Member of Parliament Saktiandi Supaat on Tuesday (Feb 24) called for the Government to raise the income tax exemption threshold to «restore» fairness in the tax structure for lower- and middle-income earners. For workers in Singapore, the first $20,000 they make is not taxed. Kicking off the Budget 2026 debate in Parliament, Saktiandi, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Trade and Industry, said that threshold has remained unchanged since its introduction in 2002, while median incomes and the GST have increased. «In real terms, its value has eroded… more low- and middle-income earners enter the tax base not because they are significantly better off, but because the system has not been recalibrated,» he said. The MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC suggested raising the income tax exemption threshold to $25,000 or $30,000 to provide «meaningful relief» to families, so that they can retain more savings and build their assets. To maintain fiscal discipline, Saktiandi said that this move can be paired with calibrated adjustments at higher income tiers.  Read more