Singapore on Monday announced income tax rises for the top five percent of the population to fund rising social spending targeted at the poor and elderly in the rapidly ageing city-state. The marginal personal income tax rate for those earning above Sg$320,000 ($256,000) a year will rise to 22 percent next year from the current 20 percent, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told parliament as he unveiled the 2015 budget. "While everyone contributes something for a better Singapore, those who are better off should contribute more," said Tharman. In 2007 the government introduced a form of negative income tax for low wage earners, and in his speech Monday Tharman announced a new aid package for poor elderly citizens worth Sg$350 million annually.
Singapore raises taxes on rich to fund rising social spending
