Singapore's 2013 fiscal surplus predicted to record $5.9b

That's 1.85% of Singapore GDP.

According to UOB Economic-Treasury Research, for 2013, it projects an overall budget surplus of $5.9bn (1.85% of GDP) as its forecast for operating revenue came in around 2.4% higher than government’s initial estimates of S$55.03bn.

Here's more:

In addition, our forecast for total expenditure also came in around 4% lower than government’s initial estimates of S$53.41bn.

Our higher 2013 operating revenue forecast was due to growth in contributions from corporate and personal income taxes (year-on-year growth of 2.6%), as well as goods & services tax (year-on-year growth of 5.0%) and stamp duties (year-on-year growth of 11.4%).

Although the revenue that came from stamp duties remained quite strong in 2013, it was at a lower rate compared to the 21.8% y/y growth seen a year ago and is expected to moderate even further this year due to government’s cooling measures in the housing sector.

Tax revenue collected from motor vehicles is forecasted to contract by nearly 15% as the volume of motor vehicle sales declined in 2013 due to government’s financing measures on cars purchases. Betting taxes collected in 2014 will likely be around the same amount as in 2013.