Should Singapore be more selective about giving special tax incentives for certain companies, so it can lower the overall corporate tax rate for all companies?

I THINK this is a very good suggestion as it puts all companies, irrespective of their industries, on a more level playing field. Some companies, including HG Metal, are not in 'glamour' industries like bio-med, finance or high technology, where there exist many special tax incentives. However, this does not mean that these companies do not contribute to the country's GDP, provide employment or pay corporate taxes.

In fact, these companies could be leaders in their own industries. For example, HG Metal, which does not enjoy any tax incentives, was able to grow its sales turnover from $90 million in FY '02 to $362 million in FY '06. At the same time, our profit before tax grew from $3.7 million in FY '02 to $16.3 million in FY '06. If the overall corporate tax rate can be lowered by reducing special tax incentives, more profits from companies like HG Metal can be ploughed back to grow the existing business. In this way, more companies, and not just those in selected industries, will benefit. More importantly, by reducing incentives, the 'invisible hand' of free market forces will dictate that only strong companies, irrespective of their industry, will grow.

Wee Piew
CEO
HG Metal Manufacturing Ltd