Now that is a perfect example of equality of sexes. For families where the wife is the breadwinner, she will be able to claim spouse relief.
Will that encourage more Singaporeans males venture to be househusbands? Heh. Why not? Equality of sexes, after all, right? The males ought to be given a chance. Perhaps after a period of being a househusband, the male might be more motivated to return to the working life & strive
At his speech outlining Singapore's Budget for 2010, Finance Minister announced new tax reliefs for Singaporeans.
# Increase in parent relief, as well as an enhancement of the relief for taxpayers who are taking care of handicapped parents and grandparents.
# Expansion of wife relief to spouse relief. Wives who are taxpayers can claim a a spouse relief of $2,000, similar to the current scheme for husbands. This will help families where the wife is the breadwinner.
# Enhancing dependant reliefs.The income threshold for dependant-related reliefs will be increased from $2,000 to $4,000. his increase recognises taxpayers' efforts in supporting family members who are genuinely dependant, while giving them the flexibility to do some incidental work.
# Increased course fee relief. This will be increased from $3,500 to $5,500 with effect from Year of Assessment 2011.
# Support for charitable giving. The 250% tax deduction for donations to Institutions of Public Character (IPCs) and other approved institutions will be extended for an additional year.
From Asiaone, "Budget 2010: New tax reliefs".
The government has introduced a slew of tax reliefs to support families, especially the middle-income and those with elderly and handicapped dependants.
For a start, those taking care of their parents and grandparents can expect greater tax relief. Wives who are taxpayers can also claim a spouse relief of $2,000 - similar to the current scheme for husbands.
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced the measures in his 2010 Budget Statement on Monday.
The income threshold for dependant-related reliefs will also go up from $2,000 to $4,000.
Mr Tharman said this increase recognises taxpayers' efforts in supporting family members who are genuinely dependent, while giving them the flexibility to do some incidental work.
And in recognition of the extra resources needed to take care of the disabled, the income threshold for handicapped dependant-related relief will be removed.
For the elderly, there will be a one-off top-up of the CPF-Medisave Accounts of older Singaporeans aged 50 and above.
The older you are, the more you get.
For example, most Singaporeans aged 50 to 59 will get a top-up of between S$200 and S$300. Those aged 70 and above will get about twice as much, at S$400 to S$500. The majority of those aged 60 to 69 will get a top-up of $300 to $400.
The Medisave top-up will benefit about one million Singaporeans and cost the government S$310m.
An additional S$200m will also be set aside for Medifund - which supports needy Singaporeans - and another S$200m for the ElderCare Fund to meet longterm healthcare needs.
For families with children, they can look forward to further top-up of the Post Secondary Education Accounts (PSEA).
For example, children in primary school will get S$200 in their accounts while those between 13 and 20 years old will receive up to S$500.
650,000 young Singaporeans will benefit from the additional top-up, which will cost the government S$230m.
Other tax reliefs include those aimed at lifelong learning and encouraging donations to charities.
Tax relief for course fees will go up from S$3,500 to S$5,500, while the enhanced tax deductions for donations will be extended for another year.
All in, S$1.4 billion will be transferred to households this year.
Including the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme targeted at low-income workers, the total sum transferred to households is S$1.8 billion.
From Channel NewsAsia, "Singapore govt unveils slew of tax reliefs for households".
Singaporeans will continue to benefit from top-ups announced in previous budgets - such as the fourth and last tranche of GST Credits and Senior Citizens' Bonus, and U-Save, S&CC and HDB rental rebates.
Apart from this, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will provide additional special top-ups in this year's Budget to help older Singaporeans as well as families with children.
* Top-up to CPF Medisave Accounts. Older Singaporeans aged 50 and above will get a one-off top-up to their CPF Medisave Accounts, with most receiving a top-up of $200 to $300. Majority of those aged 60 to 69 will get a top-up of $300 to $400, while those aged 70 and above will receive a top-up of $400 to $500. This will cost the government $310 million.
* Top-ups to Medicare and ElderCare Fund. $200 million will be set aside in this year's Budget for Medifund which supports needy Singaporeans and another $200 million for the ElderCare Fund.
* Top-up to Post-Secondary Education Accounts. Children in primary school will receive up to $200 in their accounts, while those between 13 and 20 years old will receive up to $500. This will cost the Government $230 million.
All the measures will translate to $1.4 billion this year in direct transfers for households.
Mr Tharman gave two examples to illustrate: "The first is a low-income household, around the 20th percentile of the population, staying in a three-room HDB flat. The family comprises two working adults in their 30s, earning $1,800 and $800 a month, and an elderly parent in her 60s. The wife will receive $1,100 in WIS (including a special payment this year). Together with their GST Credits, Senior Citizens' Bonus, and Medisave top-up for the elderly parent, and their U-Save, S&CC and property tax rebates, the family can expect to receive about a total of $2,900 in benefits in 2010."
"The benefits for a middle-income family, say a five-room HDB household between the 60th and 70th percentile of incomes, will also be significant. There are two working parents, with neither eligible for WIS. However, with two children, one in secondary school and the other in polytechnic, the family will receive PSEA top-ups. In total, it will receive about $1,700 in benefits."
From Asiaone, "Budget 2010: Additional special top-ups to support households".
