In Parliament, Senior Minister of State for Finance, Josephine Teo explained that the Ministry of Finance is going to be tightening the measures that are in place for the cash payouts under the Productivity Innovation Credits (PIC) scheme.
Ms Teo explained this in relation to an amendment to the Income Tax Bill which is being discussed.
She explained that the tighter measures are necessary to reduce abuse of the system.
Indeed it is a necessary step as there have been many cases of individuals setting up companies and using the PIC scheme so get businesses to purchase sham “productivity boosting” technologies in order to pocket large profits.
(Related: Exposed: IT Companies in Singapore Exploiting The PIC Scheme, Media Grafix Ordered to Pay Over $53,000 for Abusing Taxpayer-Funded PIC Scheme)
One of the proposed measures includes requiring businesses to start using the equipment before a cash payout can be disbursed for the investment.
Tougher penalties on intermediaries who help firms inflate PIC claims will also be introduced and
Ms Teo explained that the new tighter measures are aimed specifically at claims on Cash through the PIC scheme.
Related:
Teo Ser Luck: We Promise to Tighten the PIC Scheme So It's Harder to Abuse