Helping Small and Medium Enterprises

• Extend the application period for the “special concessionary measures” under the “SME Financing Guarantee Scheme” to 28 February 2017; reduce the Annual guarantee fee rate for the measures by ten per cent; and remove the minimum guarantee fee for the measures;
• Reduce profits tax for 2015-16 by 75 per cent, subject to a ceiling of $20,000;
• Waive the business registration fees for 2016-17; and
• Launch a Pilot Technology Voucher Programme under the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) to subsidise their use of technological services and solutions to improve productivity and upgrade or transform business processes. The three-year pilot programme will provide, on a matching basis, a maximum subsidy of $200,000 for each eligible SME.

Supporting Tourism

• waive the licence fees for 1 800 travel agents for one year;
• waive the licence fees for 2 000 hotels and guesthouses for one year; and
• waive the licence fees for restaurants and hawkers and fees for restricted food permits for one year.

Easing Financial Pressure

• educe salaries tax and tax under personal assessment for 2015-16 by 75 per cent, subject to a ceiling of $20,000;
• waive rates for four quarters of 2016-17, subject to a ceiling of $1,000 per quarter for each rateable property; and
• provide an extra allowance to social security recipients, equal to one month of the standard rate Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments, Old Age Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance or Disability Allowance.
• • basic allowance and the single parent allowance will be raised from $120,000 to $132,000;
  • married person’s allowance from $240,000 to $264,000
  • increasing the allowance for maintaining a dependent parent or grandparent aged 60 or above from $40,000 to $46,000.  The same increase applies to the additional allowance for taxpayers residing with these parents or grandparents continuously throughout the year;
  • increasing the allowance for maintaining a dependent parent or grandparent aged between 55 and 59 from $20,000 to $23,000.  The same increase applies to the additional allowance for taxpayers residing with these parents or grandparents continuously throughout the year; and
  • raising the deduction ceiling for elderly residential care expenses from $80,000 to $92,000 for taxpayers whose parents or grandparents are admitted to residential care homes.