Debated in Parliament on 1 Mar 2021.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) how many appeals have been made to have the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) payout cover the fees of non-executive directors; (b) how many of the appeals have been successful; and (c) of the successful cases, how many involved payouts made to each of the companies that the non-executive director held a position in.
The Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) is intended to provide wage support to help employers retain their local employees.
Arising from feedback received, the JSS was extended in May 2020 to shareholder-directors who draw a salary from their companies, with corresponding CPF contributions. This is in recognition of their dual capacities as both a shareholder-director and an employee of the company.
Non-executive directors, on the other hand, generally do not engage in the day-to-day running of the company and are not regarded as employees. They are usually paid director’s fees for their directorial services, and do not draw a salary from the company. CPF contributions, both employer's and employee’s shares, are not payable on the director’s fees. Since these are not employee wages, the director’s fees received do not attract JSS support.
As of 31 January 2021, we have received 1,634 JSS appeals relating to shareholder-directors. These include appeals from those who exceeded the assessable income threshold, companies that were late in making CPF contributions, as well as appeals for director’s fees to be included for JSS support. About 22% of these appeals were approved. None of the approved appeals are for directors who were paid director’s fees. This is in line with the policy intent of the JSS.
PAPERCUTS