Singapore might be doing really well on the homefront when it comes to containing Covid-19 but on the economic side?
Yeah, I know what you mean.
People are sharing their experiences on Reddit about how their economic situation is like.
Businesses are busy going under and giving out promotions to keep their businesses afloat.
The Singapore economy is predicted to shrink by 0.8%.
And I’m begging my boss not to cut my pay…to no avail.
But it doesn’t matter whether we know what you mean because, well, we’re all in the same boat.
But you know what really matters? That the people in charge know what we mean.
Turns out, they knew. And turning inside out, they’re going to do something about it.
DPM Heng Swee Keat To Announce Additional Support Measures This Thursday
26 Mar 2020 is going to be a really good day for you.
Why?
Because that’s when DPM Heng Swee Keat, also our Finance minister (aka the man in charge of hong baos), will be letting us know more about an additional support package for Singaporeans.
According to Straits Times, he will be speaking in parliament on the additional financial support in the afternoon.
His ministerial address will be aired on live TV and radio.
The full statement will also be placed on the Singapore Budget website after he is done speaking.
What Can You Expect?
While no details have been made known yet, the aim of this package was announced earlier this month.
He said that the additional package is meant to:
- Help workers keep their jobs
- Help SMEs survive and make the best of the crisis
- Support retrenched workers
Experts also predicted that this hong bao will be pretty substantial and could be more than double the initial $6.4 billion set aside last month.
Previously On Budget 2020:
When the Covid-19 outbreak occurred and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) saw that Singaporeans are going to have to tighten their belts, they announced a series of care packages for Singaporeans during Budget 2020.
For one, the GST hike, which was proposed in 2018, will not be implemented in 2021. However, it will still take place before 2025.
An additional $800 million is also set aside to fight Covid-19, with a huge bulk of it going to the Ministry of Health (MOH).
$4 billion is set aside to help support Singapore businesses affected by the outbreak:
- The Government will pay 8% of every Singaporean or Singapore PR employee’s pay, up to a cap of $3,600, for three months. This cost the Government a whopping $1.3 billion
- 5 main sectors that are affected by COVID-19 will receive additional support. They are tourism, aviation, food services, retail and point-to-point transport services (i.e. taxis and PHVs)
And Singaporeans aged 21 and above will get $100 to $300 cash payout as part of the Care And Support package.
Then, DPM Heng Swee Keat had promised that if the support package isn’t enough to help Singaporeans through this crisis, he will look at drafting out a second support package.
Obviously, he fulfilled his promise.
Swee lah.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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