Horizons will provide a payroll credit to all its clients who have a workforce on the Horizons payroll in Singapore or in Australia. These payments are a flow-on from Singapore’s Jobs Support Scheme (‘JSS’), which reimburses businesses for employee wages, and from Australia’s ‘Boosting Cash Flow for Employers’ scheme, which gives a cash flow boost to employers to support employers in the payment of key operating expenses. These measures are a response to the current economic uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Payroll Credits from Singapore’s JSS
The JSS was introduced in order to reduce employer wages costs in Singapore. The funding relates to nine months of gross wages for employees from October 2019 through to July 2020. Note, it applies only to employees that are citizens or permanent residents of Singapore. Horizons receives these amounts on behalf of its employees in Singapore, and then reimburses its clients with these amounts.
“We keep a close eye on all the Government subsidy and relief schemes to ensure that our clients can access any relief that is made available” stated Antoine Boquen, Managing Partner at Horizons. “We welcome measures introduced by Singapore’s Government to maintain salary and wages for the workforce of our client businesses”.
The JSS co-funds between 25 and 75 percent of the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages paid to each local employee in a ten-month period. Employers receive a payout in April, July, and October 2020, with an additional payout in May. Once received, these amounts are passed on to Horizons’ clients.
Cash Boosts from Australia’s ‘Boosting Cash Flow for Employers Scheme’
The Australian scheme provides tax-free cash boosts of between $20,000 and $100,000 for businesses that make payments subject to withholding (such as salary, wages, and directors fees).
The amounts will generally be equivalent to the amount withheld (for tax purposes) from employee wages over the period. On receipt of these amounts, the payments are passed on to clients based on the size of their payroll in Australia.
“Cash boosts from the Australian government ensure that our clients based in Australia can manage any cashflow fluctuations in the current economic environment” stated Antoine Boquen. “We will ensure that our clients based in Australia have access to all Commonwealth and State Government support as it becomes available.”
These cash boosts are available to all small or medium-sized businesses (those with an aggregated turnover of less than AUD $50 million), who held an Australian Business Number on 12 March 2020, and who have been lodging tax returns or activity statements with the Australian Tax Office.
On receipt of these cash boosts, Horizons credits the corresponding amount to the payroll of the relevant client business.
Horizons understands the difficulties that COVID-19 has caused for the business operations of its clients. If there are any questions relating to their operations and COVID-19, it is recommended they get in contact with Horizons.
About Horizons
Horizons supports your international expansion in the Asia-Pacific region. As a Global Professional Employer Organization or ‘PEO’, we employ a local workforce, saving your international enterprise from the setup and compliance cost of operating in a new market.
Horizons develop a customized strategy to drive international expansion: As well as International / Global PEO services we provide a range of services to support your global expansion.
