Appeals from Senior Citizens Not Eligible for GST Vouchers Due to Their Residential Address

Mr David Ong asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance over the last two years, what is the number of appeals received from senior citizens with qualifying income criteria and no ownership of any residential property but who do not qualify for GST Vouchers because their residential address as an occupier has an annual valuation of above $21,000.

Mdm Speaker, the GST Voucher scheme is a broad-based scheme to help lower and middle income households with their expenses, in particular, what they pay in GST. The criteria for the GST Voucher – Cash takes into account an individual's Assessable Income (AI), the Annual Value (AV) of his place of residence and how many properties he owns.

We receive an average of 120 appeals a year from senior citizens – here, I am referring to those who are aged 65 and above – who are below the income threshold and do not own any properties, but are living in properties with Annual Values exceeding $21,000. To put this in context, properties with Annual Values exceeding $21,000 make up the top 15% of owner-occupied homes in Singapore.

There is no perfect way of assessing a person's financial situation. However, a person living in a high-value property with his family is in general more likely to be supported by adequate family resources, even if he or she does not own the property. While there will

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certainly be exceptions, this approach is broadly equitable and progressive.

The Member can be assured that appeals by those who are unable to qualify for the GST Voucher but are in financial difficulty will be carefully considered. We will continue to review the GST Voucher from time to time, to ensure that it continues to reach those who need it most.

Thank you, Madam. I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. From the many cases I have seen in my Meet-the-People Sessions (MPS) and house visits, many seniors aged 55 and above were pretty upset that the GST Voucher is based on the Annual Valuation of their residence because most of them do not own a property. They are cash-poor, but simply because they live with their children, they are denied the benefits. Since the appeal cases are relatively low for those aged 65 and above, would the Ministry consider extending the benefit to these senior citizens?

Mdm Speaker, the number of properties that falls into this category is actually 15%. If we take 15%, that number in absolute terms will not be very small. What I can suggest that the Member does in such situations where he has encountered seniors in financial difficulty, is to write in to us and I can give him full assurance that we will look into each case carefully; and for deserving cases, certainly, we will do our best to help.