Singapore: COVID-19 Support Measures - Now, for tomorrow An independent member of Baker Tilly International - HubSpot
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Client Brief: Baker Tilly Singapore Coronavirus Resource Hub Singapore: COVID-19 Support Measures Now, for tomorrow An independent member of Baker Tilly International
Singapore: COVID-19 Support Measures 2
(As at 18 May 2020)
Schemes Details Source
Enhanced Jobs Support • Eligible employers will receive a cash grant equal to 25% of the gross monthly wages of each local https://www.iras.gov.sg/ira-
Scheme employee^ (Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents) for the three months from October 2019 to shome/Schemes/Businesses/
December 2019 and the six months from February 2020 to July 2020, subject to a monthly wage cap Jobs-Support-Scheme--JSS-/
(include employee CPF contributions, but exclude employer CPF contributions) of S$4,600 per
employee.
https://www.sgpc.gov.sg/sgp-
• The wage subsidy for all firms will be raised to 75% of gross monthly wages for the first S$4,600 of cmedia/media_releases/mof/
wages paid to all local employees in April and May 2020. press_release/P-20200421-1/
attachment/Support%20Mea-
• Companies that reduce their employees' salaries or put them on no-pay leave will receive correspond- sures%20for%20Extended%20
ingly lower payouts. Circuit%20Breaker.pdf
• The original JSS will be paid in three tranches, in April 2020, July 2020 and October 2020. An
additional payout will be made in May 2020 (computed based on wages paid to all local employees
in November 2019).
• Employers do not need to apply for the JSS. The grant will be computed based on CPF contribution
data.
^ Includes shareholder-directors with Assessable Income of $100,000 or less for the Year of Assessment
2019, subject to specified conditions.
Singapore: COVID-19 Support Measures 3
(As at 18 May 2020)
Schemes Details Source
Enhanced Wage Credit • Co-funding ratios for wage increases in 2019 and 2020 will be raised to 20% and 15% respectively https://www.iras.gov.sg/
Scheme (WCS) (originally 15% and 10% respectively). IRASHome/Schemes/Busi-
nesses/Wage-Credit-Scheme-
• Qualifying gross wage ceiling will be raised from S$4,000 to S$5,000 for both years. -WCS-/
Enhanced Property Tax • 100% rebate for qualifying commercial properties* https://www.iras.gov.sg/
Rebate • 60% rebate for the Integrated Resorts irashome/Property/Proper-
• 30% for other non-residential properties ty-owners/Working-out-your-
• No rebate is given for residential property, vacant land or land under redevelopment. taxes/Property-Tax-Reliefs/
* Includes hotels, serviced apartments, tourist attractions, shops and restaurants
Owners are required to unconditionally and fully pass on the rental rebates to their tenants who rent the
properties in respect of which the rebates are given.
Singapore: COVID-19 Support Measures 4
(As at 18 May 2020)
Schemes Details Source
Enhanced Rental • 3 months’ rental waiver for hawkers https://www.singaporebudget.
Waivers • Up to 2 months’ rental waiver for commercial and other non-residential tenants in government proper- gov.sg/docs/default-source/
ties. budget_2020/download/pdf/
supplementary_annexb6.pdf
Deferment of Income Automatic deferment of income tax payments for 3 months, for: https://www.iras.gov.sg/
Tax Payments irashome/Businesses/Com-
• Companies: Payments due in April, May and June 2020 will be collected in July, August and September panies/Paying-Corporate-In-
respectively. come-Tax/Paying-Corpo-
• Self-employed individuals: They will pay income tax starting from August 2020, instead of May 2020. rate-Income-Taxes/
• No late payment interest or penalties will be levied in respect of these deferred payments.
https://www.iras.gov.sg/ira-
shome/Individuals/Locals/
Paying-your-taxes-Claim-
ing-refunds/Defer-Tax-Pay-
ment-for-Individual-In-
come-Tax/
No increase in • No increase in government fees and charges for 1 year, from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. https://www.singaporebudget.
government fees gov.sg/docs/default-source/
and charges budget_2020/download/pdf/
faq-in-fee-freeze.pdf
Singapore: COVID-19 Support Measures 5
(As at 18 May 2020)
Schemes Details Source
Automatic extension of • Income tax returns for individuals (including sole proprietorships and partnerships) extended to 31 May https://www.iras.gov.sg/
tax filing deadlines 2020 (from 15 April 2020). irashome/COVID-19-Support-
Measures-and-Tax-Guidance/
• Income tax returns for Trusts, Clubs and Associations extended to 30 June 2020 (from 15 April 2020). Support-Measures/Extend-
ed-Tax-Filing-Deadlines/
• Estimated chargeable income for financial years ended in January 2020 and February 2020 to be filed
by 30 June 2020 (from 30 April and 31 May 2020 respectively).
• Goods and Services Tax returns for accounting period ended March 2020 extended to 11 May 2020
(from 30 April 2020), may be based on information available
• Section 45 Withholding Tax Forms due in April 2020 extended to 15 May 2020 (from 15 April 2020).
• Tax clearances for foreign employees in April and May 2020 extended to 30 June 2020.
• CRS and FATCA Returns for Reporting Year 2019 extended to 31 August 2020 (from 31 May 2020).
25% Corporate Income • Applicable for the Year of Assessment 2020. https://www.iras.gov.sg/
Tax Rebate for the year irashome/Businesses/Com-
2020, up to $15,000 per • The rebate does not apply to income derived by a non-resident company that is subject to final panies/Learning-the-basics-
company withholding tax. of-Corporate-Income-Tax/
Corporate-Tax-Rates--Corpo-
rate-Income-Tax-Rebates-and-
Tax-Exemption-Schemes/
Waiver of Foreign • Waiver of monthly Foreign Worker Levy (FWL) due in April and May 2020. The employer will not be https://www.mom.gov.
Worker Levy receiving a bill for March (payable in April 2020) and April (payable in May 2020) 2020's levy and neither sg/covid-19/frequent-
do they have to pay for the March and April 2020 levy. ly-asked-questions/levy-re-
bate-and-levy-waiver
Singapore: COVID-19 Support Measures 6
(As at 18 May 2020)
Schemes Details Source
Rebate of Foreign • A company is eligible for S$750 of levy rebate for each S Pass or Work Permit holder in the company's https://www.mom.gov.sg/
Worker Levy employment as at 29 February 2020 (1st round of levy rebate) and 1 May 2020 (2nd round of levy re- covid-19/advisory-on-sala-
bate). Companies which have paid up to December 2019’s foreign worker's levy in full (which amount ry-and-leave
was due in January 2020) and made an online acknowledgement that the levy rebate will be used to
provide for the pay and upkeep of the foreign workers during the Circuit Breaker will be eligible for the https://www.mom.gov.
2nd round of levy rebate. sg/covid-19/frequent-
ly-asked-questions/levy-re-
bate-and-levy-waiver
Three-month extension • Ministry of Manpower (MOM) provides SMEs with additional three months to make levy payment. SMEs https://www.mom.gov.sg/
of levy payment time- have up to 5 months to pay for the foreign worker levy from the month it is incurred before the foreign covid-19/helping-business-
line for SMEs workers’ work passes are revoked. es-on-manpower-issues
• The late payment penalty of 2% monthly will still apply for levies which are deferred. SMEs are encour-
aged to exercise financial prudence and plan their cash flow to pay levies on time as far as possible.
• SMEs are encouraged to retain existing workers, should not be employing fresh foreign workers.
Hence, MOM will allow renewals but not new application of work passes.
Up to 90 days levy waiv- • Levy waiver for up to 60 days for foreign workers who go on overseas home leave for at least 7 consec- https://www.mom.gov.sg/
er for foreign workers utive days. In view of the travel restrictions and difficulties workers may face in returning to Singapore, covid-19/helping-business-
on overseas leave MOM has extended the levy waiver period to up to 90 days. es-on-manpower-issues
• Employers who send their foreign workers home from 1 April 2020 till end-2020 will also be eligible for
levy waiver, subject to the 90-day cap.
Singapore: COVID-19 Support Measures 7
(As at 18 May 2020)
Schemes Details Source
Temporary scheme: • With effect from 2 March 2020, companies in manufacturing and services sectors will be allowed to hire https://www.mom.gov.
• to help companies existing PRC Work Permit holders who are in Singapore, with the agreement of their current employers. sg/covid-19/frequent-
in manufacturing ly-asked-questions/tempo-
and services sectors • With effect from 1 April 2020 to 31 August 2020, MOM allows inter-sectoral transfer of foreign workers rary-scheme-to-help-business-
manage manpower for all sectors and allow transfers of foreign workers whose Work Permits are nearing expiry for all sec- es
needs; and tors.
• to allow companies
to transfer foreign
workers across
sectors to manage
manpower needs.
Man-Year Entitlements • Refunds of unutilised MYEs. https://www1.bca.gov.sg/
(MYEs) refund for buildsg/manpower/man-year-
construction firms • Companies have flexibility to use the refunded MYE within 1 year from the date of refund to hire new entitlement-refunds-firms-MYE
workers under MYE or renew the work passes of existing workers.
• The relief measure will be available for a period of six months starting from 1 April 2020 to 30
September 2020.
Singapore: COVID-19 Support Measures 8
(As at 18 May 2020)
Schemes Details Source
SG Together Enhancing • Programme will support funds set up by the Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) or industry https://www.mti.gov.sg/-/me-
Enterprise Resilience groupings, with the aim of helping businesses tide over the challenges arising from COVID-19, and to dia/MTI/COS-2020/Microsite/
(STEER) Programme push on with transformation efforts in preparation for the economic recovery. Factsheets/ESG-Media-Fact-
sheet_STEER-at-MTI-COS.pdf
• Supportable uses of the fund include grants for business sustenance, business growth, and capability
upgrading.
• Valid from 3 March 2020 to 2 March 2021.
• From 1 April 2020, Enterprise Singapore will match S$1 for every S$2 raised by such industry-led initia-
tives, up to S$1 million per fund.
Enhanced Enterprise • From March 2020 to 31 March 2021, maximum loan quantum has been increased to S$1,000,000 per https://www.enterprisesg.
Finance Scheme-SME borrower, from S$600,000 previously. gov.sg/financial-assis-
Working Capital Loan tance/loans-and-insurance/
• Government’s risk-share was increased from 70% to 90% for loans initiated from 8 April 2020 to 31 loans-and-insurance/enter-
March 2021. prise-financing-scheme/
sme-working-capital/overview
• SMEs may request for deferment of principal repayment for 1 year, subject to assessment by Participat-
ing Financial Institutions (PFIs). https://www.singaporebudget.
gov.sg/docs/default-source/
budget_2020/download/pdf/
Eligibility: supplementary_annexb7.pdf
1. Local company registered and physically present in Singapore;
2. Minimum 30% equity beneficially owned by Singapore citizens or Singapore permanent residents;
3. Maximum borrower group revenue cap of S$500 million for all enterprises; and
4. Group annual sales of ≤ S$100m or group employment size ≤ 200.
Singapore: COVID-19 Support Measures 9
(As at 18 May 2020)
Schemes Details Source
Trade Loan • Maximum loan quantum has been increased to S$10,000,000 per borrower group, from S$5,000,000 https://www.singaporebudget.
previously. gov.sg/docs/default-source/
budget_2020/download/pdf/
• Government’s risk-share increased from 70% to 80%. supplementary_annexb7.pdf
Eligibility:
1. Local company registered and operating in Singapore;
2. Minimum 30% equity beneficially owned by Singapore citizens or Singapore permanent residents; and
3. Maximum Borrower Group revenue cap of S$500 million for all enterprises.
Loan Insurance Scheme • 80% subsidy to businesses for loan insurance premiums under the Loan Insurance Scheme (previous- https://www.enterprisesg.
ly 50%) from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. gov.sg/financial-assis-
tance/loans-and-insurance/
Eligibility: loans-and-insurance/loan-insur-
1. Local company operating and registered in Singapore; ance-scheme
2. Minimum 30% equity beneficially owned by Singapore citizens or Singapore permanent residents; and
3. Group annual sales of ≤ S$100m or group employment size ≤ 200.
Temporary Bridging Originally announced to support only the tourism sector starting from March 2020 to March 2021, this https://www.enterprisesg.
Loan Programme programme was extended to all sectors, with effect from 8 April 2020. gov.sg/financial-assis-
tance/loans-and-insurance/
• S$5,000,000 per borrower group with effect from 8 April 2020, from S$1,000,000 previously. loans-and-insurance/tempo-
• Enterprises may request for deferment of principal repayment for 1 year, subject to assessment by rary-bridging-loan-programme/
PFIs. overview
Eligibility: https://www.enterprisesg.gov.
1. Local company operating and registered in Singapore; and sg/-/media/esg/files/finan-
2. Minimum 30% equity beneficially owned by Singapore citizens or Singapore permanent residents. cial-assistance/loans-insur-
ance/sme-related-loan/tblp-faq.
pdf?la=en
Singapore: COVID-19 Support Measures 10
(As at 18 May 2020)
Schemes Details Source
Sector-Based Support
1. Aviation Sector • Enhanced JSS for airlines, airport ground handlers, and airport operator with 75% wage offset, up to https://www.singaporebud-
monthly wage cap of $4,600 per local employee. get.gov.sg/budget_2020/
budget-measures/stabilisa-
Airline tion-and-support-package
• 100% Parking Charge Rebate for all scheduled passenger flights between 1 August 2020 and 31 Oc-
tober 2020 (both dates inclusive). This is an extension of a similar rebate provided in the Support and
Stabilization Package (SSP) from 1 April 2020 till 31 July 2020.
• 10% Landing Charge Rebate for all scheduled passenger flights landing in Singapore between 1 April
2020 and 31 October 2020.
• 50% Rebate on (Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore) CAAS’s regulatory fees for new and renewed Cer-
tificates of Airworthiness paid by Singapore carriers flying scheduled flights in FY2019.
• 12-month waiver of the planned 1% annual increase in Landing, Parking, and Aerobridge (LPA) Charges
for all flights, which had been previously scheduled to take effect from 1 April 2020.
• 50% rebate on rental paid for airlines’ lounges and offices within Changi Airport terminal buildings be-
tween 1 April 2020 and 31 October 2020 (both dates inclusive).
Cargo
• 10% landing charge rebate for all scheduled freighter flights between 1 April 2020 and 31 October 2020. https://www.singaporebudget.
gov.sg/docs/default-source/
• 20% rental rebates for cargo agents tenanted in Changi Airfreight Centre (CAC) between 1 April 2020 budget_2020/download/pdf/
and 31 October 2020. supplementary_annexb8.pdf
• 12-month waiver of the planned 1% annual increase in LPA Charges scheduled to take effect from 1
April 2020.Singapore: COVID-19 Support Measures 11
(As at 18 May 2020)
Schemes Details Source
Sector-Based Support
2. Maritime Sector • 50% port dues concession to cruise ships and regional ferries with a port stay of not more than five https://www.singaporebud-
days, and passenger-carrying harbour craft. This measure is effective for the period from 1 March 2020 get.gov.sg/budget_2020/
to 31 December 2020. budget-measures/stabilisa-
tion-and-support-package
• Regional ferry operators will be granted a 35% rebate of their monthly rental fees for overnight berthing
of vessels and counter rental at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal starting March 2020. With effect from 1 https://www.mpa.gov.sg/
May 2020 until 31 December 2020, this rebate will be increased to 50%. web/portal/home/me-
dia-centre/news-releases/
• Passenger terminal operators will be granted a full waiver of their public licence fees for one year. detail/3de2e951-b22b-4c60-
8385-611268c0ba73
3. Land Transport Enhanced Point-to-Point Support Package https://www.mot.gov.sg/
Sector news-centre/news/Detail/
Taxi and private hire car drivers additional-120-million-to-help-
• Special Relief Fund payments of $300 per vehicle per month extended till September 2020 taxi-and-private-hire-car-driv-
• S$20 per vehicle per day for three months starting from 14 February 2020, of which S$10 from the ers-affected-by-covid-19-sec-
government and the remainder from contributing taxi and Private Hire Car operators. No application is ond-tranche-of-point-to-point-
required. support-package-ppsp2/
Private bus owners https://www.lta.gov.
• 1-year road tax rebate to be credited to the private bus owner in May 2020 and 6-month waiver of park- sg/content/ltagov/en/
ing charges at government-owned parking facilities from 1 May to 31 October 2020. newsroom/2020/march/
news-releases/multiagen-
cy-effort-to-support-pri-
vate-bus-industry-impact-
ed-by-c.html
https://www.lta.gov.sg/
content/ltagov/en/news-
room/2020/february/
news-releases/-77-million-
point-to-point-support-pack-
age-for-taxi-and-private-.htmlSingapore: COVID-19 Support Measures 12
(As at 18 May 2020)
Schemes Details Source
Sector-Based Support
4. Tourism Sector • Enhanced JSS for hotels, travel agents, tourist attractions, cruise operators, and MICE venue operators https://www.singaporebud-
with 75% wage offset, up to monthly wage cap of $4,600 per local employee. get.gov.sg/budget_2020/
budget-measures/stabilisa-
tion-and-support-package
5. Food Services • Enhanced JSS for licensed food shops and food stalls (including hawker stalls) with 50% wage offset, https://www.singaporebudget.
up to monthly wage cap of $4,600 per local employee. gov.sg/docs/default-source/
budget_2020/download/pdf/
supplementary_annexb1.pdf
6. Arts and Culture Enhance the National Arts Council (NAC)’s Capability Development Scheme for the Arts, to deepen skills https://www.nac.gov.sg/nac-
Sector and support professional development. corp/dam/jcr:00f402c7-8ca7-
480a-821b-8b9f1bf7e2cc
• Funding of up to 70% of actual supportable expenses for Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents
(cap of S$20,000 per financial year) and Non-Profit or Collectives Organisations (cap of S$75,000 per
financial year).
• Funding of up to 30% for profits organisations (cap of S$75,000 per financial year). The projects pro-
posed by these entities must have significant development benefits for Singaporean artists.
• The grant will be used to support individuals and organisations for specified expenses (e.g. participation
fees, venue and equipment rental, logistics, training allowances, travel expenses, etc.).
For organisations that send employees for external training, 70% of the employee’s actual monthly or
hourly salary, capped at S$7.50 per hour (for employees paid on an hourly basis) or S$1,400 per month,
whichever is lower.
The grant will not be used to support cost of assets (e.g. computer hardware, vehicle, furniture, musi
cal instruments) and cost of components (e.g. course fee, absentee payroll) of training activities and
programmes that are already being subsidised or funded by National Arts Council or any other govern
ment agency.Singapore: COVID-19 Support Measures 13
(As at 18 May 2020)
Schemes Details Source
Enhanced Self- • Eligible SEPs will receive three quarterly cash payout of S$3,000 each in May, July and October 2020. https://www.mom.gov.sg/
Employed Persons newsroom/press-releas-
(SEPs) Income Relief • Extend SIRS to automatically include SEPs who also earn an income of no more than S$2,300 per month es/2020/0406-about-100000-
Scheme (SIRS) from employment work; and expected-to-automatically-
benefit-from-enhanced-sirs
• Raise the Annual Value (AV) of property threshold from S$13,000 to up to S$21,000. This will include
those who live in some condominiums and other private properties. https://www.mom.gov.sg/-/
media/mom/documents/
Eligibility: press-releases/2020/0406-an-
1. Singapore citizen who started work as an SEP on or before 25 March 2020; nex-sirs-eligibility-flowchart.
2. Earns net trade income of not more than S$100,000; pdf
3. Receive employee income of not more than S$2,300 a month;
4. Live in a property with AV of not more than S$21,000 (originally announced to be S$13,000);
5. Does not, whether individually or, if married, together with the spouse, own more than one property; and
6. If married, the spouse’s assessable income is not more than S$70,000.
SEP Training Support • Enhanced training allowance rate of S$10 per hour for courses commencing in the period from 1 May to https://e2i.com.sg/individu-
Scheme (Enhanced) 31 December 2020 (previously sS$7.50 per hour for courses that commenced between 1 April and 30 als/ntuc-training-fund
April 2020).
• Eligible SEPs would need to complete the approved courses by 31 December 2020.
Notes:
(a) As information and measures relating to COVID-19 will continue to evolve, we have no obligation to update this document contemporaneously or frequently;
(b) Some of the measures may not be directly related to the services provided by Baker Tilly Singapore, however these are provided for your information only. For all
measures, please refer to the official/relevant ministry/statutory boards’ websites for details where needed.
Collated by:
Boey Yoke Ping, Tax Partner
Melvin Yap, Tax Assistant ManagerFor more information on
how we can support you, contact our practice leaders:
Joshua Ong Victor Goh
Managing Partner & Practice Restructuring and Recovery
Leader, Capital Markets & IPO victor.goh@bakertilly.sg
joshuaong@bakertilly.sg
Tim Reid
Susan Foong Restructuring, Turnaround &
Assurance Forensic Advisory
susanfoong@bakertilly.sg tim.reid@bakertilly.sg
Loh Eng Kiat Adrian Cheow
Tax Deal Advisory
engkiat.loh@bakertilly.sg adrian.cheow@bakertilly.sg
Lim Wei Wei Lee Lei Kun
Governance and Risk Outsourcing
wwlim@bakertilly.sg leikun.lee@bakertilly.sg
Sim Guan Seng
Corporate Secretarial Services
guanseng@bakertilly.sg
www.bakertilly.sg
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