Singapore's Budget 2020 will be announced next Tuesday on Feb. 18 by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat.

In view of next week's announcement, the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has made public its preferences on what Budget 2020 should prioritise.

According to their Assistant Secretary-General, Leong Mun Wai, Budget 2020 is important to help Singapore tide through strong economic headwinds:

“We are experiencing the strongest economic headwinds since the Global Financial Crisis and arguably a long overdue economic transformation, which combined makes Budget 2020 a very important one.”

The 60-year-old sets foot in politics for the first time as he was co-opted into PSP's Central Executive Committee earlier in January.

Leong, now the CEO of investment firm Timbre Capital, was an overseas merit scholar and had previously worked at sovereign wealth fund GIC, Mitsubishi Bank, Salomon Brothers and Merrill Lynch Hong Kong.

PSP's Budget 2020 wishlist

Here are the six recommendations made by PSP:

• Expansionary budget to tide through the current crises

An expansionary budget to boost spending by transferring income to the economic segments in need, which supposedly will increase output and employment in the economy during such an uncertain economic climate.

• Fiscal budget is not a goodie-bag

PSP wants to see more permanent plans to help Singaporeans and businesses to make plans for their future rather than short-term occasional handouts.

• Building a sustainable economy

With a Budget surpluses since 1971 and a sizeable annual Net Investment Returns Contribution (NIRC) earned from our sovereign wealth, PSP seeks the government to use NIRC more effectively to transform our economy, nurture our local businesses, spur jobs and training opportunities, as well as to help prepare local talents to meet the needs of future industries.

• No to GST hike

PSP advises against an increase in the Goods & Services Tax (GST) or any other fees, at least in the next five years because of Singapore's "strong financial standing".

• Taxpayers should not be burdened for large infrastructure projects

PSP is of the view that long-term infrastructure projects, such as Changi Airport Terminal 5, should be based on their own financial and commercial merit and should not require tax increases to fund such projects.

Those with large social benefit components should be evaluated separately.

• A prudent approach to expenditures

PSP stated that the total government expenditure grew by 107 per cent from 2008 to 2018, outpacing our GDP growth of 79 per cent over the same period.

PSP urges the government to be "financially prudent" and keep increases in government spending below GDP growth, like the private sector practice of keeping cost increase below revenue growth.