Singapore Budget 2016 - what is in it for business?

Much anticipation of Singapore budget concluded on 24 March 2016. Business owners starts to ask: what is in it for us?

Well here's the quick summary for business owners:

1. Special Employment Credit (SEC) will be extended to  31 December 2019.
2. The SME Working Capital Loan will provide loans of up to $300,000 for local SMEs. The Government will co-share 50% of the default risk of these loans with participating financial institutions (PFIs).
3. Automation Support Package:
1. SPRING’s CDG will be expanded to support the roll-out or scaling up of automation projects at up to 50% of the qualifying cost. The grant is capped at $1 million
2. Qualifying projects may be eligible for an Investment Allowance (IA) of 100% on the amount of approved capital expenditure, net of grants. This IA is in addition to the existing capital allowance for plant and machinery. The approved capital expenditure is capped at $10 million per project.
3. To improve access to loans for qualifying projects, the government will increase the risk-share with PFIs under SPRING’s Local Enterprise Finance Scheme (LEFS) equipment loan, from 50% to 70% for qualifying projects undertaken by SMEs. We will also expand LEFS to cover equipment loans for non-SMEs at 50% risk-share with PFIs.
4. IE Singapore will work with SPRING where relevant to help businesses to access overseas markets.
4. Expand the SME Mezzanine Growth Fund from the current fund size of $100 million to $150 million3, by providing additional funding of up to $25 million to match new private sector investment on a 1:1 basis.
5. Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs), SPRING will introduce a new LEAD-Plus programme to support TACs in attracting talent, developing their capabilities, and strengthening their processes and services.
6. Proceed with announced levy increases for Work Permit holders for all sectors except Marin and process (which will be deferred).
7. CIT rebate will be raised to 50% for YA 2016 and YA 2017, subject to a cap of $20,000 rebate per YA.
8. To support more M&As, the existing cap for qualifying M&A deals will be doubled from $20m to $40m, such that: a) Tax allowance of 25% will be granted for up to $40m of consideration paid for qualifying M&A deals per YA; and b) Stamp duty relief will be granted for up to $40m of consideration paid for qualifying M&A deals per financial year.
9. Extending the Double Tax Deduction (“DTD”) for Internationalisation scheme.
10. The cash payout rate will be lowered from 60% to 40% for qualifying expenditure incurred from 1 August 2016.
11. Under BIPS, businesses will enjoy an additional 150% tax deduction on wages and incidental expenses when they send their employees to volunteer and provide services to IPCs, including secondments. This will be subject to the receiving IPCs’ agreement, with a yearly cap of $250,000 per business and $50,000 per IPC on the qualifying costs.

We might have missed out some portion therefore, kindly refer to http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget_2016/Business1.aspx for full update. 

You may contact us for full version in pdf http://www.amc.com.sg/contact.html

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