Possibility of privately-held wealth tax arises after Heng's comment

This article is more than 12 months old

VIVIEN SHIAO

Dec 08, 2017 06:00 am

The possibility of a tax on privately-held wealth arose yesterday in off-the-cuff remarks by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat.

Mr Heng, attending the official opening of Nanyang Technological University's Wealth Management Institute at one-north, recalled a question put at The Straits Times Global Forum on Tuesday. He was asked why government revenue has to be raised instead of touching the nation's reserves.

He said yesterday before his official speech that he had made the case at the forum that the reserves were used in times of need such as during the global financial crisis.

Mr Heng jokingly said: "I do not know if the person who asked the question was someone from the wealth management industry who thought that I was thinking of taxing wealth and trying to divert me from doing that. Unfortunately, he had the opposite effect.

"I had a few people come up to me after that and said: 'Minister Heng, I am convinced you do not touch sovereign wealth, but what about private wealth?'"

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently said it is "not a matter of whether, but a matter of when" taxes would have to be raised, sparking speculation the Goods and Services Tax is a top contender for a hike.