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How far is the fertility policy compared to Singapore’s first-born child with a subsidy of over one million Hong Kong support?

2021-09-13T04:45:32.607Z


The fertility rate in Hong Kong continues to fall. The reasons include high property prices and high prices in Hong Kong, which have discouraged many Hong Kong people from having children. Singapore is also facing the problem of low fertility rate. However, when comparing the government policies of the two places, it is found that the actual assistance is comparable.


The fertility rate in Hong Kong continues to fall. The reasons include high property prices and high prices in Hong Kong, which have discouraged many Hong Kong people from having children.

Singapore is also facing the problem of low fertility rate, but when comparing the government policies of the two places, it is found that the actual assistance is far different.

The following will be made from three aspects: holidays, subsidy allowances and tax deductions to compare the maximum subsidy benefits that parents can receive from the birth of the first baby to the age of 6 in the two places.


First look at the comparison of birth rates between Singapore and Hong Kong over the years ▼▼▼

Whether it is Hong Kong or Singapore, they are also facing the problem of declining fertility rates.

In 2020, the fertility rate in Hong Kong is 0.85, which is the lowest in history. The Secretary for Labor and Welfare, Luo Zhiguang, also wrote an article on this, warning that "the low fertility rate is not low" and that the government has taken a number of measures to encourage birth. However, if subsidized from subsidies, Compared with Singapore in terms of tax allowances and holidays, Hong Kong is clearly lagging behind.

1. Allowances and subsidies

Based on the maximum amount a couple can receive for the first child, Singapore has provided parents with a subsidy of HK$1,047,500, of which half (up to HK$460,000) is for families to purchase government housing allowances. There are also direct cash allowances, capital injections and matching child development accounts. Parents pay designated expenses such as education and medical care for their children, as well as allowances for their children to receive pre-school education.

As for Hong Kong, parents can receive the most subsidy or the amount of services involved is only 30% of Singapore’s. It is mainly due to fee reductions for child care centers and subsidies for free kindergartens. Most of the funds are paid by the government to provide services to organizations. The cash that actually goes to parents is mainly kindergartens. For three years, a student allowance of HK$2,500 per year and a school allowance of HK$4,150 per year subject to means-testing are approximately HK$20,000 in total for the three years.

2. Tax allowance

If you compare the tax allowances between the two places, Hong Kong has more allowances. At present, parents can receive an annual allowance of HK$120,000. Together with an additional allowance of HK$120,000 in the year their children are born, they can receive an allowance of 720,000 before the age of 6, which is more than 40% in Singapore. The tax allowance of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars is large.

However, Singapore provides direct tax deductions for working mothers, with a tax exemption of up to HK$29,000 per year based on the first birth; in addition, if you hire a foreign domestic helper, you can pay less relevant taxes and enjoy an annual tax allowance of about HK$8,300.

3. Holiday

In terms of holidays, Singapore has more maternity leave and paternity leave than Hong Kong.

Taking maternity leave as an example, Singaporean pregnant women can enjoy 16 weeks (112 days) of full paid maternity leave, and the government will subsidize 8 weeks of salary; while Hong Kong only has 14 weeks (98 days) of 20% off paid maternity leave, and the Hong Kong government only pays the 11th to 14th. Weekly (4 weeks) maternity leave salary.

In addition, Singapore provides parental leave for parents. Children can get 7 days of paid leave each year before the age of 7; children can take up to 6 days of unpaid leave each year before the age of 2 years.

For Hong Kong parents who have no parental leave at all, I believe that Singapore’s policy makes them very envious.

Hong Kong's fertility rate has dropped to the lowest level in history. Facing the demographic crisis, Taiwan and South Korea are facing the same situation. Hong Kong's fertility rate has fallen for six consecutive years.

Hong Kong fell to 26 in the Global Resilience Index, which is far worse than that of Singapore. The difference in scores between the two places is the most.

The Hong Kong team won 40 gold medals in the Paralympic Games. The competition is fierce in recent years.

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2021-09-13

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