$800m
EXTRA FUNDS FOR AGENCIES FIGHTING CORONAVIRUS
To support front-line agencies fighting and containing the coronavirus outbreak, the Government has set aside a sum of $800 million, the bulk of which is going to the Ministry of Health.
This is in addition to the resources committed to public health yearly.
$1.6b
CARE AND SUPPORT PACKAGE FOR HOUSEHOLDS
The new $1.6 billion Care and Support Package aims to help households with their expenses amid the coronavirus outbreak and economic weakness.
All Singaporeans aged 21 and older will get a one-off cash payment of $100, $200 or $300 this year, depending on their income in year of assessment 2019 and property ownership.
Parents with one or more Singaporean children aged 20 and younger in 2020 will each get an extra $100 in cash.
The package also includes a Workfare Special Payment for Singaporean employees and the self-employed who received Workfare Income Supplement payments last year. The cash payments will help low-wage workers and those self-employed aged 35 and older.
Also, Singaporeans aged 50 and older this year will get a $100 top-up to their PAssion cards. All adult Singaporeans who live in one-or two-room Housing Board flats and do not own more than one property will also get $100 in grocery vouchers this year and next year.
These measures are on top of existing schemes, like the GST Voucher U-Save rebate and service and conservancy charges rebates.
Together, the package will provide a young family with about $1,300, with a three-generation family getting about $1,800.
$4b
TO HELP WORKERS, AND STABILISE ECONOMY
This $4 billion package will support enterprises with cash flow and help workers stay employed.
It includes the Jobs Support Scheme, which will see the Government offset 8 per cent of Singaporean and permanent resident employees' wages, capped at $3,600 per worker monthly, for three months.
Government agencies and representative offices are excluded. The scheme will cost the Government $1.3 billion for more than 1.9 million local employees.
The package also includes an enhancement of the Wage Credit Scheme, under which the Government co-funds wage increases.
The updated scheme will raise the monthly wage ceiling to $5,000, up from $4,000 for qualifying wage increases last year and this year. Co-funding levels will be increased by 5 percentage points to 20 per cent for last year and 15 per cent for this year.
This will see the Government give about $1.1 billion in support to around 90,000 enterprises, which will benefit more than 700,000 Singaporean employees.
25%
CORPORATE TAX REBATE
This rebate for all companies, capped at $15,000 per company, will be granted for the tax year of assessment 2020 as part of the Stabilisation and Support Package.
The rebate will cost the Government about $400 million.
Several tax treatments under the corporate tax system will also be enhanced for one year to ease cash flow for companies. This will enable, say, hotels to take advantage of this lull period to do upgrading work and be better prepared for the rebound.
Meanwhile, the Enterprise Financing Scheme's Working Capital Loan, which helps small and medium-sized enterprises access financing for working capital needs, will be enhanced for one year from March 2020.
30%
PROPERTY TAX REBATE FOR HOTELS, MEETING VENUES
The tourism sector, among the hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, will benefit from property tax rebates. A 30 per cent property tax rebate for 2020 will be granted for some components of licensed hotels and serviced apartments, as well as prescribed meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions venues.
International cruise and regional ferry terminals will receive a 15 per cent property tax rebate, and the integrated resorts will receive a 10 per cent property tax rebate.
The Government will also work with participating financial institutions to introduce a temporary bridging loan programme for a year to provide additional cash-flow support for tourism sector enterprises.
$112m
TO ASSIST AVIATION SECTOR
The Aviation Sector Assistance Package is co-funded by the Government, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport Group, to defray business costs and protect jobs.
It will provide assistance to airlines, companies from the cargo industry and other airport stakeholders such as retail and food and beverage tenants for a six-month period. This includes landing-charge and parking-charge rebates, as well as rental rebates.
There will also be a 15 per cent property tax rebate for Changi Airport.
$10.9b
BUDGET DEFICIT THIS YEAR
The expansionary Budget 2020 is expected to run a deficit of $10.9 billion, which would be the highest in 10 years.
It is about 2.1 per cent of gross domestic product and exceeds the projected deficit of $8.7 billion in 2009 during the global financial crisis.
It is also a sharp increase from the $1.7 billion deficit from last year, revised from the $3.5 billion projected deficit.
Ministries' total expenditures for the year are projected to be $83.6 billion, up 7 per cent from last year.
Spending on healthcare is projected to increase by $1.9 billion or 16.2 per cent, due to higher subsidies to public hospitals and other healthcare institutions, as well as contingency funding to tackle the coronavirus outbreak and major healthcare projects such as the Woodlands Health Campus.
1-month
RENTAL WAIVER FOR HAWKERS
Stallholders in National Environment Agency-managed hawker centres and markets will receive a one-month rental waiver, with a minimum waiver of $200.
Eligible tenants or lessees at other government-owned or managed facilities will receive half a month in rental waiver.
The rental waivers will cost about $45 million.
A 15 per cent property tax rebate will be granted to those who operate in qualifying commercial properties, and landlords are urged to pass the rebate to their tenants by reducing rentals.
$8.3b
FOR BUSINESSES TO TRANSFORM
A total of $8.3 billion will be allocated over the next three years to support enterprises and the economy's transformation and growth.
This includes industry partnerships such as the Heartland Enterprise Upgrading Programme, which will be launched by Enterprise Singapore to support merchants' associations to drive the transformation of heartland enterprises.
Some $300 million will also be set aside under Startup SG Equity, which provides financing for early-stage, tech start-ups.
An Enterprise Transform Package, which includes a programme to support business leaders of promising small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has also been introduced.
It aims to groom business leaders from 900 companies over the next three years, in collaboration with the likes of institutes of higher learning.
SMEs Go Digital will also be expanded to cover the needs of 23 Industry Transformation Map sectors, up from 10. Among the new sectors added are healthcare and food manufacturing.
$250m
TO PARTNER WITH CITIZENS ON COMMUNITY PROJECTS
The Government is setting aside this sum to bolster partnerships with citizens on community projects. This includes a $20 million top-up of the Our Singapore Fund, which has supported over 240 ground-up projects in areas such as heritage and sports. The fund will also be extended from this year to 2025 to encourage development and implementation of citizen-led initiatives across domains.
As part of this, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources will also be launching an SG Eco Fund which will support partnerships with the community and enterprises in sustainability efforts.
This article has been edited for clarity.
