TAXES ON PETROLEUM (Reduction)

Mr Chuang Shaw Peng asked the Minister for Finance whether he will consider cutting taxes for petroleum as one of the off-Budget measures to reduce variable cost of transportation so as to stimulate the economy.

Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau: Mr Speaker, Sir, the duty on petrol is one of the measures employed to curb excessive vehicle usage and minimize congestion on the roads. Reducing duty on petrol will affect our traffic management efforts. We will have to rely more heavily on measures such as the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) System. Until and unless the ERP has been fully and comprehensively implemented covering all the necessary roads, it will not be prudent to reduce the petrol duty.