Details

Published: 27 May 2020

Singapore government has announced Fortitude Budget on 26/05/2020.

1. Enhanced Jobs Support Scheme (JSS)
   • Extension of JSS to cover wages paid in August 2020
   • Update of base tier of support for severely-affected sectors
   • Only employers who are not allowed to resume operations will continue to receive 75% support for wages paid to local employees, during the period for which they are not allowed to resume operations, or until August 2020, whichever is earlier. Pro-ration will be applied if operations resume in the middle of the month
   • The below table will apply once the employer is allowed to resume operations
2. Supporting Enterprises
   • Helping with Cash Flow, Costs and Credit
     • Foreign worker levy waiver and rebate
       • Extended by up to 2 months for businesses that are not allowed to resume operations after the circuit breaker
         • 100% waiver and $750 rebate in June 2020
         • 50% waiver and $375 rebate in July 2020
     •  Deferment of Higher CPF Contribution Rates
       • Increase in CPF contribution rates for senior workers deferred by 1 year, from 1 January 2021 to 1 January 2022
3. Rental Relief for Tenants in Government and Private Non-Residential Properties
   • Rental Relief for SME Tenants in Private Non-Residential Properties
     • For SME tenants (i.e. with not more than $100 million in annual turnover*) with qualifying leases or licenses commencing before 25 March 2020
     • *This will be based on Corporate Tax and Individual Income Tax returns for the Year of Assessment 2019

     • No	Rental relief schemes	Qualifying criteria	Amount of relief for qualifying commercial property	Amount of relief for other nonresidential properties (e.g. industrial and office properties)
       1	Property Tax Rebate for nonresidential properties, announced earlier in the Unity and Resilience Budgets	The rebate is given to property owners, who are required to pass it on fully to their tenants*	100% Property Tax Rebate (equivalent to about 1.2 month’s of rent)	30% Property Tax Rebate (equivalent to about 0.36 month’s of rent)
       2	Government cash grant [New]	SME tenants in private properties**	Cash grant of ~0.8 month’s of rent, which will be automatically disbursed to property owners from end-July 2020 Landlords are required to pass on the benefit to their SME tenants	Cash grant of ~0.64 month’s of rent, which will be automatically disbursed to property owners from end-July 2020 Landlords are required to pass on the benefit to their SME tenants

     • For property owners whose properties are only partially let out, or whose properties are let out to both SME and non-SME tenants under a single property tax account, they will not automatically receive the government cash grant. In such instances, the property owner should submit an application to IRAS, and provide supporting documents, including proof of SME tenants within its property. IRAS will pro-rate the government cash grant accordingly
   • Mandated rental waiver by landlords
     • The Ministry of Law will also be introducing a new Bill mandating that landlords grant rental waivers to qualifying SME tenants
     • If the new Bill is passed by Parliament, SME tenants of qualifying commercial properties who have suffered a significant revenue drop will benefit from a total of four months of rental relief shared equally between the Government and landlords
   • Rental relief for government tenants

     • Tenant Type	Previous	New	Total
       Stallholders of hawker centres and markets	3 months	2 months	5 months
       Commercial	2 months	2 months	4 months
       Industrial, office and agricultural	1 month	1 month	2 months

4. Supporting for Digital Transformation
   • Adopting e-payments
     • Bonus of $300 per month over 5 months to encourage adoption of e-payments by stallholders in
       • Hawker centres
       • Wet markets
       • Coffee shops
       • Industrial canteens
   • Digital Resilience Bonus

   • 	Baseline	Category 1 ($2,500)	Category 2 ($2,500)	Category 3 ($5,000)
     Food Services	PayNow Corporate and e-invoicing	Business process solutions: (i)Accounting; (ii)HR/Payroll (iii)Digital ordering (dine in/takeaway)	Digital presence: online food delivery (via food delivery platforms or own online shopfront) or e-procurement	Data-driven operations: data mining and analytics
     Retail	PayNow Corporate and e-invoicing	(i)Accounting; (ii)HR/Payroll; (iii)Inventory management	Digital presence: e-commerce	Data-driven operations: data mining and analytics

5. SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package
   • Enhanced Hiring Incentive

Details

Published: 29 April 2020

IRAS

ACRA

Tax Season 2020

Portal to e-File tax return:  https://mytax.iras.gov.sg/ESVWeb/default.aspx

Income Tax for Trusts -  Form T

Persons Required to Submit Form T

• Legal personal representative (administrator/executor) of an estate of a deceased; and
• Trustee of an estate held in trust,  private trust or settlement

Income to Declare in Form T

• Income earned one day after the date of death from assets left behind by a deceased person; or
• Income from assets held under a private trust/settlement

Income Tax for Clubs and Associations -  Form P1

Persons Required to Submit Form P1

• The president,
• Honorary treasurer,
• Secretary or
• Any other member of the management committee 

Submit to:

The Comptroller of Income Tax Compliance,
Clubs, Trust and Gaming Branch
55 Newton Road, Revenue House
Singapore 307987

Note: IRAS will not issue any reminders to the clubs or associations

Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)

ECI is an estimate of the company's taxable income (after deducting tax-allowable expenses) for a Year of Assessment (YA).

All companies must file Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) within three months from the end of their financial year except for companies that qualify for the administrative concession and those that are specifically not required to file.

Waiver to File ECI

GST Returns

GST-registered businesses are required to use CorpPass to e-File their GST returns through https://mytax.iras.gov.sg/ESVWeb/default.aspx

S45 Withholding Tax Forms

Payers are required to e-file and pay the withholding tax to IRAS by the 15th of the second month from the date of payment to the non-resident

Tax Clearances for Foreign Employee

When non-Singapore Citizen employee ceases employment in Singapore, goes on an overseas posting or plans to leave Singapore for more than three months

Employer must notify IRAS at least one month in advance

Employer shall withhold all monies due to the employee from the date aware of his impending cessation of employment or departure from Singapore

Applies to all work pass holders including Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) holders

Details

Published: 22 April 2020

Singapore Government has extended the soldarity budget on 21 April 2020.

1. Jobs Support Scheme wage subsidy
   • Extend the 75% wage subsidy under the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) to all sectors for the month of May

   • Payout	Date of Payment	Aviation and tourism	Food services	Others
     		Computation of Payout Capped at first $4,600 of gross monthly wages Based on:
     Payout 1	Apr 2020	+ 75% of Oct 2019 wages + 75% of Nov 2019 wages + 75% of Dec 2019 wages	+ 75% of Oct 2019 wages + 50% of Nov 2019 wages + 50% of Dec 2019 wages	+ 75% of Oct 2019 wages + 25% of Nov 2019 wages + 25% of Dec 2019 wages
     Additional Payout in May	May 2020	+ 75% of Nov 2019 wages	+ 75% of Nov 2019 wages	+ 75% of Nov 2019 wages
     Payout 2	Jul 2020	+ 75% of Feb 2020 wages  + 75% of Mar 2020 wages + 75% of Apr 2020 wages	+ 50% of Feb 2020 wages + 50% of Mar 2020 wages + (75% of Apr 2020 wages  – 25% of Oct 2019 wages*)	+ 25% of Feb 2020 wages + 25% of Mar 2020 wages + (75% of Apr 2020 wages – 50% of Oct 2019 wages*)
     Payout 3	Oct 2020	+ (75% of May 2020 wages  – 75% of Nov 2019 wages)** + 75% of Jun 2020 wages  + 75% of Jul 2020 wages	+ (75% of May 2020 wages  – 75% of Nov 2019 wages)** + 50% of Jun 2020 wages + 50% of Jul 2020 wage	+ (75% of May 2020 wages  – 75% of Nov 2019 wages)** + 25% of Jun 2020 wages + 25% of Jul 2020 wages

   • * This adjustment is for the temporary JSS enhancement for the month of April 2020. Any negative quantum for a single employee will be offset from the overall JSS payout for the employer. 

     ** Any negative quantum for a single employee will be offset from the overall JSS payout for the employer

   • Extend to Director-Shareholder

     • Companies registered on or before 20 April 2020

     • For the wages of shareholder-directors with Assessable Income of $100,000 or less for Year of Assessment 2019

     • Included in the May 2020 and subsequent JSS payouts

     • Back-payment for companies with qualifying shareholder-directors whose wages were excluded from the first JSS payout in April 2020 will be included in May 2020 payout also

2. Waiving the Foreign Worker Levy (FWL) due in May and provide employers with another $750 in FWL rebate for every foreign worker in employment
3. Solidarity Payment for adult Singaporeans
   • About 90% of adult Singaporeans received the Solidarity Payment of $600 through direct bank transfer on 14 April 2020.
   • The rest will be receiving this payment through their recently registered bank accounts on 28 April 2020, or by cheque from 30 April 2020 onwards.
   • The remaining Enhanced Care and Support – Cash will be paid out from end-June 2020, together with the $300 for each parent of a Singaporean child aged 20 and below in 2020, and $100 cash for Singaporeans aged 50 and above in 2020 (replacing the PAssion Card top-up)
4. Temporary Relief Fund and COVID-19 Support Grant for lower- to middle- income Singaporeans
   • Lower- to middle-income Singaporeans who require urgent help with their basic living expenses can apply for the Temporary Relief Fund which provides a one-off cash grant of $500 in April.
   • From 1 May 2020 onwards, Singaporeans who are unemployed due to COVID-19 can apply for the COVID-19 Support Grant, which provides a cash grant of $800 a month for three months. MSF will provide more details on how to apply soon

Details

Published: 07 April 2020

ACRA will grant a 60-day extension of time for all listed and non-listed companies whose AGMs are due during the period 16 April 2020 to 31 July 2020. The AR filing due dates for the period 1 May 2020 to 31 August 2020 for all listed and non-listed companies will also be extended for 60 days. There is no need for these companies to apply for the extension of time with ACRA.

ACRA will also not impose any penalties on listed and non-listed companies whose AGMs are due during the period 1 April to 15 April 2020 if they hold the AGM within 60 days of the due date. Their AR filing due dates will also be extended for 60 days. There is no need for these companies to apply for the extension of time.

Source: ACRA Facebook

Details

Published: 07 April 2020

Singapore has announced Solidarity Budget on 6th April 2020.

Enhance the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS)

* If Payout 2 is insufficient to make this adjustment, the outstanding amount will be adjusted through Payout 3.  

Note: Aviation and tourism sectors will continue to receive 75% wage subsidies on the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages for local workers for all applicable months

1. The wage cap of $4,600 does not mean that workers earning more than $4,600 do not qualify. Regardless of how much they earn, the maximum subsidy to the firms will be 75% of $4,600 per person, which is $3,450
2. Firms on GIRO and PayNow will start receiving the first Jobs Support Scheme payout next week.
3. Firms which are not on GIRO or PayNow will receive their payouts by cheque, starting about a week later

Further Measures to Ease Labour Costs

1. Waive the monthly Foreign Worker Levy due in April
2. Foreign Worker Levy Rebate of $750 for each work permit or S pass holder, based on previous levies paid in 2020
   • Employers will receive the rebate as early as 21 April 2020

Enhanced Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme (SIRS)

1. Eligibility Criteria:
   • Singaporean
   • Started work as an SEP on or before 25 March 2020;
   • Only earn a small income from employment work;
   • Earn a Net Trade Income of no more than $100,000;
   • Live in a property with an annual value of no more than $21,000; and
   • Do not own two or more properties.
   • For married Singaporean SEPs, the following additional criteria apply:
     • The individual and spouse together do not own two or more properties; and
     • The Assessable Income of his/her spouse does not exceed $70,000.

Enhanced Support for Households

Solidarity Payment

1. All adult Singaporeans aged 21 and above will receive a one-off Solidarity Payment of $600 in cash
2. For the majority of Singaporeans who have provided their bank account details to the Government, the Solidarity Payment will be credited directly into their bank accounts by 14 Apr 2020.
3. The rest will receive the payment by cheque, to be issued in stages later, starting from 30 Apr 2020
4. Other cash payouts under the Care and Support Package, which were earlier announced, will be brought forward to Jun 2020, instead of Aug 2020
   • The remaining $300 or $600 from the higher tiers of the Care and Support –Cash payout,
   • The additional $300 payout for each parent with at least one child aged 20 and below, and
   • The $100 PAssion Card top-up, which will be given in cash, for Singaporeans aged 50 and above