SINGAPORE — In the rollout of the National Budget for 2023, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said he hopes that Singaporeans understand “that it is not fiscally sustainable to rely so heavily on government support year after year to cope with inflation” even as he announced a slew of measures that are aimed to help Singaporeans with young families.
Among the perks DPM Wong announced, he said that working mothers may receive a higher amount of fixed tax relief, especially for those with Singaporean children born or adopted on or after Jan 1, 2024.
Moreover, he announced an additional baby bonus cash gift of $3,000 for Singaporean children born from Feb 13 and onward. These children will also have higher government contributions to the Child Development Account, to aid their parents in offsetting school and healthcare expenses.
Notably, government-funded paternity leave will double for fathers of Singaporean children born from Jan 1, 2024. Parents’ unpaid infant care leave will also double to 12 days per year each for the first two years of the child’s life.
The baby bonus cash gift, DPM Wong said, ensures that “parents can receive continuous support all the way until their child enters primary school.”
The country’s Total Fertility Rate for 2022 is 1.237 births per woman, an increase of 0.57 per cent from 2021. Studies show, however, that a Total Fertility Rate of 2.1 children per woman is needed to ensure a broadly stable population.
Among the many items discussed in the roll-outs, incentives concerning more babies caught the attention of many netizens; a number of whom made fun of the situation including some who joked that the government is asking Singaporeans “to make more babies.”
Others, however, tended to take the matter more seriously, commenting on how expensive it is to have and raise children.
/TISG
Follow Google News
Join us on WhatsApp
Follow us on Telegram