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Singapore Budgeting and Planning
Although Singapore billed itself as a free-enterprise
economy,
the economic role of government was pervasive. As
governing body
for both the nation and the city, the government was
responsible
for planning and budgeting for everything from
international
finance to trash collection. The government owned,
controlled,
regulated, or allocated land, labor, and capital
resources. It set
or influenced many of the prices on which private
investors based
business calculations and investment decisions.
State intervention in the economy had a positive impact
not
only on private business profitability but also on the
general
welfare of the population. Beyond the jobs created in the
private
and public sectors, the government provided subsidized
housing,
education, and health and recreational services, as well
as public
transportation. The government also managed the bulk of
savings for
retirement through the Central Provident Fund and Post
Office
Savings Bank. It also decided annual wage increments and
set
minimum fringe benefits in the public and private sectors.
State
responsibility for workers' welfare won the government the
support
of the population, thus guaranteeing the political
stability that
encouraged private investment. In general, state
intervention in
the economy managed to be probusiness without being
antilabor, at
least regarding material welfare.
Budgeting and taxation were frequently used for
attaining
economic goals. In the postrecession period, budgetary
changes
primarily benefited business. For example, the fiscal year
(
FY--see Glossary)
1988 budget included an overseas investment
incentive
program, administered by the Economic Development Board,
allowing
tax write-offs for losses from approved overseas
investments
(see
fig. 7). Other concessions such as suspension of taxes on
utilities
and a 50 percent rebate on property taxes were in effect
between
1985 and 1988 to counteract the economic slump.
Budgeting and taxation also were often used to achieve
or
reinforce social goals such as population control. Until
1984 the
government encouraged limiting of families to two children
by
levying higher medical and education costs for additional
children.
In 1986, however, tax rebates were introduced to encourage
collegeeducated women to have third and fourth children.
Data as of December 1989
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