By Naseema Banu Maideen
The Government has introduced a Quality Growth Programme which is aimed at helping businesses to upgrade, create better jobs and raise wages. Tightening foreign worker policies and the three-year transition support package are two of its pillars.
Tightening Foreign Worker Policies
To continue moderating the growth of the foreign workforce, the Government will make further policy adjustments in different sectors to reflect the circumstances of each sector.
These will include:
Three-Year Transition Support Package
To help businesses through this period of restructuring, there will be significant Government support worth $5.3 billion with three components – the Wage Credit Scheme (WCS), the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) Bonus and the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Rebate. These will help businesses to restructure and share productivity gains with their workers in the form of higher wages.
- Wage Credit Scheme
· The Government will co-fund 40 per cent of wage increases for Singaporean employees over the next three years
· This co-funding will apply to wage increases for Singaporean employees earning up to a gross monthly wage of $4,000
· This will cost $3.6 billion over three years
- Productivity And Innovation Credit Bonus
· Businesses that invest a minimum of $5,000 in a year in PIC activities will receive a dollar-for-dollar matching cash bonus
· The bonus will be up to $15,000 over three Years of Assessment, YA2013 to YA2015
· This will cost $450 million over three years
- Corporate Tax Rebate
· A rebate of 30 per cent of tax payable up to $30,000 per Year of Assessment to help businesses cope with cost pressures
