The 2010 Post-Budget Roundtable is part of the Institute's feedback platform which engages different segments of the community to gather views and provide relevant feedback to the Government for the Budget Debate 2010.

Co-chaired by Dr Ernest Kan, ICPAS President and Ms Jessica Tan, Chairman of Government Parliamentary Committee for Finance and Trade & Industry, the panelists engaged in a lively debate on a range of topics from challenging the raise in Foreign Workers Levy, to exploring the possibility of restating the Industrial Building Allowances (IBA).

Budget 2010 was announced on the 22nd of February. It focuses on moving Singapore towards an advanced economy through building up the capabilities needed to transform our economy over the next decade. The Government has accepted the key thrusts of the Economic Strategies Committee’s recommendations, charting a new course for growth based on raising productivity, growing globally competitive companies and including Singaporeans in the growth.

The key goal is to grow productivity by 2% to 3% a year over the next decade and Budget 2010 provides a major investment for this through a 3-prong approach: restructuring the economy towards high-value activities; upgrading the individual industries and enterprises; and raising the skills and creative potential of workers. If we achieve this goal, Singapore will be able to sustain a healthy rate of economic growth of 3% to 5% a year, real incomes will increase by one-third in 10 years and the lower-income earning citizens are uplifted.

The Panelist expressed their views regarding the Productivity Innovation Credits that provide significant tax deductions for innovative investments. The Government should also consider how companies can be helped to partake in the productivity and innovation drive in light of the tight liquidity position that most are facing at this juncture.

Among some of the other topics brought up by the participants are: the shortage of local labour supply especially in Voluntary Welfare Organisations and Healthcare Industry, absence of a green policy and ownership rights of intellectual property.


View the slides of the presentation by Mr Song Seng Wun, Regional Economist, CIMB-GK Research Pte Ltd.