<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Jan 25, 2009
budget special
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>GST Credits: Enough to help out?
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Some want more cash payouts, while MPs say saving jobs is the Budget's ultimate aim </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jamie Ee Wen Wei
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Audit associate Darrell Chia is happy that he will be getting about $400 worth of GST Credits from the Government this year, double what he received last year.
'Any amount of money would be good since I'm earning so little. It can help to pay for my holiday trips to Phuket or Bintan due to the stressful nature of my job,' said Mr Chia, 26.
=> Aren't there more typical examples of Sporns in more dire straits and the BEST PAID govt in the world acts blur?
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->RELATED LINKS
<!-- Audio --><!-- Video --><!-- PDF -->
GST CREDITS
<!-- Photo Gallery -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Last Thursday, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced that the GST Credits would be doubled this year. This will cost the Government $580 million.
The payout, which is part of the GST offset package, is meant to offset the impact of the 2 percentage point GST hike in 2007.
About 2.4 million Singaporeans will get the GST Credits, including about 734,000 people aged 55 and older who will see a doubling in their Senior Citizens' Bonus.
Those aged below 55 and earning less than $100,000 annually will get between $200 and $500, while those aged 55 and above will get between $300 and $1,000, including the Senior Citizens' Bonus. The first payout will be on March 1, and the second in July.
Most Singaporeans interviewed naturally welcomed the extra cash, but, inevitably, there were those who felt that the Government should be giving out more cash.
Restaurant manager Jeremy Ng, 32, said: 'If the Government gives it out in one lump sum, you can see the money and it helps a bit. But if it is spread throughout the year, it makes no difference as it is so little.'
Mr Quek Hock Choon, 51, a freelance artist, was also hoping for more cash. 'In times like these, when everyone is tightening their belts, you really hope for a little bit more cash. Prices will not come down so fast and we are still paying more for the things that we buy.'
The 10 MPs whom The Sunday Times interviewed disagreed that this year's cash payout was too little. In fact, they said, the doubling of the GST Credits is 'generous', given that people are actually cutting back on spending and that inflation is rising at a slower rate.
=> How about forgoing their MPee "allowance" to experience a little how it's like living on the edge?
Mr Baey Yam Keng, an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, said: 'If you think about it, there is actually no reason to increase the GST offsets. But the Government recognises that there are financial challenges and people need cash to tide them over the crisis.'
Responding to some unhappiness on the ground that the Budget is overly 'pro-business', the MPs said the Budget measures must be looked at in 'totality' and that they ultimately save jobs.
Dr Lily Neo, an MP for Jalan Besar GRC, said: 'There is not only the GST Credits in this Budget. You have to take it in totality and consider the pro-employment and pro-business measures.
'Most important is that the employment issues are being addressed and providing stability and income. We are creating confidence that will help the whole economy and will benefit individuals in the end.'
Agreeing, MP for Aljunied GRC Cynthia Phua said: 'If you can't keep jobs, no matter how much cash you give, it wouldn't last.'
The MPs said they have received mostly positive feedback from grassroots leaders and residents on the Budget, but acknowledged that it was still early days.
Several MPs believe that targeted help for specific groups who are hard hit by the current crisis may be needed soon.
Mr Baey, for one, thinks that the retrenched may need extra cash to help them cope with the sudden loss of income. Mr Inderjit Singh, an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, thinks that companies may need an additional boost down the road too. [email protected]
budget special
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>GST Credits: Enough to help out?
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Some want more cash payouts, while MPs say saving jobs is the Budget's ultimate aim </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jamie Ee Wen Wei
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Audit associate Darrell Chia is happy that he will be getting about $400 worth of GST Credits from the Government this year, double what he received last year.
'Any amount of money would be good since I'm earning so little. It can help to pay for my holiday trips to Phuket or Bintan due to the stressful nature of my job,' said Mr Chia, 26.
=> Aren't there more typical examples of Sporns in more dire straits and the BEST PAID govt in the world acts blur?
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->RELATED LINKS
<!-- Audio --><!-- Video --><!-- PDF -->
<!-- Photo Gallery -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Last Thursday, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced that the GST Credits would be doubled this year. This will cost the Government $580 million.
The payout, which is part of the GST offset package, is meant to offset the impact of the 2 percentage point GST hike in 2007.
About 2.4 million Singaporeans will get the GST Credits, including about 734,000 people aged 55 and older who will see a doubling in their Senior Citizens' Bonus.
Those aged below 55 and earning less than $100,000 annually will get between $200 and $500, while those aged 55 and above will get between $300 and $1,000, including the Senior Citizens' Bonus. The first payout will be on March 1, and the second in July.
Most Singaporeans interviewed naturally welcomed the extra cash, but, inevitably, there were those who felt that the Government should be giving out more cash.
Restaurant manager Jeremy Ng, 32, said: 'If the Government gives it out in one lump sum, you can see the money and it helps a bit. But if it is spread throughout the year, it makes no difference as it is so little.'
Mr Quek Hock Choon, 51, a freelance artist, was also hoping for more cash. 'In times like these, when everyone is tightening their belts, you really hope for a little bit more cash. Prices will not come down so fast and we are still paying more for the things that we buy.'
The 10 MPs whom The Sunday Times interviewed disagreed that this year's cash payout was too little. In fact, they said, the doubling of the GST Credits is 'generous', given that people are actually cutting back on spending and that inflation is rising at a slower rate.
=> How about forgoing their MPee "allowance" to experience a little how it's like living on the edge?
Mr Baey Yam Keng, an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, said: 'If you think about it, there is actually no reason to increase the GST offsets. But the Government recognises that there are financial challenges and people need cash to tide them over the crisis.'
Responding to some unhappiness on the ground that the Budget is overly 'pro-business', the MPs said the Budget measures must be looked at in 'totality' and that they ultimately save jobs.
Dr Lily Neo, an MP for Jalan Besar GRC, said: 'There is not only the GST Credits in this Budget. You have to take it in totality and consider the pro-employment and pro-business measures.
'Most important is that the employment issues are being addressed and providing stability and income. We are creating confidence that will help the whole economy and will benefit individuals in the end.'
Agreeing, MP for Aljunied GRC Cynthia Phua said: 'If you can't keep jobs, no matter how much cash you give, it wouldn't last.'
The MPs said they have received mostly positive feedback from grassroots leaders and residents on the Budget, but acknowledged that it was still early days.
Several MPs believe that targeted help for specific groups who are hard hit by the current crisis may be needed soon.
Mr Baey, for one, thinks that the retrenched may need extra cash to help them cope with the sudden loss of income. Mr Inderjit Singh, an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, thinks that companies may need an additional boost down the road too. [email protected]
