Tax policy
Tax policy in Singapore serves two main purposes:
- Revenue Raising
Taxes are a key source of funding for government operations.
- Promotion of Economic and Social Goals
Taxes are used to influence behaviour for desirable goals. For e.g., encouraging businesses to adopt mechanisation and automation, and Singaporeans to have more children.
The key tenet of Singapore's tax policy is to keep tax rates competitive for businesses and individuals. This will attract foreign investment and encourage hard work and entrepreneurship.
To make tax revenue more resilient, the Goods & Services Tax (GST) was introduced in 1994. This balanced mix of income and consumption taxes strengthens Singapore's fiscal position against economic changes.