[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – Approximately 940,000 eligible households living in Housing Board apartments will receive refunds on their utility bills this month through the Goods and Services Tax (GST) U-Save coupon program.
The plan offers low- and middle-income HDB households quarterly rebates to offset their utility bills.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Saturday (January 2) said that larger families will receive 2½ times the regular amount of repayments.
Approximately 155,000 households, with five or more members living together, will receive this higher rebate.
In a Facebook post, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who is also Finance Minister, said: “I hope that higher payments can better defray household expenses and bring some joy to families as we look forward to a new year.” .
The value of the vouchers is tied to the HDB housing type, with $ 100 for one- and two-bedroom apartments, $ 90 for three-bedroom apartments, $ 80 for four-bedroom apartments, and $ 70 and $ 60 for five-bedroom apartments. rooms and executives. or multigenerational floors respectively.
The value of the refunds, which began as a permanent scheme in 2012, doubled this year as part of the government’s response to the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Additional U-Save rebates for larger families were first announced by Mr. Heng last February as part of the Covid-19 Care and Support package.
MOF said the total repayments equate to about six to eight months of utility bills for one- and two-bedroom HDB homes.
This is the final round of distribution for this financial year, with previous payments in April, July and October of last year.
The government is disbursing $ 630 million through the GST U-Save voucher program to support households, the ministry said.
“Overall, the government has committed $ 5.9 billion in total for household transfers in financial year 2020, benefiting more than 2.8 million Singaporeans,” he added.
Refunds will directly offset each household’s utility bill.
[ad_2]
