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Citing inflation risk, Workers' Party opposes govt decision to go ahead with GST hike

Citing inflation risk, Workers' Party opposes govt decision to go ahead with GST hike
The Workers' Party (WP) said on Wednesday (June 22) that it "cannot support" the Government's decision to go ahead with the planned Goods and Services Tax (GST) hike in the midst of inflation concerns, and it will "continue to argue" against any increase in the consumption-based tax.

The WP statement, posted on Facebook, came after Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Tuesday that the timing for the tiered tax hike will not be revised despite concerns over inflation. The GST is set to rise from 7 per cent to 8 per cent on Jan 1 next year and then to 9 per cent in 2024.

In its post, WP said that the support package was "a step in the right direction" but devoted most of the post, in graphic form, to opposing the GST hike.

"The Workers' Party will continue to argue against the proposed GST increase in Parliament, as well as for alternative forms of revenue generation such as wealth taxes or raising the reserves contribution ceiling," it said in its post. 

The party added that earlier this month, analysts said that inflation this year is expected to hit 5 per cent, up from the 3.6 per cent forecast in an earlier survey released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). 

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