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GST hike the 'sole reason' Workers' Party MPs voted against Budget 2018

Workers’ Party supporters seen at a rally in 2011. (PHOTO: Getty Images)
Workers’ Party supporters seen at a rally in 2011. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

The only reason the Workers’ Party (WP) Members of Parliament voted against Budget 2018 on Thursday (1 March) was the party’s disagreement with the planned Goods and Services Tax (GST) hike.

In a statement issued after the vote in Parliament, the opposition party noted that it had intended to show its support for the Budget until Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat “insisted” that this would necessarily also entail supporting the impending GST rise.

Heng had stated in his Budget 2018 speech last month that the government is looking to raise Singapore’s GST to 9 per cent sometime in 2021 to 2025.

“It is unreasonable for us to vote for a drastic future tax hike that will financially affect Singaporeans based on inadequate information and justifications on the need for the hike. We therefore voted ‘NO’,” said the WP.

Eight WP MPs voted against the Budget, while WP chief Low Thia Khiang was not present in Parliament for the vote.

On Wednesday, Aljunied MP Pritam Singh told the House that the WP was unable to support the GST hike at this point in time due to a lack of clarity about projected future government expenditure and whether there is scope for using the nation’s reserves to better support its citizens.

In its statement, the WP said that the future GST hike is “an announcement and not a budget measure” and explained its vote.

“We are unable to support the announcement for three reasons: the lack of clarity on long-term projected government income and spending; the lack of consideration of alternative revenue streams and whether there is scope for the reserves to better support and invest in Singaporeans; and the lack in details on the effect of the future GST hike on low-income and middle-income Singaporeans and the government’s permanent GST offset packages,” said the party.

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