MOF seeking public feedback on proposed GST hike

The Ministry of Finance is seeking public feedback regarding the proposed amendments to the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Act, including the hike in GST rate. 

In the Budget statement on Feb 18, Minister of Finance Lawrence Wong proposed to raise the GST rate in two stages, from the current 7 per cent to 8 per cent on Jan 1, 2023, and to 9 per cent on Jan 1, 2024. 

The GST rate was previously raised in 2007, from 5 per cent to 7 per cent. 

In proposing the GST hike, Mr Wong said this was introduced to aid Singapore’s pressing revenue needs, especially in the healthcare sector. 

The second proposed amendments include the GST treatment of travel arranging services to be based on the “place of belonging rule” from Jan 1, 2023, which will ensure consistency in the GST treatment for such services provided by local and overseas suppliers, as well as to improve GST administration  

The remaining three proposed amendments are part of periodic review of Singapore’s GST system, which includes refining the rules for taxing low-value goods and important services to provide tax certainty, as well as ease the compliance burden for businesses. 

Members of the public who wish to provide feedback will need to use a prescribed template and submit it via email.

Public consultation documents, including the draft GST (Amendment) Bill 2022, can be publicly accessed on the Ministry of Finance’s website and the REACH consultation portal.