Singapore has varied toolkit, beyond taxes, to manage inequality: PM Wong

The Republic has a range of policy levers besides taxation to tackle inequality, such as giving Singaporeans a wealth injection through public housing and the occasional Central Provident Fund (CPF) top-up, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

- Samuel Devaraj Correspondent

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong speaking with moderator John Micklethwait, Bloomberg's editor-in-chief, at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum's gala dinner at Clifford Pier on Nov 19.

(ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG)

That is the reason why even the bottom 20 per cent of households here has significant net assets – because of Singapore's home ownership policy, he said in a conversation at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum's gala dinner on Nov 19.

“That’s one way we can continue to fine-tune our policies to provide more support and uplift for lower-income groups,” he said at the event at Clifford Pier. The annual forum is taking place from Nov 19 to 21.

“We also have CPF... which is the individual’s own retirement nest egg, which we do top-ups from time to time.”

PM Wong was responding to a question from Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait, who asked him whether the influx of wealthy foreigners to Singapore meant people were more aware of inequality, despite the Gini coefficient here having come down.

Singapore’s Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, peaked in 2007 and has declined in recent years, partly due to government transfers and policies such as the Progressive Wage Model.

The Prime Minister said there are two separate issues: tackling wealth inequality among its people, and managing the funds of people who are not Singaporeans.

As a financial centre, the city-state welcomes family offices and for foreigners to manage funds out of Singapore, as these create jobs for Singaporeans, he said.