MGI Worldwide accountancy network member firm MGI N. Rajan Associates publishes white paper on the Singapore Budget 2019
Singapore-based MGI Asia member firm MGI N. Rajan Associates provides members with an overview of the government Budget for 2019, as announced by the Singapore Finance Minister, Mr Heng Swee Keat.
The 2019 Singapore Budget, announced on the 19th of February, is a strategic plan to allocate resources to build a strong and united Singapore. As a backdrop to the Budget, Mr Heng Swee Keat highlighted three major shifts from last year’s budget:
1. The shift in global economic weight towards Asia
2. Rapid technological advancement
3. Changing demographic patterns
In addition to these three, he mentioned that another major force which is gaining in prominence is:
4. A decline in support of globalisation
Strategic plan for the future
The 2019 Budget is a strategic plan to allocate resources to build a strong and united Singapore:
1. To keep Singapore safe and secure
2. To transform the Singapore economy into a vibrant and innovative economy
3. To build a caring and inclusive society, and
4. To build Singapore as a global city and home to all.
In order to keep Singapore safe and secure both from physical threats and malicious cyber activities, the government is continuing to spend about 30% of the total expenditure this year to support defence, security and diplomacy efforts.
Principle budgetary allocations
The White Paper includes a summary of budget allocations aimed at keeping the Singapore economy vibrant and innovative and to create a caring and inclusive society. These are divided into the following areas:
- Enhancement of enterprise capabilities
- Education
- Merdeka Generation Package
The minister stated that economic transformation is crucial and that the country must persist with efforts to transform industry. Supporting companies and supporting workers are mutually reinforcing as stronger companies provide better jobs and pay workers well and, in turn, highly skilled workers make companies stronger.
Read the full Singapore Budget 2019 paper for more information.
For further details please visit MGI N. Rajan Associates’ member profile page or visit their website.
MGI Asia is part of MGI Worldwide, a top 20 ranked international accounting network with some 5,200 independent auditors, accountants and tax experts in over 260 locations around the world.