Overview of Budget 2024 - Explainer for SEC & PU Students

SINGAPORE BUDGET 2024 POLICIES OVERVIEW AND EXPLAINER SECONDARY AND PRE-UNIVERSITY BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SINGAPORE BUDGET 2024 POLICIES Explainer for Secondary and Pre-University Students INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDGET Every February, Singapore’s Finance Minister will deliver the Budget Statement to outline the government’s expenditure and support for Singaporeans in the next financial year (1 April to 31 March). It is regarded as the most important annual financial event in the country. It is followed by the Committee of Supply (COS) debates where Members of Parliament (MPs) debate the plans and proposed expenditures of the different Ministries in the next financial year. This year, Finance Minister and DPM Lawrence Wong delivered the Budget in Parliament on 16 February 2024 and announced one of the largest budgets in recent years. Some observers see this as a ‘General Election’ Budget – that is, one that is deliberately inflated with support for citizens in order to raise support for the incumbent government in the upcoming General Election (which is speculated to be held at the end of the year). The 2024 Budget is worth about S$131.4 billion . © Chua Zhe Lei | Department of Humanities | 2024 1

SINGAPORE BUDGET 2024 POLICIES OVERVIEW AND EXPLAINER SECONDARY AND PRE-UNIVERSITY ASSURANCE PACKAGE (S$1.9B) AND OTHER SUPPORT DIRECT SUPPORT FOR SINGAPOREANS 1. Additional $600 in Community Development Council (CDC) Vouchers 1 will be provided to Singaporean households in two tranches in end-June 2024 and January 2025. 2. Cost-of-Living Special Payment of between $200 and $400 in cash will be provided for adult Singaporeans with assessable incomes 2 of up to $100,000 , and who do not own more than one property . 3. Additional one-off U-Save rebates 3 will be given to help HDB households cope with increases in their utility bills . Eligible HDB households can expect to receive two-and-a-half times the amount of regular U-Save rebates, or up to $950 , in Financial Year (FY) 2024. This will cover about four months of utility bills for those living in 3- and 4-room flats . 4. Additional one-off Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) Rebate 4 for HDB flats . Together with the regular S&CC rebates, eligible HDB households will receive up to four months of such rebates in FY2024. 5. Top-up of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Fund by $6 billion to deliver on the Government’s commitment to permanently defray GST expenses for lower- and middle-income households , through the GST Voucher Scheme 5 . 5 Scheme to assist lower- and middle-income households with their expenses, in particular what they pay in the universal Goods and Services Tax. 4 Service and Conservancy Charges are charged by the Town Council for maintenance and upkeep for the common residential properties. 3 U-Save rebates are partial refunds on utility cha