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Singapore budget: Health care package for elderly, foreign worker restrictions announced
- Singapore will boost spending on health care for its ageing population, give some citizens a tax rebate and tighten restrictions on foreign workers
- Authorities are trying to bolster an economy that is been hit by weaker global demand and provide more support for elderly citizens, while still sticking to a tradition of fiscal prudence
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Singapore unveiled an expansionary budget for the next financial year on Monday, setting aside S$6.1 billion (US$4.5 billion) for the welfare of its elderly in a generous package before an election expected as soon as this year.
Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat also announced a S$1.1 billion bonus package for all Singaporeans to mark 200 years since the former British colony’s founding, that includes vouchers, a cash bonus for lower-income workers and income-tax rebates for the middle class.
The minister opened his speech by talking about the changing global and domestic landscape and the importance of planning for the long term, while being open to diversity. Weaker demand and US-China trade tensions saw Singapore’s export-reliant economy grow at its slowest pace in more than two years in the fourth quarter.
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“Budget 2019 is a strategic plan to allocate resources to build a strong, united Singapore,” Heng said. The city state needs to stay safe and continue to transform its economy, he added.
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The government finance for the 2019 financial year that begins April 1 is expected to turn to a deficit of S$3.5 billion, or 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product, after a predicted surplus of S$2.1 billion for the 2018 financial year.
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