Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat has unveiled the Budget for the fiscal year starting April 2019 in Parliament on Monday.
This budget was declared two days after data showed that the country's economy grew at its slowest pace in more than two years.
As per the Ministry of Finance, this year's budget "is a strategic plan to build a Strong, United Singapore."
The following are some highlights of Budget 2019:
The annual special tax on diesel cars and taxis permanently reduced by $100 and $850 respectively.
Singapore government will raise the excise duty for diesel by $0.10 per litre, to $0.20 per litre.
Climate Action Plan launched in 2016 sets out the strategy for mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change, especially on infrastructure. Government is studying implications of Climate change on Singapore carefully and will come up with required measures.
URA Master Plan 2019 will become a guide of urban development over a 10 to 15-year time frame.
Older Singaporeans aged between 50 and 64 with lower CPF balances will receive up to $1,000 as a CPF top-up.
Primary and secondary school students to receive $150 top-up to the Edusave accounts. Those aged between 17 and 20 will receive up to $500 in their PSEA.
Singaporeans, who pay personal income tax will get 50% personal income tax rebate, subject to a cap of $200, for the year 2019.
Lower-income Singaporeans will receive additional help through GST Voucher- Cash (Bicentennial Payment), Workfare Bicentennial Bonus.
$1.1 Billion to be set aside as a Bicentennial Bonus to Singaporeans to commemorate this significant moment in history
A total of $200 million will be set aside for a Bicentennial Community fund to provide $-for-$ matching for donations to IPCs.
Will provide a specialMediSavetop-up of $100 per year for the next 5 years for Singaporeans aged 50 and above in 2019 who do not receive Pioneer Generation Package or Merdeka Generation Package.
Close to 500,000 Singaporeans to benefit from Merdeka Generation Package, those born in the 1950s and who obtained citizenship by 1996; as well as those born in 1949 or earlier, who obtained citizenship by 1996, and do not receive the PGP.
Additional participation incentive of $1,500 for Merdeka Generation seniors who join CareShield Life, when it becomes available for existing cohorts in 2021.
Merdeka Generation seniors will receive MediSave top-ups of $200 every year. This is starting from this year until 2023. They will also receive special CHAS subsidies and other additional subsidies for outpatient care for life, as well as additional MediShield Life premium subsidies for life, starting from 5% of their MediShield Life premiums.
Merdeka Generation Package has introduced to encourage the Merdeka Generation to stay active as well as healthy while providing greater healthcare assurance for them and their families.
A total of $5.1 billion to be put into the new Long-Term Care Support Fund, which will financially back up CareShield Life subsidies as well as other long-term care support measures, such as ElderFund.
The Community Health Assist Scheme or CHAS subsidies for GP clinics will be enhanced in thee ways. It will be extended to cover all Singaporeans for chronic conditions, regardless of income. Even, lower to middle-income Singaporeans, who are CHAS Orange cardholders, will also receive subsidies for common illnesses.
Major changes were made to make the healthcare system more affordable, accessible and comprehensive For elderly people, Govt will extend the SEC and ASEC for another year, until the end of 2020.
Throughout the schooling years, the Govt subsidises more than 90% of the total costs of education. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds get even more support through schemes, such as KidSTART.
Over the next three years, $4.6 billion will be used for the new economic capability-building measures and to support Singaporean workers.
