Murali Pillai on Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill

How is it that the People's Action Party (PAP) and Workers' Party (WP), which are "aligned on many points" relating to the need for tax revenues, can be so far apart in their assessment of whether a GST hike is the proper thing to do? MP Murali Pillai posed this question in Parliament on Monday (Nov 7) and offered a historical perspective to try to make sense of this disparity. He said the answer lies partly in political principle and partly on political judgment. He pointed out that by and large, the doomsday predictions of the poor becoming poorer due to GST hikes did not happen. He said the PAP's choice on the GST over the years stems from its deep and abiding faith in the people of Singapore to understand the need for these hard choices. This is not a mere theoretical conviction, but a judgment call borne out of years of experience in running the Government, he said. The Government is making this call at a difficult time as it believes this will give Singapore a fairer and more progressive way of financing and building a stronger foundation. "That is political courage," he said.