More than 800,000 Singaporean households will receive utility rebates in the form of GST vouchers this month in October. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) made the announcement today (Oct 1) with the voucher automatically deducted from the monthly utility bill.
Ranging from S$45 to S$65, this one-off payment is part of the GST Voucher given this year. Earlier in June, up to S$300 was given to eligible low income households this year under the GST payout. Then in August, more than 400,000 elderly aged 65 and above were given S$450 Medisave top up.
Coming next month in November, elderly Singaporeans above the age of 55 will be given between S$300 to S$600 in Senior Bonus which also comes under the GST payout.
GST Vouchers are most generous in an election year like 2015, where announcements were made before the September elections as an incentive for Singaporean voters to support the ruling party. Retrospectively, the GST Vouchers have been proven a success given that the PAP won a strong mandate of 70%.