Budget 2026 wish lists: SMEs seek cost relief, trade chambers focus on industry needs

Subsidies to defray costs and hiring of more workers, and caps on rental hikes on lists

- Krist Boo Senior Business Correspondent

Every Budget season, Singapore's trade bodies turn into wish-makers.

Across the board this year, towkays told their trade leaders they wanted government subsidies to defray costs, to hire more workers including foreigners and checks put on rent-raising landlords.

The booklets and documents that went to the Finance Ministry at the close of its Jan 12 consultation deadline detailed most of their wishes, and included many more to support overseas business expansion, business consolidation, multinationals' tax relief and decarbonisation tax credits.

There were also proposals for more funding and empowerment for business associations.

The add-ons happen more or less every Budget recommendation season, but it is not due to a loss in translation, said Mr Ernie Koh, president of the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA).

Rather, businesses express what they want, industry associations collate what the industry should have, and apex trade chambers take a view on where the economy should veer to.

He said: "The apex associations take a more visionary perspective of where the business is going, and industry associations tackle the more immediate twoto three-year situation."

So, while the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) might press for support in areas such as economy-wide digitalisation, sustainability and internationalisation, groups for restaurants and property agents make sector-level requests such as caps on rental hikes, streamlined licensing fees and a rollback of stamp duties on property purchases.

SRA is asking for the expansion of climate and CDC vouchers to benefit more merchants, the lowering of the Dependency Ratio Ceiling for retailers to hire more foreigners, and an extension of progressive wages subsidies to 2028.

Some of these wishes, Mr Koh conceded, are perennial.