The old saying about the Singapore government, for those still not in the know, is “Give a chicken wing, take back one whole chicken”.
You can read about the “whole chicken” here, but as for the “chicken wing”, this is what us average Singaporeans will be getting from Budget 2018:
(1) GST Vouchers
Okay, GST is going to go up from 2021 to 2025.
At the same time, the government is going to add S$2 billion to the fund for GST vouchers so that households can get some relief from this increase in consumption tax.
(2) S&CC Rebates
At the same time, the service and conservancy charges rebate will be extended for another year for eligible Housing Board households.
The rates remain the same as last year:
-households that live in one- and two-room flats will receive 3.5 months of S&CC rebate
-households living in three- and four-room flats will receive 2.5 months of rebate.
-households living in five-room flats will receive two months of rebate,
-households living in executive or multi-generation flats will receive 1.5 months of rebate.
(3) U-Save Vouchers
The Government will be increasing the amount of Utilities-Save (U-Save) for 3 years.
From 2019 to 2021, households will receive $20 more in their annual U-Save.
This, according to the government, is to help cover the annual impact of carbon tax – estimated to cost an average household about S$13.70 more in electricity and gas costs.
Which means, you’re supposed to cut back on your use of electricity and gas within those 3 years otherwise you pay more than you’re currently paying due to the carbon tax lah!
(4) Enhanced Proximity Housing Grant
Families buying a resale flat to live with their parents or children will now be able to receive an increased grant of S$30,000.
Previously, they received S$20,000.
Unfortunately, there’s no increase in the grant amount for families buying a resale flat to live near their parents or children – it’s still going to be S$20,000.
But…
The criterion for determining what is “near” will be revised to “within 4km”, instead of the current “within 2km”.
Good news for singles – those who buy a resale flat to live with their parents will receive a S$15,000 grant.
This is up from the previous grant of S$10,000.
Singles who buy a resale flat near their parents will also receive a grant of $10,000.
(5) Wage Credit Scheme
The government is trying to incentivise businesses to pay low-wage workers higher salaries, and it’s looking to do this through the Wage Credit Scheme.
So, we hope you get a pay increment come 2019, because under this scheme, he government will co-fund wage increases for Singaporean employees up to a gross monthly wage of S$4,000.
And it was announced in today’s Budget speech that the scheme will be extended for another three years.
According to Finance Minister Heng, more than S$800 million will be paid out to more than 90,000 firms, for wage increases for more than 600,000 employees.
(6) Free Ang Bao from the Government
Oh yeah, then there’s the SG Bonus “free money” for all Singaporeans above the age of 21.
You can get up to S$300 in this one-time goodwill gesture from the government.
Read more about that here.
Huat ah!
