Monday, February 22, 2010

News Update SINGAPORE BUDGET 2010 2010 Budget at a glance

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Feb 22, 2010

SINGAPORE announced on Monday a smaller budget deficit for the fiscal year starting April 1, 2010. The government will, however, increase spending to raise the productivity of the local workforce.
The government expects a basic budget deficit of $7.2 billion, or 2.6 per cent of GDP, for the fiscal year beginning April 2010, down from an estimated $8.5 billion, or 3.3 per cent of GDP, this fiscal year.

The basic budget deficit excludes transfers by government to endowment funds as well as the net investment returns from the country's reserves.
The overall budget balance for FY2010/11 is an estimated deficit of $3 billion, or 1.1 per cent of GDP, the finance ministry said in a statement.
Following are highlights of the budget by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam:

$5.5B TO RAISE PRODUCTIVITY
Singapore will commit $1.1 billion a year over the next five years in the form of tax benefits, grants and training subsidies to support the national effort to raise productivity.
WAGE SUBSIDY
The government will top up the wages of lower-paid Singaporean workers by between $150 and $400 a month, with older workers getting a larger wage subsidy.
Singapore's 'Workfare Income Supplement' scheme will also be extended to workers earning up to $1,700 a month from the current $1,500 a month.

FOREIGN WORKER LEVY

Mr Tharman said the government will increase the levy on low-skilled foreign workers over a period of three years.
The levy on work permit holders will be raised by $10-30 per worker on July 1, 2010, and will average about $100 over three years. The dependency ratios, which is the number of foreign workers a firm can employ for every local on its payroll and which varies by industries, will remain unchanged. -- REUTERS