[Local] Singapore Budget Day *2010 edition

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SINGAPORE, suffering its deepest recession since independence, will spend S$20.5 billion to help businesses and workers, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said in Budget statement on Thursday.

The government will cut taxes and increase expenditure on infrastructure, education and healthcare, he said.

The spending will result in a deficit equivalent to 6 per cent of gross domestic product, he said.

'The package aims to help save jobs to the maximum extent possible in the recession and to help viable companies stay afloat,' the minister said.

A quarter or $5.1 billion would go towards saving jobs, while $5.8 billion is set aside to stimulate bank lending.

A further $2.6 billion would be spent on enhancing business cashflow and competitiveness, another $2.6 billion is earmarked to help support families and the remaining $4.4 billion will go towards building homes for the future.

Mr Shanmugaratnam stressed that the key risks to the Singapore economy are the severity of the global economic crisis and the loss of jobs, rather than inflation.

Mr Shanmugaratnam also announced a $4.5 billion Jobs Credit plan to lower the cost of retaining workers amid a global recession.

The programme will 'encourage our businesses to preserve jobs as much as is possible in the downturn,' he said.

Singapore's economy may contract as much as 5 percent this year, after growing 1.2 per cent in 2008, the trade ministry said on Wednesday, the second reduction in its 2009 GDP forecast in less than three weeks.

The government said the nation may experience deflation this year, with consumer prices falling as much as 1 per cent or staying unchanged.

More Budget reports to come.

via : http://www.singsupplies.com/showthread.php?t=15577

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more updates.

Job credits to save jobs

THE Government will introduce a job credit scheme to help employers keep Singaporean workers.

Employers will be given cash grants to retain local workers on their payroll. These will be paid in four quarterly payments.

The job credits will amount to 9 per cent of the Central Provident Board cuts and will cost the Government $4.5 billion.

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said the Government did consider cutting the employers' portion of the CPF contributions but decided against it.

He urged everyone to play a role and make adjustments to get over the economic crunch.

Top-up for workfare payout
LOW-WAGE workers on the Workfare scheme will get 50 per cent more in payout to help them cope with the economic downturn.

A 50-year-old work earning $1,000 a month stands to get $600 more, on top of the $1,200 he recieves from the workfare scheme for work done this year.

This means, he will get a total of $1,800.

Workfare Income Supplement provides incentives for older low wage workers to find work and stay in work, while at the same time helping them to save for their longer term needs.

It complements the changes to the CPF scheme that came into effect on July 1, 2007 where the employer's CPF contribution rate was increased by 1.5 percentage points.

This CPF increase did not apply to older low wage workers in order to help them cope with the effects of wage stagnation and structural unemployment as a result of global competition.

Instead, they received a reduction in employer CPF contributions to help improve their employability and a reduction in employee CPF contributions to increase their take-home pay.

The extra payout will cost the Government $150 million, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Thursday.

WIS helps older low wage workers to make up for the reductions in CPF contributions. It is contingent on work - which means only those who are already working get to benefit from it. The payout ranges from about $80 to $1,600.

The state has given out $272 million, which works out to an average of about $1,000 per claimant.

40% property rebates

OWNERS of commercial and industrial properties will get a 40 per cent rebate this year.

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Thursday urged landlords to pass this rebate to their tenants and also make it easier for them to pay their rentals.

He said the Singapore Land Authority, Housing Board and Jurong Town Corporation will also give 15 per cent rebate to their tenants for the year of assessment this year.

Property tax for land approved for development will get a two-year deferment until Jan 2011, while private residential projects will get a one-year extension.

The rebates will cost the Govermment $290 million a year.

Scheme to create $11b in loans

THE Singapore Government has announced a new Special Risk-Sharing Initiative (SRY) to stimulate bank lending as part of a $20.5 billion resilience package to fight the ongoing recession.

$5.8 billion will be set aside in FY 2009 to allow a broader segment of domestic enterprises to be able to access financial credit in a scheme that will see the government shouldering a greater risk burden. It is expected to create $11 billion in loans.

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratam said the scheme will encompass a new business loan programme which will see the government increasing its risk exposure from 50 per cent to 80 per cent. Banks will now be allowed to set their own interest rates and loan sizes will be increased.

The scheme will be in operation for one year and cater to loans with terms of up to four years' maturity.

Pointing out that this the first time the government is sharing the risks of trade financing, Mr Tharman deemed it 'the right time for the government to intervene'.

He warned, however, that costs to the fiscal budget are expected as not all loans would be paid up.

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the guys on CNA says this is liken to a big "ang bao".

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Resilience Package: Five components

B.9. The Resilience Package of $20.5 billion for FY2009 will have five components:

* First, jobs for Singaporeans. We will spend $5.1 billion to help preserve jobs.
* Second, stimulating bank lending. We expect to extend $5.8 billion in government capital for a Special Risk-Sharing Initiative (SRI). Of this, a small fraction is likely to be eventually expended on provisions for loan losses.
* Third, enhancing business cash-flow and competitiveness. We will implement tax measures and grants for businesses that will cost $2.6 billion.
* Fourth, supporting families. We will spend $2.6 billion to support Singaporean households this year. This is on top of the benefits they will derive from the measures to preserve jobs.
* Fifth, building a home for the future. We will spend $4.4 billion on developing first class infrastructure for the island and on expanded provisions for education and healthcare.

B.10. These amounts are what the Package will spend this year. We will front-load some of the measures, beginning in March 2009. Certain measures will also stretch beyond 2009 and will therefore have an impact on future budgets, on top of the $20.5 billion package this year.

B.11. Together these initiatives will mean a significantly expansionary Budget in the financial year 2009. The Basic Balance is expected to be in deficit by 6% of GDP in FY2009 (before accounting for NIR or transfers to endowment and trust funds). This is the largest deficit the Government has budgeted for to-date.

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=2244713

[Vorsprung durch Technik]

4.4b for building home for the future. damn.. doctors/teachers getting more pay!

[Vorsprung durch Technik]

another year passed. time to catch up with the budget again.  

http://app.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget_2010/default.aspx

Government's 2010 Budget Statement in Parliament at 3.30pm on Monday, 22nd Feb 2010.

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Budget 2010 at a glance

SINGAPORE - Singapore expects a smaller budget deficit for the fiscal year starting April 1, 2010. The government will, however, increase spending to raise productivity.

The government expects a basic budget deficit of $7.2 billion, or 2.6 percent of GDP, for the fiscal year beginning April 2010, down from an estimated $8.5 billion, or 3.3 percent of GDP, this fiscal year.
Read all the stories:
» AsiaOne Special: Singapore Budget 2010

The basic budget deficit excludes transfers by government to endowment funds as well as the net investment returns from the country's reserves.

The overall budget balance for FY2010/11 is an estimated deficit of $3 billion, or 1.1 percent of GDP, the finance ministry said in a statement.

Following are highlights of the budget by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam:

$5.5 BLN TO RAISE PRODUCTIVITY

Singapore will commit S$1.1 billion a year over the next five years in the form of tax benefits, grants and training subsidies to support the national effort to raise productivity.

The incentives include allowing firms to claim tax deductions of 250 percent of their expenditure on activities such as design, training and automation, subject to a maximum of S$300,000 for each activity.

$1.5 BLN TO HELP GROWING COMPANIES

The government will mobilise up to S$1.5 billion of growth capital by seeding a range of funds over 10 years. Up to half the money will come from government coffers.

FOREIGN WORKER LEVY

Tharman said the government will increase the levy on low-skilled foreign workers over three years. The levy on work permit holders will be raised by S$10 to S$30 per worker per month on July 1, 2010, and will average about S$100 over three years.

For 'S-pass' holders, which refers to a category of skilled and semi-skilled workers. The levy will increase to S$100-S$120 in July from S$50.

The dependency ratios, which is the number of foreigners a firm can employ for every local on its payroll and which varies by industry, will remain unchanged.

'PROGRESSIVE' PROPERTY TAX

The government will introduce a 'progressive' property tax on owner-occupied homes with a top rate of 6 percent of the property's annual value - which is a figure set by the government based on the estimated net annual rent the property can command.

Non-owner-occupied residential properties will continue to be taxed at a flat rate of 10 percent of annual value.

Tharman said owners of government-built HDB apartments and owners of most private homes will pay lower taxes under the new formula.

WAGE SUBSIDY

The government will top up the wages of lower-paid Singaporean workers, those who make S$1,700 a month or less, by between S$150 and S$400 a month, with older workers getting a larger wage subsidy.

Singapore's 'Workfare Income Supplement' scheme will also be extended to workers earning up to S$1,700 a month from the current S$1,500 a month.

Tharman said the enhanced workfare scheme will cost the government S$100 million annually and benefit around 400,000 low-wage workers.

INCENTIVES FOR SPECIFIC INDUSTRIES

The government renewed tax incentives for real estate investment trusts and aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul to promote these industries.

NO TAX REBATES

Singapore did not extend property and income tax rebates.

The government last year gave a 40 percent property tax rebate on industrial and commercial property. Government agencies such as Jurong Town Corp and Housing and Development Board also cut rents by 15 percent to help tenants.

In 2009/2010, the government also gave a 40 percent rebate on tax on owner-occupied residential properties as well as personal income tax rebate of 20 percent capped at S$2,000 per person.

JOB CREDITS

The government will cut and eventually phase out a subsidy paid to employers to encourage them to hire or retain Singapore citizens or permanent residents. Employers received up to S$300 per worker a month last year but the figure will be cut to S$150 in the first quarter and S$75 in the second quarter.

The job credit applies only to regular staff who make monthly contributions to the Central Provident Fund, the pension fund.

via : http://business.asiaone.com/Business/News/My%2BMoney/Story/A1Story20100222-200249.html


more : http://www.asiaone.com/static/business/budget2010/

[Vorsprung durch Technik]

well no more personal income tax rebates. so this year should earn lesser

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thought this year the budget is much more geared towards the lower n middle income people. pretty balanced.

you were mentioning about something bout the budget in another thread last week?

[Vorsprung durch Technik]

yes.. gear towards in getting more productivity from the lower n middle. the towkays and the rich just get penalised for being too rich

so property tax changes should have more impact to you? paying 6%?

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the impact if any is not going to be huge.

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via : http://singsupplies.com/showthread.php?t=52465

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NIPT
http://www.ip-adress.com/whois/58.185.105.204

58.185.105.204 Whois Information
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% Whois data copyright terms http://www.apnic.net[Who Is Domain][trace][Reverse DNS Search]/db/dbcopyright.html

inetnum: 58.185.105.192[Who Is IP][trace][Reverse IP Search] - 58.185.105.255[Who Is IP][trace][Reverse IP Search]
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descr: 16 RAFFLES QUAY
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admin-c: CV32-AP
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status: ASSIGNED NON-PORTABLE
rev-srv: dnssec1.singnet.com.sg[Who Is Domain][trace][Reverse DNS Search]
rev-srv: dnssec2.singnet.com.sg[Who Is Domain][trace][Reverse DNS Search]
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notify:  [Who Is Domain][trace][Reverse DNS Search]
mnt-by: MAINT-SG-SINGNET
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source: APNIC

person: CARLO VERGARA
address: THOME SHIP MANAGEMENT P/L
address: 16 RAFFLES QUAY
address: #43-01 HONG LEONG BUILDING
address: Singapore 048581
phone: +65 63294814
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source: APNIC

person: SingNet Hostmaster
address: SingNet Engineering & Operations
address: 2 Stirling Road
address: #03-00 Queenstown Exchange
address: Singapore 148943
phone: +65 7845922
fax-no: +65 4753273
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nic-hdl: SH9-AP
notify:  [Who Is Domain][trace][Reverse DNS Search]
mnt-by: MAINT-SG-SINGNET
changed:  [Who Is Domain][trace][Reverse DNS Search] 20000921
source: APNIC

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2011.

8 angbao.

[Vorsprung durch Technik]

too bad none i can benefit.