Jessica Cheam, Straits Times 23 Jan 09;
IN A move that pleasantly surprised industry watchers, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday announced that $1 billion will be spent over the next five years on 'greening' Singapore's infrastructure.
He noted sustainable development is 'not new to Singapore'.
However, he said, the Government has to invest more in this area to provide 'a high-quality living environment while our economy continues to grow'.
There is an 'economic imperative' for this type of investment, which will reap cost savings for both firms and householders in the long run, he said.
However, upfront costs might deter the private sector from making these investments. This is where the Government will step in to 'provide incentives where necessary', he said.
This $1 billion fund will support programmes such as energy efficiency for industry and households, green transport, clean energy and the greening of Singapore's living spaces.
Industry players were surprised at this provision in the Budget.
PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore tax partner David Sandison said it was 'slipped in' against a backdrop of a Budget focused on more bread-and-butter issues.
Nominated MP Edwin Khew, who is also chief executive of local waste recycling firm IUT Global, said the move was 'very timely'. 'After Singapore formed the Inter-ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development, I was concerned if there was going to be a budget allocated to it,' he said.
'$1 billion is a very good start.'
Singapore Environment Council's executive director Howard Shaw was elated. 'It shows that we are aiming our future economy in the right direction.'
Early adopters of green infrastructure will be the ones to benefit most, whether on a corporate or national scale, said Mr Shaw.
Mr Tharman said yesterday more details on the sustainable development blueprint will be discussed during next month's Committee of Supply debate.
Tax break for 'green' cars up to end of 2011
Straits Times 23 Jan 09;
BUYERS of 'green' cars will continue to enjoy a tax break until the end of 2011.
Currently, hybrid, electric and compressed natural gas (CNG) cars are accorded a 40 per cent cut in the Additional Registration Fee (ARF), the main car tax, up until end of this year.
This so-called green vehicle rebate has been in place since 2001, when it started off as a 20 per cent cut in ARF.
The Government said the rebate was to help offset the higher cost of such cars. Even with the rebate, a car such as the hybrid Toyota Prius costs $84,488 today, versus $51,988 for a similarly-sized Toyota Corolla Altis.
Next, the Government said CNG vehicles will continue to be exempted from the so-called 'special tax' which applies to cars which run on fuel other than petrol.
For instance, the special tax for a diesel taxi is $5,100 a year.
But from January 2012, CNG will be taxed at the pumps, like petrol. The duty will be phased in at 20 cents per kg of gas, compared with 41 cents per litre of petrol.
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said: 'We will study the appropriate long-term CNG duty rate, which should be benchmarked against the prevailing petrol duty rate, taking into account the relative impact that these two fuels have on the environment.'
Eventually, CNG cars will also be excluded from the green vehicle rebate scheme. This, the Government said, was because 'CNG vehicles are not significantly cleaner than petrol cars except for lower carbon dioxide emission'.
'By which time, there will be a critical mass of CNG vehicles, and the rebate will have done its job,' said Mr Gilbert von der Aue, sales manager at C. Melchers, a company that converts cars to use CNG.
Commenting on the continued exemption of special tax for CNG vehicles, Mr Neo Nam Heng, who runs a fleet of CNG cabs, said: 'There is certainty now for those who are considering CNG vehicles. Previously, the special tax was a big worry.'
Mr Cedric Foo, head of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, opined that the green vehicle rebate scheme 'can be enhanced'.
'In the long term, it makes Singapore more liveable,' he added.
CHRISTOPHER TAN
