Sunday, April 17, 2011

Grow and Share package - difficult to figure out

Dear Mr. Tan,
I have just received in the mail, details of the Grow & Share package. Frankly, it should be called the "buy votes for the PAP" package, as it is timed for the coming general election. I received a letter that tells me what I can get as a dividend and the rebate of income tax - which I can understand. The accompanying brochure shows the benefits to the household. This is the part that I do not understand. In total, there are 10 items, but I do not know which items apply to me and how much. 

There are two glowing examples of the benefit for a family of 4 people living in a 3 room HDB flat and a family of 5 living in a 5-room HDB flat  I do not fall under any of these categories. How can I find out what is the benefit that my family will get? Why does the government make it so complicated for the Singaporeans? Why can't they reduce the GST or remove some of the taxes and levies?
(name withheld)



REPLY
I also find it difficult to figure out what the benefits are and will usually ignore these complicated packages. If the money comes into my bank account, it is all right. If not, it does not really matter to me. The government said that the benefits are targeted. Some people say that it is a convoluted approach - typical of Singapore. (Meaning of convoluted - extremely complex).

9 comments:

Singapore's 5 Minute Investment Diary said...

Thanks for sharing.

I'm glad I did not waste my time opening the envelope.

Looks like my personal guidelines for such matters still holds true:
"Anything good, THEY won't call me."

Spur said...

The full info can be found here:-
http://www.growandshare.gov.sg/FAQs.htm

Most of the "election bribes" are not disbursed as direct cash.
E.g. Medisave top-ups for age 45 & above, Child Development Credit for kids, income tax rebate, utility rebate for HDB flats, conservancy rebate for HDB flats, removal of TV license (!!!).

If you stay in private property, you won't get utility rebates or conservancy rebates.

If you earn $100K and above, or stay in 2-bedroom condo or larger, then you also will get much lesser amounts.

These "bribes" are targeted largely at the over 80% who stay in HDB flats, who earn less than $100K, and/or those who earn below $1.7K/mth and are on Workfare.

Weng Mao Fa said...

"...bribes...80% who stay in HDB flats"

Will your statement badly hurt the HDB residents.PLS THINK TWICE.

(I am not a politician)

Weng Mao Fa said...

If you are a NTUC Fairprice member, you bought $12000 of goods in a year. Fairprice would rebate you 4% (or $480) on the following year.

I would assume the package as a GST rebate - the 3-Room get higher rebate, the 5-Room get lower rebate, owner of private property get lowest rebate.

lzyData said...

Those people who complain about the payouts as "bribes" should donate all the money to charity and vote for the opposition. Nobody is forcing you to pocket the money and vote PAP. But how many people are so principled? Haha.

Actually I do not find the package complicated at all. This fellow just needs somebody to go through the details with him.

silverybay said...

I did exactly the same as Mr Tan, dump the whole letter in the rubbish bin. No point reading or trying to understand how to formulate all these payouts because you cannot change anything. Just be mentally prepared to pay back whatever we received PLUS interest back to them once the election is over. This will come in the form of various price increase in public services.

Their 46 years of track record at doing such things is sufficient to give me every confidence that money from the govt is just a loan which we need to pay back with hefty interest in the future.

So dont get too excited with that few hundred dollars they dangle in front of you just before the election.

If you dont need the money, take it and donate opposition party!

starlight said...

Whatever we receive is our (taxpayers) money, not something out of nowhere.

Tan Choon Hong said...

All these convoluted schemes rack up a huge waste of tax payers’ contributions in maintaining the army of government employees required for their execution. No wonder the people who seek relief under the various plans end up physically and mentally drained trying to navigate the labyrinth of forms, interviews, and what not. A simple national minimum wage will save the state more money than having the convoluted “targeted relief scheme” for needy families.

Whatever spin the government puts to it, I take this election candy as but a refund for fees overcharged.

Vincent Sear said...

First, this is an example of finding fault with the government to the extreme, and I'm sure the complainant will be able to find fault whatever the government do.

Nobody needs to work out an excel spreadsheet or fill pages of forms to apply for the package. It's allocation on a measure averaged on residence and income. What do some people expect is beyond my imagination. Expect the government to demand bank statements too?

Then, this is not a bribe. This is part of government fiscal policy that pays out to all whom qualify regardless of whom they'll be voting for. This is not PAP money. This is national money. Saying this is a bribe is akin to saying hospital subsidy is a bribe, school bursary is a bribe etc.

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