Revised FY2004 and FY2005 Budget Position

5.1 Mr Speaker, Sir, this Budget will benefit all Singaporeans. It will provide $1.3 billion of help to groups which need and deserve help, especially those who are finding it hard to keep up with the structural changes. This Budget will also save taxpayers more than $150 million in FY2006 and $310 million in FY2007.

5.2 Taking into account the top-up to the Lifelong Learning Fund which will be funded from the FY2004 Budget, the revised position for FY2004 is an overall deficit of around $440 million. As for the FY2005 budget, after taking into account the Special Transfers and the tax changes I have announced, we now project a reduced overall budget surplus of around $210 million, or 0.1% of GDP. It is a modest surplus because we are taking deliberate steps to ensure that all Singaporeans can continue to afford good healthcare, enhance the retirement finances of older workers, and provide more help to lower-income Singaporeans. These measures reflect our resolve that vulnerable or needy Singaporeans will not be left behind as a result of economic restructuring, and that the fruits of our progress will be shared by all. More details of the revised fiscal positions for FY2004 and FY2005 may be found in Annex D and the Budget Highlights document.