Budget tackles cost challenges, invests in longer-term goals

● $600 in CDC vouchers for all Singaporean households 50% corporate income tax rebate, capped at $40,000 ● • $4,000 SkillsFuture Credit top-up for those 40 and above

- Goh Yan Han

Everyone will have a slice of the Budget 2024 pie, which aims to address immediate challenges like cost-of-living pressures while investing in longer-term goals of strong economic growth, better jobs and a culture of lifelong learning.

Key policy moves include enhancements to the Assurance Package like giving out more Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers.

A significant top-up of SkillsFuture credits will benefit mid-career workers, while a corporate income tax rebate aims to help companies manage rising costs.

The Government will also be rolling out strategies to improve retirement adequacy, lower healthcare costs and provide more for lower-wage workers.

Many of these moves were signposted earlier in the Forward Singapore report released in October 2023.

Budget 2024 rolls out the first instalment of the Forward Singapore programmes, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in Parliament on Feb 16 as he delivered his third annual Budget speech.

He laid out a $131.4 billion proposal - about 18.3 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product. These moves are part of an "ambitious agenda" to achieve the shared goals of building a nation that is vibrant and inclusive, fair and thriving, as well as resilient and united, he said.

They come amid a mixed outlook for 2024, he said. Growth in major economies is expected to be resilient, but geopolitical risks continue to loom large.

At the same time, global inflationary pressures are tipped to further recede, said DPM Wong, who is also Finance Minister.

He was "cautiously optimistic" that 2024 will be better than 2023, as he projected a $0.8 billion surplus for the upcoming financial year - "essentially a balanced fiscal position".

TACKLING COST-OF-LIVING PRESSURES