Budget 2023 debate: Hazel Poa on land sales proceeds and corporate tax

The home affordability issues that Singapore is facing highlight how the current practice of putting land sales proceeds into Singapore’s reserves is not sustainable and places an unnecessary tax burden on taxpayers, said NCMP Hazel Poa in Parliament on Thursday (Feb 23). She said the increasing land cost that necessitates higher subsidies and grants to keep homes affordable makes higher taxes necessary. On the other hand, if land sales proceeds are taken as revenue, higher land costs mean higher revenue which can fund higher subsidies and grants without needing higher taxes. Ms Poa said this is why the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) advocates taking the proceeds of land sales as revenue divided over the lease period. PSP also wants more profitable companies to pay more taxes and for that extra corporate tax revenue to be used to lower costs in Singapore, said Ms Poa.