Is the Government recording large surpluses year after year?

The annual Government Budget has been in deficit for 5 years of the last decade. On average, the Overall Budget Balance was close to 0% of GDP [1]. This means that revenues were matched by expenditures each year, on average over the last decade.

Some analysts [2] estimate the size of the budget surplus to be larger because they include revenues which the Government is not allowed to spend under the principles laid out by the Constitution such as revenues from sale of land. They may include all such revenues for ease of comparison with other countries.

However, the figures are not relevant to the question of whether the Singapore Governments Budget is in surplus or deficit, as the Budget should only include revenues that are available for spending by the Government. Please refer to Q8 for further details.

Footnote:

[1] The average Overall Budget Balance from 2001 to 2010 was 0.1% of GDP.  

[2] For example, Standard & Poors Rating Services have estimated that Singapore's general government surplus averaged 6.7% of GDP between 2006 and 2010 in their latest rating report.