To help businesses during the current economic downturn, the Government will introduce more funding and relaxed criteria for its financing programmes as well as new loans, grants and initiatives from 1 December 2008.

Grants
Loans & Loan Insurance
Start-up Capital
Tax Rebates & Relief
Training Grants
Other Initiatives

Grants

		Customer-Centric Initiative (CCI) For F&B Higher funding support of up to 70%.
		Customer-Centric Initiative (CCI) For Healthcare Higher funding support of up to 70%.
		Customer-Centric Initiative (CCI) For Land Transport Higher funding support of up to 70%.
		Customer-Centric Initiative (CCI) For Retail Higher funding support of up to 70%.
		Environmental Technology Capability Development Programme (EnviroTech CDP) Higher funding support for enterprise-level projects to 70% of qualifying cost.
		F&B Capability Development Programme (CDP) Higher funding support for enterprise-level projects to 70% of qualifying cost.
		Intellectual Property Management (IPM) Higher funding support of up to 70% instead of 50% of qualifying cost to implement IP projects.
		Local Enterprise And Association Development Programme (LEAD) LEAD programme given higher support of 80% for industry association's projects.
		Logistics Capability Development Programme (Logistics CDP) Higher funding support for enterprise-level projects to 70% of qualifying cost.
		Marine Capability Development Programme (Marine CDP) Higher funding support for enterprise-level projects to 70% of qualifying cost.
		Medtech Capability Development Programme (Medtech CDP) Higher funding support for enterprise-level projects to 70% of qualifying cost.
		Semiconductor Capability Development Programme (SemiCon CDP) Higher funding support for enterprise-level projects to 70% of qualifying cost.
		SME Management Action For Results (SMART) Higher funding support of up to 70% of qualifying cost instead of 50%.
		Technology Innovation Programme (TIP) - Projects Funding support at enterprise-level increased to 70% of qualifying cost for technology innovation projects.
		Water Efficiency Fund (WEF) Co-funding for water efficiency projects that meet various criteria increased from 50% to up to 80% of the project cost.

Loans & Loan Insurance

		Bridging Loan Programme (BLP) Relaxed criteria extending to all locally owned businesses and foreign SMEs, higher loan quantum and bigger Government share of loan default.
		Export Coverage Scheme (ECS) Provides subsidies of 50% on insurance premiums paid by exporters against buyer default, capped at S$100,000 per company.
		Internationalisation Finance (IF) Scheme Relaxed criteria, higher risk sharing by the Government, increased loan quantum and allow refinancing.
		Loan Insurance Scheme (LIS) Relaxed criteria extending to all businesses, lower insurance premium and higher loan amount. A new programme, LIS Plus was introduced from 1 February 2009 to complement LIS where the Government insures loans which are beyond the capacity of current LIS insurers.
		Local Enterprise Finance Scheme (LEFS) Funding extended to all businesses, bigger Government share of loan default, and lower interest rates on new and existing loans.
		Micro Loan Programme More funding provided, bigger Government share of loan default and lower interest rate on new and existing loans.

Start-Up Capital

		Business Angels Scheme (BAS) S$2 will be matched for every S$1 invested on the start-up. Maximum investment amount increased to S$1.5 million.
		SPRING Start-Up Enterprise Development Scheme (SEEDS) S$2 will be matched for every S$1 invested on the start-up. Maximum investment amount increased to S$1 million.

Tax Rebates & Relief

		Overview Of Tax Changes Announced In Budget 2009 Tax measures and reliefs to help businesses ease their cash flow during the current downturn. Find out more about the changes.
		Corporate Income Tax Rate Cut Corporate tax rate will be reduced from 18% to 17% to help maintain Singapore's competitiveness. Effective from Year of Assessment 2010.
		Enhanced Carry-Back Relief System (PDF) Unutilised trade losses and capital allowance of up to S$200,000 for year of assessment (YA) 2009 and 2010 can be carried back to set off against your taxable income for the preceding 3 YAs.
		Enhancement Of Tax Deduction For Capital Expenditure Incurred On Renovation & Refurbishment (R&R) Works Renovation and refurbishment cost incurred during the financial years ended 2009 and 2010 can be deducted in one year instead of the current 3 years.
		Enhancement Of Capital Allowance On Plant And Machinery Accelerated write-down of capital allowance incurred on plant and machinery acquired during the financial years ended 2009 and 2010. Capital allowance can be claimed over 2 years with 75% of the write-down taking place in the first year of assessment.
		40% Property Tax Rebate For Commercial And Industrial Properties (PDF) A 40% property tax rebate will be given for owners of commercial and industrial properties for the calendar year 2009.
		Property Tax Deferral For Land Approved For Development (PDF) Defer property tax for commercial developers for land approved for development from 22 January 2009 to 21 January 2010.
		Tax Exemption Of Foreign-Sourced Income Received In Singapore Enjoy tax exemption on all foreign-sourced income earned or accrued outside Singapore from 22 January 2009 to 21 January 2010.

Training Grants

Enhanced Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme (Enhanced CITREP) Higher funding for courses and certifications. Sponsoring organisations can also get support from Absentee Payroll.

Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) Get higher funding support to send financial professionals for accredited courses or develop in-house training programmes.

Skills Programme For Upgrading & Resilience (SPUR) Higher course fee support and expanded course coverage.

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Other Initiatives

		Jobs Credit Scheme A wage cost relief where employers will receive a 12% cash grant on the first S$2,500 of each month's wages for each employee on their Central Provident Fund (CPF) payroll in 2009.
		Tripartite Guidelines On Managing Excess Manpower Get tips on managing your workforce during the downturn, e.g. training, flexible wages, shorter work weeks, etc.