SME Company : A high level overview of the latest COVID Measures and how you can use them for your business

Singapore like the rest of the world is facing business uncertainty arising from the COVID pandemic.  In this article, we would like to summarise in a bite size format for you some of the more important COVID measures that a business owner would find useful for your business operations:

#1: Jobs Support Scheme

The government is funding a job support scheme of between 25% to 75% of the monthly wages paid to each local employee in a 10- month period.  Only employees that have mandatory CPF payment.  If you are a business owner that does not contribute CPF, this funding scheme applies for your employees but not you nor any other of your partners who do not contribute CPF.

#2: Tax Incentives

These are general tax incentive schemes that generally apply to most business in Singapore.  You should try to look at them to apply for a tax incentive that applies to you to reduce your taxes payable.

#3: Property Tax Rebate for 2020:

• 100% rebate for qualifying commercial property
• 60% rebate for Integrated Resorts
• 30% rebates for non-residential properties
• Laws passed to ensure such rebates passed to tenants

#4: Rental waivers

Only applicable to stallholders in hawker centres and markets in this round of COVID measures.

#5: Govt cash grant for SME Tenants in private property

This was automatically disbursed to qualifying property owners from end July 2020

#6: Corporate income tax rebate – 25% tax payable, capped at 15,000 per company

#7: Enhanced Wage Credit Scheme –

This was an additional $500 million for employees wage increases (in addition to the S$600 million disbursed in March 2020)

#8: Deferment of income tax payments for 3 months for companies and self employed

There is a deferral of income tax payments for the relevant years. Do check with IRAS on this to maximise your cash flow for your company.

#9: Loans to Companies in Singapore

• Enterprise Financing Scheme is a scheme set up by Enterprise Singapore to co-guarantee loans taken out by eligible businesses.

• Internationalisation Finance Scheme (IFS) is a non-recourse loan scheme for up to S$50 million in project financing for local and overseas development projects.

• Loan Insurance Scheme (helps enterprises secure short term financing loans of up to 50% of credit insurance premium and up to 80% until March 2021)

• Temporary Bridging Loan Program (up to S$5 million with 90% risk taken by the govt for loans from 8 April 2020 to 31 March 2021).

#10: Grants

There are many grants available to companies in Singapore to list here.  Click here to learn more.

We have done a simple summary of some of the more important COVID measures that the Singapore government has rolled out in 2020 to support Singapore Companies. We live in uncertain times and hopefully the Singapore government will announce additional budget  measures to support the economy in the national budget in 2021.

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