COVID-19 Support Measures - Resilience Budget 2020

Mar 26, 2020

It has been five weeks since the first stimulus package was announced on 18 February 2020. From a number of 80 COVID-19 cases since then, it has escalated to 683 cases as of today. On 11 March 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) has upgraded the status of the outbreak from epidemic to pandemic, which has also unfortunately translated into a Global Financial Crisis.

This afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced a second stimulus package - The Resilience Budget - which will be funded from a combination of current and past reserves as another S$48 billion will be allocated for additional support measures.

The Resilience Budget focuses on three key areas:

Save jobs, support workers, protect livelihood
Help Enterprises with Cashflow, Cost and Credit
Strengthen economic and social resilience

As fellow Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and self-employed individuals, our top concern is, how are we benefiting from the Resilience Budget?

The Resilience Budget continues to support workers in staying employed by defraying and co-funding wage costs for employers
Enhanced Jobs Support Scheme	$15.1b to support more than 1.9 million local employees 25% co-funding wages for local workers on the first $4,600 of monthly salaries 9 months till end of 2020
Enhanced Wage Credit Scheme	Additional $500m for employees’ wage increases, on top of $600m disbursed in March 2020
SGUnited Traineeships	Co-funding of wages for companies offering traineeships to first-time jobseekers 8,000 traineeships in 2020 for fresh graduates

Self-employed Persons and Freelancers are not left out as well (More details on eligibility and benefits to be updated)
Self-employed Persons Income Relief Scheme (SIRS)	$1.2b set aside Eligible Singaporean SEPs will receive $1,000 per month for 9 months
Self-employed Persons Training Support Scheme	$48m set aside till end of 2020 Enhanced training allowance of $10 per hour Sustained support for 200,000 eligible SEPs to make use of downtime to train and upskill
Point-to-Point Support Package	Special Relief Fund payments of $300 per vehicle per month for taxi and private hire car drivers Until end of September 2020

Supporting Businesses in Cashflow, Cost and Credit
Deferment of Income Tax Payments	Income tax payments will be automatically deferred for 3 months for companies and SEPs
Freeze All Government Fees and Charges	For all government fees and charges for 1 year, from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021
Enhanced Property Tax Rebate	100% rebate for qualifying commercial properties 60% for Integrated Resorts 30% for other non-residential properties
Enhanced Rental Waivers	3 months rental waiver for hawkers Up to 2 months rental waiver for commercial and other non-residential tenants in government properties
Enterprise Financing Scheme	Maximum quantum of Trade Loan increases from $5m to $10m Government’s risk-share increases to 80% Maximum quantum of Working Capital Loan increases from $600,000 to $1m 1 year deferment of capital payments
Enhanced Loan Insurance Scheme	Increase subsidies for loan insurance premiums from 50% to 80%
Temporary Bridging Loan Programme	Maximum loan quantum increases from $1m to $5m Expanded to cover all sectors
You can also refer to the NTUC Care Fund and SBF-YBLN Hope Fund for other schemes available

Singapore economy has contracted 2.2% year-on-year in Q1 2020, and full-year growth forecast has been slashed to between -4% and -1%. As the COVID-19 pandemic worsens, and with global shocks affecting uncertainties and cutback in economic activities, there is an urgency for the Singapore Government to step in to keep the economy afloat.

With the Resilience Budget announced this afternoon, we have to remain optimistic and of course, RESILIENT.

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