What do businesses want from the Budget 2024?

Businesses cited six measures they want from the government.

Almost half of businesses in Singapore (45%) want the Budget 2024 to include support measures to cope with high inflation, UOB’s Business Outlook Study 2024 revealed.

Based on the study, the top industries affected by inflation are industrials/oil & gas (91%), manufacturing & engineering (90%), tech, media and telecom (86%), professional services (85%), construction and infrastructure (84%), and consumer goods (84%).

Apart from inflation measures, businesses also want support for the 9% GST rate hike (34%).

Businesses, for their part, are also implementing three measures to cope with the GST hike, with improving productivity as the top strategy (47%), followed by investing in technology or automation (42%), and moving up the value chain (31%).

Other support measures in SMEs and large enterprises’ budget wishlist are an increase in SkillsFuture credit (42%), grants and extra funding for digital adoption (39%), reduction of foreign worker levies (33%), and incentives to adopt sustainable practices (29%).

Tax incentives or rebates and easier access to funding of grants (33%) can help businesses implement sustainable practices.
The government can also provide programmes for reskilling or upskilling employees (26%)  and options for sustainable financing (25%).