Singapore government distributes more than 500 million USD to people
All Singaporeans aged 21 and above will receive a sum of money from the Government, known as a "red envelope".
Singapore's Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat shared the plan in his budget speech to Parliament on Monday (February 19), saying it "reflects the Government's long-standing commitment to sharing the fruits of development with Singaporeans." The money was likened to "red envelopes" by the Finance Minister.
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Singapore plans to spend about 700 million Singapore dollars to distribute "red envelopes" to its people. |
The "red envelopes" will be calculated according to the income of each person in this island nation. Accordingly, about 2.7 million people will receive payments before the end of 2018.
Those with an annual income of S$28,000 or less will receive S$300, those with an income between S$28,000 and S$100,000 will receive S$200, and those with an income exceeding S$100,000 will receive S$100. The total amount that the Government will distribute to the people is about S$700 million, equivalent to about US$530 million.
This is the first time since 2011 that the Singapore Government has distributed money to its people.
In 2011, which was also an election year, 2.5 million people aged 21 and over were given "dividends" of between $100 and $800. The total cost of the payment was about $1.5 billion. Previously, in 2008, the government had also given out between $100 and $400 to each citizen.
Singapore's budget recorded a surplus of S$9.6 billion in fiscal 2017 thanks to special contributions and higher-than-expected tax revenues. In addition to the "red packets" distributed to people, Mr. Heng said S$5 billion was set aside for an infrastructure fund to be used for the new rail line the country is building.
