Noting that there has been an increase in the number of Singaporean-owned HDB flats which are fully sublet - including to non-citizen tenants - the Ministry of Finance is refining the U-Save utility rebate scheme so that HDB flats fully sublet to non-citizens will no longer be eligible for them from this month.
The rebates, part of the Goods and Services Tax Offset Package introduced in 2007, will still be disbursed to Singaporean-owned HDB flats with at least one citizen tenant.
The change is to "better target the U-Save rebates at Singaporeans as intended", according to a statement yesterday from the Ministry.
The refinement appears to be a "conscious move", observed Singapore Management University assistant professor Eugene Tan, to better distinguish between citizens and non-citizens as the issue of immigration and the privileges of citizenship grows in importance.
"It's an operational matter in which there is a conscious effort to ensure the beneficiaries of Government subsidies and rebates are indeed Singaporeans," he said. "Immigration has become an issue that concerns many Singaporeans, and I think in 2009 that issue had become a lot more prominent."
Between April 2008 and March last year, HDB approved 22,754 applications from residents to fully sublet their flats. In 2008, 18,735 units were allowed to be sublet and in 2007, the figure was about 17,000.
But there is no data on how many are fully occupied by non-Singaporeans.
And no details were given yesterday on how the refined criteria will be applied operationally. Up to now, tenants paying for utilities would find the U-Save rebates reflected in the household's monthly bill.
About 800,000 HDB households will receive $106 million worth of U-Save rebates this year, with the first payout totalling $60 million to be made this month. The second payout will be made in July.
The U-Save tweak, along with the recent announcement by the Education Ministry to raise school fees for non-citizens, is in line with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's commitment that differentiation between Singaporeans and non-citizens would sharpen over time.
Asst Prof Tan cautioned, however, against marginalising the latter.
"We still want to attract PRs and foreigners to plant their roots here because of the economic plans and the demographic challenges we face," he said.
But South West District Mayor and Member of Parliament Amy Khor believes that economic opportunities and stability matter more to foreigners than these differences.
"They want to live here because it's politically stable, they have economic opportunities, the education system, the racial harmony, even the environment ... I don't think they're looking at things like rebates," she said.
Ms Lu, a graphic designer from Taiwan who is renting a HDB flat in Clementi, said the move is "not an unfair one".
"I think it's something Singaporeans have been very concerned about, so I suppose this is something they need to know is going to the right people for sure," she said.
West Coast MP Ho Geok Choo said the move would be positive and reassuring to Singaporeans. She suggested there could be a registry to track which HDB flats are rented to foreigners, to smoothen administrative processes.
"Renting is a private process between the landlord and tenant ... so we ought to look at a proper registry," she said.
Singaporeans can expect to see more of such refinements, felt Asst Prof Tan.
"We see it in healthcare, and in education, you can even go further at the tertiary level with the polytechnics and universities," he said.
"These could be pre-emptive moves to avoid immigration becoming a political issue when elections are called over the next two years."
Source: TODAY, 1 January 2010
