Public Finance & Public Sector

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The presentation of the annual Government Budget is based on the financial year (FY) of the Government, which runs from 1 April of the year to 31 March of the following year.

Under Singapore’s Constitution, a distinction is made between the reserves accumulated by the Government during its current term of office, and Past Reserves, which refer to the reserves not accumulated by the Government during its current term of office. The Government is expected to balance the budget within its term and can only draw on Past Reserves with the approval of the President. This Constitutional framework protects Past Reserves by enforcing fiscal prudence, while allowing the Government to draw on them in times of need.

The Overall Fiscal Position that is published by the Ministry of Finance and presented to the Parliament is based on the Operating Revenue and Net Investment Returns Contribution (NIRC) that the Government of the day can spend under the Constitution, offset against Total Expenditure and Special Transfers including Top-ups to Endowment and Trust Funds after accounting for the fiscal impact of the Significant Infrastructure Government Loan Act (SINGA). Not all Government revenues and receipts collected constitute revenue available for spending. Cash receipts that are not considered revenue available for direct Government spendings, such as cash receipts from land sales, accrue to Past Reserves.

Singapore separately publishes a set of Government finance data that follows the International Monetary Fund’s presentation format for Government finance statistics. This set of data includes all receipts, including items not available for spending by the Government of the day under Singapore’s Constitution.

Data

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Key Indicators

Item	Unit	Latest Period	Latest Data	% Change (Y-o-Y) 1/	Previous Period Data	% Change (Y-o-Y) 2/
Government Finance
Cash surplus/deficit 3/	S$m	Feb-24	3,541.6	-13.9	-635.2	-126.8
Net cash inflow from operating activities	S$m	Feb-24	935.1	-75.3	-422.2	-116.3
Cash receipts from operating activities	S$m	Feb-24	12,770.9	19.1	7,006.1	-18.8
Cash payments for operating activities	S$m	Feb-24	11,835.8	70.5	7,428.3	23.0
Net cash outflow from investments in nonfinancial assets	S$m	Feb-24	-2,606.5	685.6	213.0	-3.0
Purchases of nonfinancial assets	S$m	Feb-24	449.1	-18.3	746.4	0.8
Sales of nonfinancial assets	S$m	Feb-24	3,055.6	246.8	533.4	2.4
Net cash inflow from financing activities 4/	S$m	Feb-24	8,208.1	-228.8	10,534.7	25.7
Net incurrence of liabilities	S$m	Feb-24	8,157.9	-228.7	10,642.4	25.7
Domestic	S$m	Feb-24	8,157.9	-228.7	10,642.4	25.7
Foreign	S$m	Feb-24	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Net acquisition of financial assets other than cash	S$m	Feb-24	-50.2	-264.1	107.7	22.4
Domestic excluding cash	S$m	Feb-24	-50.2	-264.1	107.7	22.4
Foreign excluding cash	S$m	Feb-24	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Item	Unit	Latest Period	Latest Data	% Change (Y-o-Y) 1/	Previous Period Data	% Change (Y-o-Y) 2/
Government Debt
Central Government Debt	S$m	4Q 2023	1,150,259.7	6.5	1,120,973.6	5.1
External Debt 5/	S$m	4Q 2023	0.0	na	0.0	na
Domestic Debt 6/	S$m	4Q 2023	1,150,259.7	6.5	1,120,973.6	5.1
Issued for Non-Spending Purposes	S$m	4Q 2023	1,139,059.7	6.2	1,111,273.7	4.7
Issued for Spending Purposes	S$m	4Q 2023	11,200.0	62.3	9,700.0	94.0
Domestic Debt (Excluding Advance Deposits)	S$m	4Q 2023	1,132,900.3	6.2	1,111,111.0	5.2
1 year maturity or less	S$m	4Q 2023	134,417.0	20.9	129,195.1	14.9
More than 1 year maturity	S$m	4Q 2023	998,483.4	4.5	981,915.8	4.1

Item	Unit	Latest Period	Latest Data	% Change (Y-o-Y) 1/	Previous Period Data	% Change (Y-o-Y) 2/
Overall Fiscal Position 7/
Operating Revenue 8/	S$m	FY 2023	104,300.6	14.6	91,015.0	10.3
Total Expenditure	S$m	FY 2023	106,887.7	1.9	104,855.3	10.6
Operating Expenditure 9/	S$m	FY 2023	85,363.7	1.1	84,438.0	7.5
Development Expenditure 10/	S$m	FY 2023	21,524.0	5.4	20,417.4	25.6
Primary Surplus/Deficit	S$m	FY 2023	-2,587.1	-81.3	-13,840.3	12.4
Special Transfers 11/	S$m	FY 2023	27,168.7	203.9	8,941.3	30.9
Special Transfers Excluding Top-ups to Endowment and Trust Funds	S$m	FY 2023	2,848.7	5.9	2,691.3	-60.6
Basic Surplus/Deficit 12/	S$m	FY 2023	-5,435.7	-67.1	-16,531.6	-13.6
Top-ups to Endowment and Trust Funds	S$m	FY 2023	24,320.0	289.1	6,250.0	na
Net Investment Returns Contribution 13/	S$m	FY 2023	22,915.4	2.4	22,376.4	9.9
Overall Budget Surplus/Deficit	S$m	FY 2023	-6,840.4	1,588.9	-405.2	-133.0
Capitalisation of Nationally Significant Infrastructure	S$m	FY 2023	3,494.8	58.1	2,210.3	237.9
Depreciation of Nationally Significant Infrastructure	S$m	FY 2023	-	-	-	-
SINGA Interest Costs and Loan Expenses 14/	S$m	FY 2023	225.6	152.4	89.4	na
Overall Fiscal Position	S$m	FY 2023	-3,571.2	-308.1	1,715.7	-8.7

Data are preliminary when first released.
na not available or not applicable. - nil or negligible
1 Refers to % change in latest period over the same period in the previous year.
2 Refers to % change in the previous period over the same period in the previous year.
3 Does not reflect the fiscal position of the current term of government, as it takes into account land sales and capital receipts (which accrue primarily to past reserves) in addition to taxes and other revenues, as well as land-related expenditure.
4 Reflects the net issuance of Government securities and Treasury Bills.
5 This refers to the portion of total external debt on the basis of the currency in which the debt is denominated.
6 There are two key categories of domestic debt instruments: (1) those issued under the Government Securities (Debt Market and Investment) Act for non-spending purposes; and (2) those issued under the Significant Infrastructure Government Loan Act for spending purposes. More information on government debt is available here.
7 Refers to the Government's financial year, which begins on 1 April of the current year and ends on 31 March of the following year. Data for FY2023 are revised estimates. Figures may not add up due to rounding.
8 Excludes the repayment of loans and advances, interest income, investment income and capital receipts.
9 Refers to expenditure on manpower, other operating expenditure (excluding expenses on investment and agency fees on land sales), operating grants and transfers.
10 Excludes loans to statutory boards, industrial and commercial enterprises and land-related expenditure.
11 Refers to discretionary transfers made by the Government and these include one-off direct transfers to businesses and households, as well as top-ups to endowment and trust funds created by the Government for specific expenditure objectives.
12 Refers to before Top-ups to Endowment and Trust Funds, Net Investment Returns Contribution, Capitalisation and Depreciation of Nationally Significant Infrastructure and SINGA Interest Costs and Loan Expenses.
13 Net Investment Returns Contribution is the sum of: (1) up to 50% of the expected long-term real return on the relevant assets specified in the Constitution; and (2) up to 50% of the net investment income on the remaining assets.
14 SINGA Interest Costs and Loan Expenses include the annual effective interest costs (which is computed based on the yield to maturity multiplied by the face value of the bond) and other ancillary loan expenses incurred in connection with the SINGA. It excludes principal repayment and transfer of loan discount to Development Fund. It is different from the Debt Servicing and Related Costs presented in the Expenditure Estimates and Annex to Expenditure Estimates for Head Y.

Government Revenue and Expenditure

Title : Government Operating Revenue, Annual

Million Dollars

Data Items	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Total Government Operating Revenue * Operating revenue refers to receipts credited to the Consolidated Revenue Account and Development Fund Account, but excludes interest income, investment income and capital receipts.	64,823.2	68,964.4	75,815.7	73,738.3	74,273.8	67,376.5	82,486.5	91,015
Tax Revenue	55,647.3	58,699.3	66,362.6	66,202.6	67,645.1	61,408.5	74,760.9	82,707.6
Income Tax	24,890.4	26,378	32,065.3	30,818.1	32,535.1	32,997	37,132.4	42,154.4
Assets Taxes	4,455	4,359.5	4,439.7	4,649.1	4,761.7	3,127.8	4,672.2	5,095.3
Customs, Excise And Carbon Taxes	2,833	2,730	3,132.9	3,075	3,263.5	3,581.8	3,749.7	3,460.1
Goods And Services Tax	10,345.1	11,078.3	10,959.5	11,137.1	11,163.7	10,345.7	12,627.7	14,093.4
Motor Vehicle Taxes * Taxes on Motor Vehicles comprise additional registration fees, road tax, special tax on heavy-oil engines, passenger vehicle seating fees and non-motor vehicle licences, but exclude excise duties on motor vehicles which are classified under Customs and Excise Duties.	1,759.7	2,148.4	2,152.5	2,623.4	2,418.9	2,133.1	2,225.7	2,163.3
Betting Taxes * Betting Taxes include casino tax collected under Section 146 of the Casino Control Act with effect from March 2010.	2,719	2,682	2,688.2	2,663.9	2,619.9	1,721.7	2,313.3	2,766.1
Stamp Duty	2,768.9	3,278.5	4,905.1	4,606.9	4,199	3,895.7	6,762.3	5,950.2
Other Taxes * Prior to 1 August 2022, Other Taxes include Foreign Worker Levy, Water Conservation Tax, Development Charge and Annual Tonnage Tax. From 1 August 2022 onwards, the Development Charge has been replaced by the Land Betterment Charge in accordance with the Land Betterment Charge Act 2021.	5,876.2	6,044.5	6,019.3	6,628.9	6,683.2	3,605.6	5,277.7	7,024.9
Fees And Charges	8,673.6	9,759.5	9,075.2	7,106.1	6,274.8	5,478.6	6,828.1	7,709.7
Others * Excludes repayment of loans and advances, interest income, investment income, capital receipts and SINGA-related outlays.	502.2	505.7	377.8	429.6	353.9	489.4	897.5	597.7

SOURCE : ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT

Footnotes

Data refer to the Government's financial year, which begins on 1 April of the current year and ends on 31 March of the following year. Figures may not add up due to rounding.

Government Operating Revenue, Annual

Overall Fiscal Position, Annual

Government Overall Fiscal Position (% Of GDP), Annual

Government Operating Expenditure By Sector, Annual

Government Development Expenditure By Sector, Annual

General Government Finance, Annual

Government Finance, Annual

Sources And Uses Of Development Fund, Annual

Taxes On Fossil Fuels

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