Sharing of parent tax relief: Government to study call

Tax relief for parents could be shared among siblings, under a proposal to be studied by the Government.

At the moment, it is fixed at $7,000 for taxpayers who live with their parents and $4,500 for those who do not. It can be claimed by only one child for each parent.

Minister of State for Finance Josephine Teo said that it is fair for the relief to be a fixed amount, regardless of how many children the elderly person has, otherwise those with larger families will get a bigger benefit.

Mrs Teo added that dividing the fixed sum among the children means that each will get a fraction. She pointed out that care arrangements differ among families, and there are monetary and other forms of care.