IN LAST Thursday's letter, 'Why one couple is resettling in Sweden', Ms Heng Siew Cheng laments that 'the Government fails to help' couples like her and that is why she is resettling in Sweden with her husband. In particular, she says she cannot buy an HDB flat because her and her husband's 'income exceeds the cap' at their age, and her husband is not entitled to paternity leave.

Indeed, more can and needs to be done to foster a more pro-family environment in Singapore. Hence the public consultations and studies of measures adopted by other countries, including Sweden. The Government will continue to adapt measures for implementation here and enhance existing ones.

However, in comparing Singapore with Sweden, we need to be mindful of differences in the social-political environment between the two countries. Sweden has a high tax regime that helps sustain its high government expenditure on family, with a VAT (GST-equivalent) rate of 25 per cent and personal income tax rates as high as 60 per cent. Providing similarly attractive pro-family benefits in Singapore means Singaporeans must be prepared to pay significantly more taxes.

On housing, I would like clarify that there is no age cap for HDB housing grants.

Under the $8,000 household income ceiling, eight in 10 Singaporean families are eligible for subsidised HDB flats. The remaining 20 per cent can buy HDB flats from the resale market. Most dual-income families in Singapore would be able to service their housing loans entirely using CPF contributions. Single-income Singaporean families use about 5 per cent of their after-tax cash income, that is, excluding CPF contributions, to service payments for a resale five-room HDB flat.

In Sweden, the servicing cost for an equivalent three-bedroom housing unit amounts to about 13 per cent of after-tax disposable income. Overall, home ownership in Singapore is 90 per cent, compared to about 60 per cent in Sweden.

It is unfortunate that Ms Heng has decided she cannot raise a family in Singapore. The cost comparisons suggest it is not necessarily more expensive to raise a family in Singapore than in Sweden.

I wish Ms Heng and her husband all the best as they seek a different lifestyle and environment outside Singapore.

Lim Hwee Hua (Mrs)
Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport
Member, National Population Committee

This article was first published in The Straits Times on July 22, 2008.