All adult Singapore citizens will get a one-off “bonus” of up to 300 Singapore dollars (about Rs 14,700) each as the government is likely to end the year 2017-’18 with its largest surplus in three decades. Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat (pictured above) made the announcement during his Budget speech in Parliament on Monday, Channel News Asia reported.
The surplus for 2017-’18 is expected at around 9.61 billion Singapore dollars (Rs 47,211 crore), around 2.1% of the Gross Domestic Product. The finance minister described the bonus, to be given at the end of 2018, as “hongbao”, which means a monetary gift on a special occasion.
Heng said this “reflects the government’s long-standing commitment to share the fruits of Singapore’s development with Singaporeans”. About 2.7 million people will get the bonus payouts, based on their incomes. It will cost the government 700 million Singapore dollars (Rs 3,438 crore).
Those with an annual income of S$28,000 (Rs 13.76 lakh) or below will get S$300 each, while those with income more than S$100,000 (Rs 49.13 lakh) will get S$100 (Rs 4,912) each. People with incomes between S$28,001 and S$100,000 will get S$200 (Rs 9,825) each.
The higher surplus came due to “exceptional” revenue from statutory board contributions and stamp duty collections.
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