Are you ready for Budget 2021?

The Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Heng Swee Keat is all set to deliver Budget 2021 on Feb 16 (Tuesday) at 3 pm. This year’s budget is expected to be very different from previous budget allocations considering the country had to face unprecedented times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to Mr Heng, one of the top key priorities of Budget 2021 would be to help workers and firms adapt, innovate, and grow. The government rolled out five Budgets and allocated $100 billion for COVID-19 support measures. Up to $52 billion were drawn from past reserves to help Singaporeans deal with the effects of the pandemic on their livelihoods. 

According to Mr Heng, 

 "Covid-19 has accelerated innovation, put a premium on resilience, and greater priority on sustainability.

"There is no turning back the clock. While we deal with the present, we must also prepare our workers and businesses for a different world post-Covid."

Looking at the road to recovery this year, Budget 2021 is an important one for businesses and individuals alike. 

Back in July 2020, the Singapore government rolled out the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) to support wage costs for local employees in order to ensure job security. Urging the employers to retain their staffs, Mr Heng posted on Facebook, 

“I urge all employers to do your utmost to retain your staff, and to take the opportunity to transform your operations and upskill your employees during this period.”

Fast forward a few months, Mr Heng reiterated, 

"It is not easy but we must persist. I am fully committed to support these companies through their journey of innovation and transformation," he said.

"Together, we can emerge stronger as an economy; together, we can create better jobs for our workers."

Some of the proposals for Budget 2021 include: 

1. Extension of the Jobs Support System (JSS) to ensure job security for Singaporeans and lower the impact of COVID-19 to business owners. 
2. Initiating digital coach programmes for SMEs
3. Liberalising tax requirements to support SMEs
4. GST measures to assist businesses
5. Measures to aid “Work From Home” transitions for employers and employees 

More details about Budget 2021: 

1. The Ministry of Trade and Industry will release the Economic Survey of Singapore 2020 on Feb 15 at 8 am. The report will highlight the overall performance of the economy, sectoral performance, growth sources, inflation and employment for Q4 2020 and the whole of 2020. 
2. Upon the delivery of Budget 2021 by the Deputy Prime Minister, Singaporeans are encouraged to share views and opinions through channels such as Reach Budget 2021 and Reach Singapore Facebook page. 
3. There will be two virtual Budget conversations which are the English session on Feb 19 to be chaired by Education Minister and Second Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong and the Mandarin session on Feb 20 to be chaired by Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing. 

You can catch the live webcast of the Budget speech on the Singapore Budget website and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) Facebook page. 

[Source 1, 2, 3, 4]