Growth Dividends: Tiering Based On Individual's Income And Annual Value Of Home Ensures Fairness In Distribution

We refer to the letter "Not Particular About The Amount But The Fairness When Giving Out Growth Dividends" ("??????????" dated 26 Mar 2008 in LHZB). We thank Mr Wang Tian Long (???) for his comments and suggestions.

2. Mr Wang commented that it is unfair to use the type of residence to determine how much Growth Dividends an individual can receive. We agree with Mr Wang that the type of residence on its own is not an adequate proxy for an individual's means. This is why we have used both the Annual Value (AV) of the place of residence and the individual's Assessable Income (AI). These two criteria together provide a better proxy of an individual's means. A citizen with low income will therefore receive a higher Growth Dividend compared to someone with high income living in the same type of residence.

3. In addition, older Singaporeans can receive extra Growth Dividends of up to $200 this year. They can also receive up to $1000 in Senior Citizens' Bonus over 4 years, on top of their GST Credits, as part of the GST Offset Package announced last year.

4. For more information on the Growth Dividends and GST Offset Package, please visit the websites www.singaporebudget.gov.sg and www.gstoffset.gov.sg or call the CPF Board at 1800-2222-888.

CHIN SAU HO
DIRECTOR (CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS AND SERVICES)
MINISTRY OF FINANCE