Families: Here are some Budget 2015 measures to keep cost of living affordable
Worried about the rising cost of living?
If you're fretting about taking care of the children and tending to the needs of the older generation, there's some relief in store this year.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam unveiled several measures in his Budget speech today (Feb 23) to help families cope.
We look at the main areas:
1) Foreign Domestic Worker Levy
Date of implementation | Foreign Domestic Worker Levy | |
---|---|---|
Concessionary levy for households with elderly and/or children aged below 16 |
From May 1, 2015 | $60 per month |
Concessionary levy for households with elderly aged 65 & above/ disabled and/or children aged below 12 |
Existing scheme (Till April 30, 2015) |
$120 per month |
Non-concessionary levy |
Existing scheme (No change) |
$265 per month |
Besides a permanent increase in the quantum of GST vouchers - cash will be increased by $50 across the board - those living in HDB households can also stretch their dollar further.
About 800,000 households will benefit from S&CC rebates, which will cost $80 million.
Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) Rebate
HDB Flat Type | FY2015 S&CC Rebate |
---|---|
1-room flat/2-room flat | 3 months |
3-room flat/4-room flat | 2 months |
5-room flat | 1.5 months |
Executive flat | 1 month |
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Related report:
S'pore Budget 2015: Find out what goodies you'll get this year
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