Nearly 2.1 million S'poreans to receive GST Voucher

SINGAPORE: Close to 2.1 million adult Singaporeans will receive letters from the government from Monday to inform them of the amount that they will receive this year under the GST Voucher (GSTV) scheme.

The Finance Ministry says the GSTV is a permanent scheme introduced in Budget 2012 to help lower- and middle-income households offset their GST expenses.

About S$440 million in GST Voucher -- Cash and Medisave -- will be given out on 1 August.

Most Singaporeans will not have to take any action to receive their GST Voucher.

However, a small number of eligible Singaporeans who have not signed up for a previous government payout, such as the 2011 Growth Dividend or 2007-2010 GST Credits, will have to sign up by 18 July to receive their payout on 1 August.

They can do so via the following channels:
(a) Online: www.gstvoucher.gov.sg (sign up by 18 July); or
(b) Physical sign-up form: Available at any community centre, Community Development Council or CPF Service Centre (sign up by 16 July).

Those who sign up after 18 July will receive their payout after 1 August. They have up to 31 December 2012 to sign up for their 2012 GSTV payout.

In addition, about S$180 million in GSTV - U-Save will be credited to the utilities accounts of 800,000 HDB households in July.

This will be the first payment of a half-yearly U-Save payout under the GSTV scheme.

The GSTV - U-Save will be paid out in January and July each year. There is no need to sign up for the GSTV - U-Save.

Big bargains at Johor Premium Outlets? Not so, Singaporeans find

Friday's rain did not deter hundreds of Singaporeans who took an hour's drive to Johor Premium Outlets (JPO) in search of designer goods at high street prices.

But shoppers at the 16,258 sq m mall in Kulaijaya, which opened on Friday with most of the planned 80 stores up and running, went away with only a bag or two of purchases.

Singaporeans whom The Straits Times spoke to at the mall said the discounts were not as steep as those at outlet malls in the United States and Europe, even though JPO shops gave discounts of up to 70 per cent on selected products.

For example, Zegna ties, which cost $290 each at the boutique in Takashimaya, were about 55 per cent less at RM315 (S$130). High heels from Salvatore Ferragamo, which typically sell for $790 here, cost RM1,040 (S$430).

Teacher Y.L. Tan, 36, said: 'If we wait for things to go on sale in Singapore, they are about the same price.'

Small percentage of S'poreans use CPF for parents' medical fees

Less than five per cent of Singaporeans with Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts used these funds to pay for their parents' healthcare expenses in 2010.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong revealed these figures in Parliament on Friday, in response to a parliamentary question by Non-Constituency Member Gerald Giam, who had asked for these figures.

Mr Gan said in 2010, there were around two million working Singaporeans with CPF accounts, and among them 80,000 used their CPF to pay for their parents' medical fees. If older CPF members were excluded from the figures, the proportion would be slightly higher.

Singaporeans withdrew $732 million from their Medisave accounts in 2010, of which 18 per cent was used to pay for their parents' treatment.