Overview

The permanent GST Voucher scheme was introduced by the Government in Budget 2012 to help lower- and middle-income Singaporean households with their expenses, in particular what they pay in Goods and Services Tax (GST). Each of the four components provides support for various household needs – Cash for their immediate needs; MediSave for seniors to support their healthcare needs; U-Save to offset their utility bills; and Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) Rebate to offset their S&CC.

THE GST VOUCHER COVERS 4 AREAS:

CASH

Provides lower-income Singaporeans with cash for their immediate needs. Paid in August each year.

MEDISAVE

Provides Singaporeans aged 65 and above with a bonus to their CPF MediSave account to support their medical needs. Paid in August each year.

U-SAVE

Provides eligible HDB households with quarterly rebates to offset their utility bills. Paid in January, April, July, and October each year.

S&CC Rebate

Provides eligible HDB households with quarterly rebates to offset their S&CC. Paid in January, April, July, and October each year.

Background

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a tax on domestic consumption. It is paid when money is spent on goods or services in Singapore.

We do not exempt basic necessities from GST in Singapore, because multi-tiered GST systems benefit the better-off more as they spend more on goods and services, including basic necessities. Such a system is also administratively costly to implement.

Instead, what we have is a fairer and more effective system. We collect GST from all taxpayers, including the higher-income households who spend more, foreigners residing in Singapore, and tourists. We then directly help the lower- and middle-income Singaporean households and seniors who pay GST for their expenses, through the permanent GST Voucher scheme and other subsidies/schemes. This approach is fairer and more effective, rather than waiving GST for some goods for everyone, whether rich or poor.