Liang Eng Hwa on Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill

Being prudent in our finances has never failed us in our history, said MP Liang Eng Hwa. Speaking in Parliament on Monday (Nov 7), he said prudence has strengthened Singapore, and the country needs this added strength to be prepared for more and even bigger external shocks. "This Parliament must be about doing the right thing and the right thing for us to do today is to secure our finances in a responsible way ..." he said. He said there is no dispute on the need for higher spending and hence the need for higher revenue to fund these escalating expenditures. He supports the Government's approach to build a diversified stream of revenue that is stable and sustainable to pay for current and longer-term spending commitments. While the Government strengthens Singapore's revenue sources, it is also balancing and cushioning the impact. He pointed out that this is the uniqueness of Singapore's GST system, where the low-income groups are largely "offsetted", with the larger proportion of the GST raised from the higher-spending group. He also said he is assured that Singaporeans will get the support they need to get through these tough times.