Distribution of the first tranche of payouts to employers under the Jobs Support Scheme has begun, said the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) in a joint statement yesterday.

A total of $7 billion, which will go to more than 140,000 employers, has been set aside to help cover the wages of over 1.9 million local employees here.

The wage subsidies are intended to save jobs as enhanced safe distancing measures take effect, effectively requiring most workers to telecommute and those in non-essential services to cease operations for one month to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

They come several days after Singaporeans received the $600 Solidarity Payment to help them through the current crisis.

The Jobs Support Scheme was first announced by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in his Feb 18 Budget speech, and enhanced in the Resilience and Solidarity budgets - collectively known as the supplementary budget - on March 26 and April 6 respectively.

Initially, the scheme pledged to offset 8 per cent of the wages of every local employee in Singapore, up to a monthly cap of $3,600, for three months. This was expected to cost $1.3 billion.

But the Government will now subsidise 25 per cent of wages for all local employees. Companies in the worst-hit aviation and tourism sectors will get a 75 per cent subsidy, and those in the food services sector, 50 per cent.

The wage cap was also raised from $3,600 to $4,600, with the scheme extended for another six months so that employers would get payouts in May, July and October, Mr Heng said.

Then, following the announcement of the circuit breaker measures earlier this month, he announced that the first payout would be brought forward to this month to help companies with cash flow.

Companies in all sectors will also get a 75 per cent wage subsidy for this month, with the subsidies reverting to normal levels beyond that.

The money paid out in this tranche will be computed based on October 2019 wages. It will subsequently be adjusted based on actual wages paid this month.

In a Facebook post yesterday, Mr Heng said the implementing agencies have been working very hard to bring forward the first tranche of payouts.

"I trust that business leaders will do their best, to retain their workers, and our workers will use this time well, to learn new skills," he added.

Companies with CorpPass access can log in to the myTax portal to view their notification letters from next Monday. They do not need to apply to receive the payouts.

Eligible businesses will be notified by post about the subsidy tier they qualify for and the amount of money they will get. They can also check their eligibility on the Iras website.

Employers who had earlier signed up for PayNow Corporate or have existing Giro arrangements with Iras will have had the payouts directly credited to their registered bank accounts yesterday.

Those who are not on either scheme will start receiving their cheques from next Thursday.

Deadline to file taxes extended

Tax filing deadlines have been extended by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore in view of the stricter circuit breaker measures that went into effect last week.

This gives individuals and businesses more time to file their taxes, some of which were due this week.

The filing deadlines for individual income tax (including for sole proprietors and partnerships), income tax for trusts, clubs and associations, and the estimated chargeable income for companies with their financial year ending in January have been extended to May 31.

The deadline for goods and services returns for the accounting period of January to March this year has been extended to May 11, while the filing deadline for the S45 withholding tax forms due yesterday has been extended to May 15. The tax clearances for foreign employees, originally due this month, have been extended for one month.

Taxpayers who need face-to-face tax filing assistance and other taxpayer counter services must make an appointment at least two working days ahead before visiting the e-Filing Service Centre and the Taxpayer and Business Service Centre at Revenue House.

Linette Lai