Budget 2024: Middle-income workers get their day in the sun

Singapore’s

Budget announcements

often operate on three levels. The first level consists of immediate cash handouts and tax relief schemes. In Budget 2024, these include the

enhanced Assurance Package

with its array of additional grants to deal with rising costs of living and a personal income tax rebate of 50 per cent, capped at $200. These are targeted at current concerns.

The second layer consists of mid-course incentives to spur people along a certain path, or corrections to smoothen policy frictions. Examples of this in the latest Budget are

the fixes to the Central Provident Fund scheme

to remove the Special Account (SA) and streamline it into the Retirement Account or Ordinary Account. This removes the loophole that was letting cash-rich Singaporeans enjoy the high 4 per cent interest in the SA, which is meant for long-term funds, while using the account like a cash account they can withdraw from at any time.