Budget debate 2024: Saktiandi Supaat on support for the upper-middle income group

The upper-middle income group in Singapore is experiencing the same rising costs as everyone else, but may not be getting as much in benefits as lower-middle income groups, said MP Saktiandi Supaat in Parliament on Monday (Feb 26). He said this group needs support too. Mr Saktiandi asked how likely it is that those in the higher income bracket will use SkillsFuture enhancements aimed at helping mid-career workers to upskill. He wanted to know if there is data on use of SkillsFuture Credits by income deciles and if so, what trends are revealed. While welcoming the revision of the Annual Value (AV) bands of owner-occupied residential property tax rates, Mr Saktiandi asked if there will be more frequent reviews of the property tax structure, considering the volatility of market rents in Singapore. More fundamentally, he asked, is it time to stop pegging property tax for owner-occupied residential properties to AVs, which are in turn pegged to market rent levels. On the impending closure of the CPF Special Account for those aged 55 and above, Mr Saktiandi asked if the Government would reconsider relooking the interest rate calculation mechanism for the Ordinary Account. He said this mechanism may be “quite stale and no longer fit for current conditions”, given the significant and rapid changes in global interest rate conditions recently and going forward.