Around 2.9 million Singaporeans may get up to $200 cash payout
The government raised the Assurance Package by $1.4b.
Up to 2.9 million Singaporeans may receive up to $200 cash payout, under the Assurance Package (AP) after the government raised it by $1.4b.
The AP is intended to cushion the impact of the increase in Goods and Services Tax (GST). The package includes cash payouts, Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers, additional GST vouchers, such as U-Save, and MediSave top-ups.
This comes as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong announced the government will raise the AP by $1.4b to around $8b.
“This ensures that even with the current inflation situation, the AP will offset additional GST expenses for the majority of Singaporean households for at least five years, with around ten years offset for lower-income households,” the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
Read more: Tourists, foreign residents accounted for about 50% of GST revenue in 2018 and 2019: Wong
Aside from the cash payout, eligible HDB households will be entitled to receive additional GST Voucher – U-Save of up to $95 in January.
Every Singaporean household, meanwhile, will receive a total of $300 CDC Vouchers also in January.
In February, lower-income senior Singaporean will receive up to $300, whilst eligible seniors aged 55 years and above and children aged 20 years and below will receive $150