Budget 2015? Not many Singaporeans looked it up

What was Budget 2015 about? Not many Singaporeans could tell a day after it was unveiled by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Monday.

Yahoo Singapore approached Singaporeans on the streets of the business district near Raffles Place around noon on Tuesday to get their thoughts on the budget, but only a handful of the two dozen people approached had an inkling of the measures announced.

“I heard about the budget, but I haven’t had time to read up on it,” was the usual reply.

Of those who did know about it, enhancements to the Central Provident Fund were what stood out.

One elderly man though noted that senior citizens often don't have jobs and are staying in other people's houses, but they won't get GST vouchers if the place is a landed home. "This is unfair," he said.

There was, however, much more to the budget than the CPF scheme and handouts in the form of GST vouchers. In his speech, Tharman talked about the Silver Support scheme for the low-income elderly, more help for SMEs and a SkillsFuture programme to encourage skills upgrading, among others.

He also revealed that the personal income tax rates for the top 5 percent of earners would be increased and applied to income earned in 2016 and on taxes to be paid in 2017.

Watch the video below to see what some of the Singaporeans Yahoo Singapore talked to had to say.

For more on this year's budget, check out Yahoo Singapore’s round-up or visit our blog for more details.