SINGAPORE: Singapore confirmed it plans to hike its sales tax to 9 percent from 7 percent, but said the change will only be made “sometime” between 2021 and 2025.
Pushing a change till at least three years away surprised some, after policymakers had flagged before Monday’s budget speech that Singapore must increase revenue to meet future spending needs of its rapidly aging population.
“The exact timing will depend on the state of the economy, how much our expenditures grow, and how buoyant our existing taxes are. But I expect that we will need to do so earlier rather than later in the period,” Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat told parliament.
“This GST increase is necessary because even after exploring various options to manage our future expenditures through prudent spending, saving and borrowing for infrastructure, there is still a gap.”
One tax change that will take place in 2019 is with carbon tax, which will stand at S$5 per ton of greenhouse gas emissions from 2019 to 2023. The plan is to increase it to between S$10-S$15 per ton by 2030.
Singapore introduced a GST in 1994, with a 3 percent rate. This was raised to 4 percent in 2003 and 5 percent in 2004, then to 7 percent in 2007.
Nine of 10 economists polled by Reuters had expected the government to hike the GST rate, which is one of the world’s lowest rates for consumption taxes.
The budget statement came after Singapore’s trade-reliant economy recorded full-year growth of 3.6 percent in 2017, the highest in three years, getting a boost from a recovery in global demand.
Singapore is hiking its GST, but not until 2021 or later
Singapore is hiking its GST, but not until 2021 or later
Closing Bell: Saudi main market sheds 85 points to finish at 11,098
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index closed lower in the latest session, falling 85.79 points, or 0.77 percent, to finish at 11,098.06.
The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index declined 0.63 percent to close at 1,495.23, while the parallel market index Nomu dropped 0.91 percent to 23,548.56.
Market breadth was firmly negative, with 42 gainers against 218 decliners on the main market. Trading activity saw 226 million shares exchanged, with total turnover reaching SR4.5 billion ($1.19 billion).
Among the session’s gainers, Tourism Enterprise Co. rose 9.40 percent to SR15.02. SHL Finance Co. advanced 4.51 percent to SR16.00, while Almasar Alshamil for Education Co. gained 3.56 percent to SR23.88.
Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Co. added 3.03 percent to SR19.70, and Banque Saudi Fransi climbed 2.61 percent to SR19.30.
On the losing side, Almasane Alkobra Mining Co. recorded the steepest decline, falling 6.61 percent to SR96.
Al Moammar Information Systems Co. dropped 5.14 percent to SR164.20, while National Company for Learning and Education declined 4.60 percent to SR124.30. Saudi Ceramic Co. slipped 4.14 percent to SR27.30, and Arabian Contracting Services Co. fell 4.12 percent to SR116.50.
On the announcement front, Saudi Telecom Co. announced the distribution of interim cash dividends for the fourth quarter of 2025 in line with its approved dividend policy.
The company will distribute SR2.74 billion, equivalent to SR0.55 per share, to shareholders for the quarter.
The number of shares eligible for dividends stands at approximately 4.99 billion shares. The eligibility date has been set for Feb. 23, with distribution scheduled for March 12.
The company noted that treasury shares are not entitled to dividends and that payments will be made through Riyad Bank via direct transfer to shareholders’ bank accounts. stc shares last traded at SR44.80, unchanged on the session.
Separately, National Environmental Recycling Co., known as Tadweer, reported its annual financial results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, posting significant growth in revenue and profit.
Revenue rose 53.5 percent year on year to SR1.24 billion, compared with SR806 million in the previous year. Net profit attributable to shareholders increased 68.4 percent to SR60.9 million, up from SR36.2 million a year earlier, driven by higher sales volumes and operational expansion.
Tadweer shares last traded at SR3.80, up 2.70 percent.
