Finance minister Heng Swee Keat presented the National Budget 2018 on February 18. If you struggled to keep up with the two hour long program, here’s the National Budget in a nutshell.
The BAD:
✖ Increased GST: The Goods and Service Tax will increase from 7% to 9%, the first time in more than a decade. The implementation of the tax hike will be between 2021 to 2025.
✖ GST on Digital Imported Services: Tax will be imposed on online overseas service suppliers like Netflix and Spotify. However, the tax will not be imposed on e-commerce goods.
✖ Increase tax on Tobacco: According to the World Health Organisation, a 10% increase in the price of cigarettes results in a 4% decrease in demand in developed countries. To deter consumption of tobacco products, there will be a 10% raise in the existing tobacco excise duty.
✖ Foreign Domestic Worker Levy: From April 2019, there will be an increment in levies for foreign domestic workers. Monthly levy will be raised from $265 to $300 for the first domestic worker employed. From the second worker onwards, monthly levy increases from $265 to $450. On the bright side, households that currently enjoy the levy concession under the aged person scheme will continue to do so.
✖ Wage Credit Scheme (WCS): The WCS will be extended for three more years. Co-funding will be 20% for 2018, 15% for 2019 and 10% for 2020.
The GOOD:
✔ Increase support for education: The annual Edusave top-up will increase from $200 to $230 for primary school students, and from $240 to $290 for secondary school students with effect from 2019. Additional support will be provided for students from lower income families by raising bursary from $750 to $900.
✔ Proximity Housing Grant (PHG): Couples who choose to buy a resale flat near their parents are entitled to a $30,000 grant, a $10,000 increment from the existing $20,000 grant.
✔ One time Bonus: Every Singaporean above the age of 21 will receive a one off bonus of $300, $200, or $100 a.k.a Everyone gets an ANGBAO! *Amount varies based on income.
MORE goods news!
In a bid to offer you the finest products at the best price, IUIGA promises NOT to inflate our prices; And believe us when we say our promises are forever.
WHY is IUIGA promising this?!
IUIGA adopted transparent pricing because we personally want to buy and sell in a more open market, but this is not yet possible. Transparency to us means knowing as much as possible about something, perhaps most important about price.
When we buy something from the supermarket, we prefer to know what everyone else is paying. If we have no idea, we are a lot less likely to buy. Most people would hesitate to buy at a store where there are no prices displayed and everyone else is being charged a different price based on their relationship to the seller. This is akin to hidden markups end consumers have no knowledge on prior to the birth of transparent business models like IUIGA.
This is why we make it a point to always being up-to-date when we display our price right down to our raw costs. You may be curious why IUIGA decided to be honest and open about raw costs right down to materials, labour, taxes and shipping. It’s really simple: Honesty is really the best policy when it comes to transparency. Transparency allows you to shop for the best price possible as an end consumer, and transparent brands like us in turn benefit when you are more likely to buy from a brand that you trust you are not getting ripped off.
Ultimately, we believe transparency and accurate pricing attracts more than deters. What is your take?
Head on to our website www.iuiga.com to view our honest pricing price charts under each and every product if this piqued your interest 🙂
