Budget and Valentine's - what do they have in common?

With Singapore Budget 2026 falling in the same week as Valentine’s Day, it got me thinking about how a good Budget could be likened to any good relationship. At first glance, budgets and relationships may appear worlds apart — one governed by numbers and national agenda, the other by sentiment and emotion.

Yet both, in their own way, require a longer-term commitment from each other - balance immediate needs with long-term sustainability.

Good relationships are not built on grand gestures, but sustained dedication and trust, consistency and willingness to confront challenges together. Budgets operate in much the same way. They are less about surprises (although one wouldn’t mind having them sometimes) and more about having stability — addressing immediate issues while planning for the future.

As Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said, Budget 2026 is “meant to support Singaporeans today, prepare society for tomorrow and enable the country to navigate a changed world with confidence.”

Supporting the present

In this Budget 2026, the most immediate measures are to deal with current cost pressures. A 40% Corporate Income Tax rebate, capped at $30,000 per company, offers some relief to enterprises navigating business costs and operational challenges. Such broad-based relief helps cushion cash flow pressures for firms, particularly SMEs facing rising input and labour costs in a slower global environment.

A supportive relationship also means enabling your partner to grow and succeed, and this motivation was replicated in the Budget .Companies that are seeking to expand abroad will now receive more grant support — up to 70% for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and up to 50% for non-SMEs. The expansion of the Market Readiness Assistance scheme further acknowledges that growth is not solely about entering new markets but also about deepening the presence in existing ones.

This reflects a strategic recognition that Singapore’s long-term growth increasingly depends on how effectively is companies able to scale and internationalise in a fragmented global economy.

Growing together through change

No modern relationship can stand still, and neither can an economy. Singapore is confronting structural realities — limited natural resources, an ageing population and intensifying global competition. These are not temporary pressures but long-term conditions that Singapore is in and will demand adaptation to ensure its relevance. In any lasting partnership, growth requires acknowledging shared challenges and choosing a direction forward together.

Artificial intelligence features prominently in this Budget because it sits at the centre of Singapore’s future competitiveness and a practical enabler for overcoming structural constraints. AI can be a strategic tool to overcome Singapore’s limited resources, ageing population and tight labour market.

However, many smaller companies do not have sufficient financial means and would need help to harness the benefits of AI to remain competitive in this fragmented world. Without targeted support, there is a risk that AI adoption becomes concentrated among larger firms, widening productivity gaps within the economy.

Naturally, workers are also worried that AI will displace jobs and livelihoods, but “fear cannot be Singapore’s response,” says PM Wong.

Periods of change require guidance. Just as partners rely on mutual trust and leadership during periods of change, Singapore is building institutional direction through the launch of a new National AI Council chaired by PM Wong, which will help to drive a cohesive national agenda. The National AI Missions focusing on advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance and healthcare signals a deliberate effort to embed AI into core economic engines of growth for Singapore.

Practical support follows this direction. Expanded tax deductions for AI-related expenditures, alongside enhancements to the Productivity Solutions Grant, further lower barriers to adoption even for SMEs with limited financial means.

In this respect, the Budget demonstrates a pragmatism for the current uncertain business and economic climate, and with an eye focused on the future.

Building the future together

In this relationship, as citizens, we must also play our part. A partnership only works when both sides are willing to contribute for the future they want to build, together. While the government announced further tools to help companies embrace AI transformation, just like a love relationship, we have to initiate the belief and the want.

Merging SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore together creates a strong bond linking skills training, strengthening the system of lifelong learning with job relevance.

Furthermore, the redesign of the SkillsFuture website aims to make AI learning pathways clearer and easier to access will lower practical barriers of entry for workers who are keen to begin this journey. Also, Singaporean workers who take up selected AI training courses will receive six months of free access to AI tools.

In a healthy relationship, growth is shared. These measures aim to ensure that workers and businesses evolve together, so that adaptation becomes collective progress rather than a source of division, and no one gets left behind.

Staying the course

Climate policies, particularly Singapore’scarbon tax trajectory, reflect persistence and the need to be flexible when times call for it; something all long-term relationship partners will agree is essential to “making it work”. Despite the global momentum on climate action slowing, Singapore will continue to stay the course on sustainability. For businesses, the government will extend the Energy Efficiency Grant and support for green loans under the Enterprise Financing Scheme.

When one strips away the romance, any lasting relationship runs on something far less glamourous: consistency, reliability and long-term commitment to each other. We all know that the strongest relationships are not defined by just one day – even Valentine’s Day – but by quiet decisions made repeatedly over time.

Likewise, the strength of the measures in this Budget 2026 cannot be measured by headline announcements alone. Rather, it should be defined by the willingness to work together and stay the course year after year; only then will we be able to build a sustained and resilient future.

Happy Valentine’s Day!