Taxing Home and Car Buyers Helps Singapore Keep Its Budget in Check
ByWhen it comes to balancing the books, Singapore’s government has a tall order. The country’s constitution demands that the budget is balanced over each government’s term (which is a maximum of five years); the island doesn’t borrow money to fund government expenditure and the government doesn’t have any external debt.
For now, it’s got a robust tax and revenue-generating system that supplies ample funds — even with among the lowest tax rates in developed nations. But with economic growth down to 2 percent in 2015 — its slowest pace in six years — and the country’s population aging, demands on the budget are rising. Singapore last year decided to raise taxes for the richest 5 percent of its citizens amid rising discontent over living costs and a widening wealth gap…
Taxing Home and Car Buyers Helps Singapore Keep Its Budget in Check
