I AM A SELF EMPLOYED PERSON OR BUSINESS OWNER
Overcoming the Crisis
Find out how these support measures can help protect your livelihood through this challenging period and prepare you for new opportunities when the economy recovers.
Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme (SIRS)
- Support for self-employed persons
- $3,000 cash payout each in May, July and October 2020
- Criteria broadened to benefit more self-employed persons
- $10/hour training allowance, on top of subsidies that cover up to 90% of course fees
- Applications/appeals open for those who did not automatically qualify and facing difficult circumstances
Support for training
- Opportunities for individuals
- Hiring incentive for employers who hire local workers, who had gone through reskilling or training programmes
- 20% of monthly salary support for 6 months, capped at $6,000 in total, when hiring workers under aged 40
- 40% of monthly salary support for 6 months, capped at $12,000 in total, when hiring workers aged 40 and above
- Support for enterprises to develop workers
- $10,000 SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit per enterprise to help upskill and reskill workforce
- Productivity Solutions Grant to help enterprises with job redesign
Reduce costs for businesses
- Jobs Support Scheme
- Employers to receive wage support of 25%–75% offset for first $4,600 of monthly wages for all local workers up till August 2020 or a total of 10 months
- Firms that cannot resume on-site operations after 1 June will receive 75% offset until August 2020, or when they are allowed to re-open
- Higher wage support of 50%–75% offset for more firms in badly affected sectors, 25% for other sectors
- 50,000 eligible Shareholder-Directors will also benefit
- Property tax deferment
- Deferment of income tax payments for 3 months
- Property Tax Rebate of 30%–100% for businesses in commercial and non-residential properties
- Rental waivers
- COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act allowing individuals and businesses to defer contractual obligations such as paying rent, repaying loans and completing work, for a period
- Up to 2 months’ rental offset for SME tenants in commercial, industrial, and office properties
- Up to 5 months’ rental waiver for Government tenants, such as hawker centre and market stallholders
- SME Centre Business Advisors
- Consult SME Centres’ Business Advisors for support measures and group-based upgrading projects
Support for digitalisation
- $300 per month over five months to encourage stallholders to adopt
e-payment methods - $5,000 payout for businesses that digitalise basic payment and invoicing such as Corporate PayNow
- Additional $5,000 payout for F&B and retail businesses that adopt advanced digital solutions
- $250m set aside to help businesses digitalise with platform solution providers
Ease businesses’ cash flow
- Help with loan insurance payments
- Corporate income tax deferred
- Planned increase in CPF contribution rates for senior workers deferred to 2022
- Up to 2 months’ extension of Foreign Worker Levy waiver and rebate for businesses that cannot resume on-site operations
Improve businesses’ access to credit
- Enhanced financing schemes such as Temporary Bridging Loan Programme and Enterprise Financing Scheme
- Defer payment on principal of loans
- $585m financing support for start-ups in growth sectors
Topics
Economy & Finance