800,000 HDB households to receive rebates of up to S$260

SINGAPORE — Around 800,000 Housing and Development Board (HDB) households will this year receive a one-off rebate, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Voucher — Utilities-Save (U-Save) Special Payment, to help free up cash for their other expenses, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday.

The U-Save Special Payment will cost the Government about S$110 million and is given on top of the GST Voucher — U-Save Regular Payment. Those living in smaller flats will receive rebates of up to S$260.

The extra GST vouchers paid out would mean those eligible will get up to double the amount they usually receive. For example, those living in one- or two-room flats will receive a U-Save Special Payment of S$260 on top of the S$260 U-Save Regular Payment they are entitled to. Those living in larger flats will get a proportion of the U-Save Special Payment on top of a fraction of the U-Save Regular Payment.

And to help households here cope with the higher cost of living, the Government will provide eligible HDB households with Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) rebates this year of between one and three months.

Those living in one- and two-room HDB flats will receive three months of S&CC rebates, while those living in three- and four-room flats will receive two months of rebates. This will cost the Government S$80 million.

Direct assistance in the form of a one-off GST Voucher — Cash: Seniors’ Bonus worth up to S$250 will also be provided for older Singaporeans aged 55 years and above, and will cost the Government S$170 million.

This payout will benefit about 675,000 older Singaporeans this year, especially “retirees with little or no income” and help offset some of their daily expenses, said Mr Tharman. To qualify, the annual value of their home and their assessable income for 2013 must not exceed S$21,000 and S$26,000, respectively. WOO SIAN BOON