SINGAPORE, March 30: Singapore will budget for modest surpluses over the business cycle, keep taxes light and government fees and charges low, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a statement on Saturday.

We will budget for a modest surplus over the business cycle. This will yield enough resources to invest in new growth areas, and deal with the social challenges of economic restructuring and an ageing population in a sustainable way, Lee said in an addendum to the president’s opening parliament speech on Monday.

The deputy PM heads an ambitious economic review committee tasked with finding ways of restructuring the city-state to ensure long-term competitiveness.

Singapore is struggling with its worse recession in four decades and its gross domestic product shrank by two per cent last year, after expanding by 10 per cent in 2000. The government expects growth of one to three per cent this year.

In last year’s budget, the government forecast a budget surplus of S$4.4 billion ($2.4 billion) for fiscal 2001, up 25.7 per cent from 2000.

Since the budget was announced it has unveiled two off-budget packages totalling S$13.5 billion to boost the flagging economy. The 2002 budget will be unveiled in early May.

We must keep the tax burden on the economy as light as possible, and maintain a good balance between direct and indirect taxes. This will help keep Singapore attractive to investments and assure jobs for our people, Lee said.

The deputy PM said business regulations will be simplified while corporate governance and accounting practices will be enhanced to make Singapore “Best for Business”.

Lee, who is also chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said monetary policy would remain centred on the management of the exchange rate and aimed at price stability while being supportive of growth.

He also said the government will not give preferential treatment to firms in which it holds shares.—Reuters