr Wong also said that claims that the GST hike will hurt the poor are “unfounded”
- He said the enhanced permanent GST Voucher scheme neutralises the impact of the increase in GST for low-income families

BY
LOW YOUJIN
Published March 2, 2022
Updated March 3, 2022
SINGAPORE — The Government has frequently heard calls for it to spend more on Singaporeans, but this will not be possible without raising sources of revenue such as
increasing the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Finance Minister
Lawrence Wong said in Parliament on Wednesday (March 2).
“You can't have it both ways. If we want the Government to do more, then let us be upfront and explain to Singaporeans why additional revenues and tax increases are needed,” Mr Wong said at the end of three days of debate over this year’s Budget announcements.