With less than four months to go for 2023, Singapore residents are bracing themselves for the imminent 9% hike in Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Given the extensive financial assistance announced during the Budget this year, surely many have been wondering if more help will be extended in 2024 too.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is aware of this. During his National Day Rally 2023 speech in Mandarin, he acknowledged that he couldn’t answer it.
So he turned to the best person to ask the question, and it’s none other than our Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
Source: Prime Minister’s Office on YouTube
People sitting in the audience laughed at the unexpected lighthearted moment.
PM Lee was delivering his National Day Rally speech in Mandarin at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Headquarters in Ang Mo Kio on Sunday (20 Aug).
He summarised the measures implemented to help Singaporeans with low incomes reduce the burden of rising living costs due to inflation.
Source: Prime Minister’s Office on YouTube
As seen in the calendar for the last financial year, almost every month, a typical household living in a three-room HDB flat would get U-Save and S&CC rebates, CDC vouchers, cash payouts and more.
The only empty months are June 2022, November 2022 and March 2023.
Then for this financial year starting April 2023, PM Lee said he has a new calendar for it. This time, the only two blank months are November 2023 and March 2024, which he joked that it was the time for the God of Fortune to take leave.
“We have kept our promise to take care of Singaporeans,” he said.
Acknowledging that the GST hike this year has affected many Singaporeans, the government rolled out the Assurance Package to alleviate the pressure, especially on lower- and middle-income families.
Due to a budget surplus, PM Lee said they could enhance the Assurance Package this year to further help Singaporeans.
“But I’m sure you are wondering, could we further enhance the Assurance Package next year, so everyone gets a little more help?
“You ask me, who do I ask?” he jested, eliciting laughter from the audience.
So I asked Finance Minister Lawrence Wong. He said he will study it carefully. Let’s wait, and of course, we hope for good news.
However, PM Lee sought everyone’s understanding that the government cannot give out subsidies infinitely.
Hence, he said the long-term solution was to make ourselves more productive, transform our business and grow our economy. “Then our real incomes can rise, and we can all be better off,” he said.
Read about the Assurance Package’s enhancements announced earlier this year:
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Featured image adapted from Prime Minister’s Office on YouTube.
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