- Joined
- Sep 23, 2008
- Messages
- 8,852
- Points
- 0
U—Save rebates tweaked to better target Singaporean households
Channel NewsAsia
Channel NewsAsia - Thursday, December 31
* Send
* IM Story
[U—Save rebates tweaked to better target Singaporean households] U—Save rebates tweaked to better target Singaporean households
SINGAPORE: From Friday, HDB owners who fully sublet their flats to non—citizens will no longer be eligible for U—Save rebates to offset their utility bills.
The Finance Ministry (MOF) said in a statement that U—Save is aimed at Singaporeans.
However, over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of Singaporean—owned HDB flats which are fully sub—let to non—citizens.
MOF said the scheme was fine—tuned to better target the rebates at Singaporeans, as intended.
Home—owners who sublet their flats to at least one Singaporean will still qualify for U—Save.
Some 800,000 HDB households will receive S$106 million worth of U—Save rebates in 2010.
The first payout, amounting to S$60 million of utility rebates, will be made in January. The second payout will be in July.
Households will get a total of between S$55 and S$200, depending on the size of their flats.
The U—Save rebates will cost the government some S$620 million over five years.
The rebates are part of the GST Offset Package announced in 2007 to help Singaporeans, especially low and middle income households, cope with the GST increase.
— CNA/yb
