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SINGAPORE: Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced some measures to enhance the cash-flow of businesses on Thursday during his Budget Speech.
The measures will include a 40 per cent tax rebate for industrial and commercial properties, costing the government some S$800 million.
Mr Tharman said Singapore's JTC Corporation, Housing and Development Board (HDB) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) will pay a 15 per cent rental rebate to their tenants and land lessees.
To help developers, the government will allow a one-year extension of the project completion period for private residential projects.
It will also allow the reassignment of government sale sites and private land owned by foreign developers.
An enhanced "loss carry-back" system for Year of Assessment 2009 and 2010 will also allow companies to get a cash refund on taxes paid in previous years.
All foreign-sourced income earned before January 21, 2009, will be tax-exempted.
To further help companies with their cash flow, goods vehicles, buses and taxis will get a 30 per cent road tax rebate for a year.
For taxis, the rebate cut means a road tax of S$357 per six-month period from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010, down from the current S$510.
The Special Diesel Tax is also waived for a year for unhired taxis.
The Land Transport Authority said in cases where vehicle owners have overpaid their road tax based on the old rates, the excess amount paid will automatically be used to offset the road tax payable at the next renewal. - CNA/yt/vm
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