Borrowing does not give you free money!

The Government's approach to borrowing is a carefully calibrated one. It does not borrow for recurrent expenditure.

It borrows for major long-term infrastructure. These investments will benefit and generate value over generations. But the upfront costs are hefty.

Borrowing is a fair and efficient approach to spread out the lumpy costs.

If we do not do so, taxes will be to be raised significantly to fund these major expenditures, Mr Heng said.

Recurrent expenditures - expenditures that are incurred every year - must be funded by recurrent revenue that are collected every year.