Singapore to raise GST to 7 percent

Singapore will raise the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to 7 percent from the current 5 percent, according to a Channel NewsAsia report on Monday.

The extra funds will be used to help the needy, Prime Minister lee Hsien Loong announced in Parliament.

Lee said the GST report would come with a package weighted in favor of lower income groups.

There are plans to increase the grant to the needy to buy their first home, as well as to give them more "workfare" bonuses as an incentive to stay employed, according to the report.

More details of the GST increase will be announced in the government's budget in February, the report said.

Source: Xinhua