Extension of Wage Subsidies under Jobs Support Scheme to Shareholder-Directors with Assessable Incomes not Exceeding $150,000

Parliamentary Question by Mr Lim Biow Chuan: 

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether the Ministry will extend the wage subsidies under the Jobs Support Scheme to shareholder-directors whose assessable incomes do not exceed $150,000 for the Year of Assessment 2019.

Parliamentary Reply by Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister for Finance Mr Heng Swee Keat:

We set an assessable income (AI) criterion of $100,000 or below to better target the Jobs Support Scheme at shareholder-directors who need more support. The AI criterion of $100,000 already corresponds to approximately the 80th percentile of personal income tax payers. 

With the current criterion, the JSS already benefits about 50,000 shareholder-directors. Shareholder-directors who have marginally missed the AI criterion, or have suffered a significant drop in income, can submit an appeal to IRAS. We will assess each appeal on its merits on a case-by-case basis. 

I would also like to add that all shareholder-directors continue to receive JSS payouts based on the wages paid to their local employees. They also benefit from other forms of business support, such as corporate income tax rebates and rental rebates.