Important Updates

• Revision to the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund (MBMF) Contribution Rates from 1 March 2009
• Jobs Credit Scheme
• Unique Entity Number
• CPF Submission Number
• Skils Development Levy Act
• Auto-Inclusion Scheme

:. Revision to the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund (MBMF) Contribution Rates from 1 March 2009

The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), also known as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, has announced the increment of the monthly contribution rates to the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund (MBMF) with effect from 1 st March 2009. The new rates are as shown in the table below.

Monthly Wages of Muslim Employees	Currently Monthly Contribution	Revised Monthly Contribution (effective from 1st March 2009)	Allocation to Mosque Building component*	Allocation to Mendaki component
$1,000 and below	$2.00	$2.00 (no change)	$1.00 (no change)	$1.00 (no change)
$1,001 - $2,000	$3.00	$3.50	$2.25	$1.25
$2,001 - $3,000	$4.00	$5.00	$3.60	$1.40
$3,001 - $4,000	$8.50	$12.50	$8.00	$4.50
$4,001 and above	$11.00	$16.00	$10.75	$5.25
* Includes mosque building, upgrading, redevelopment and religious education

Please ensure that your payroll system statutory table is updated in accordance.

To learn about MBMF please click here or for any enquires, please call MBMF hotline at 6359 1459 or email to mbmf@muis.gov.sg.

 

:. Jobs Credit Scheme

The Government has introduced the Jobs Credit Scheme in the Singapore Budget 2009 to encourage businesses to preserve jobs in the downturn. Employers will receive a 12% cash grant over a period of one year on the first $2500 of monthly wages of each employee who is on the CPF payroll.

All active employers, with the exception of local and foreign government organisations, are eligible for Jobs Credit and will receive the payments on a quarterly basis - March, June, September and December. The first payment can be expected by 31 March 2009 from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS).

Note that the payment will apply only for existing employee’s CPF made for Oct 08 to Jan 09, Jan 09 to Apr 09, Apr 09 to Jul 09 and Jul 09 to Oct 09 respectively for each quarter’s payment. New employee’s contribution need not start on the first month of the qualifying quarter but must be made till the month ending Jan 09, Apr 09, Jul 09 and Oct 09 respectively.

For more details about Jobs Credit Scheme, please click here.  

 

:. Unique Entity Number

Unique Entity Number is a new identification number for entities registered in Singapore, to interact with the government agencies with effect from 1 January 2009. Entities will be able to enjoy the convenience of filing of corporate tax returns, applying for import and export permits or submitting their employees’ CPF contributions, using a single identification number.

51 major government agencies will implement the change by 1 January 2009, while the rest will take effect by 1 July 2009. To view the list of agencies ready by 1 Jan, please click here.  

Who will issue the UEN 

The UEN for businesses and local companies currently registered with Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) will be their ACRA Registration Number. 

All other registered entities, such as limited liability partnerships, foreign companies, societies and management corporations, will be issued with a new UEN by the government agencies that register or oversee them.

You may check your UEN issuance agency and the entity-types under their charge here.  

New entities which are formed from 1 January 2009 will be issued with the UEN at registration. 

What to prepare

Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) will have to change their LLP registration number on its official stationery to UEN latest by 1 January 2010. 

Entities using its clients’ existing identification number in their customer databases may choose to convert the identification number to UEN with the conversion data provided by the government.

Click here to download the conversion file or click here if you need to search for entities’ UEN.

Click here to read more. 

 

:. CPF Submission Number

Starting from 1 January 2009, employers will have to transact with CPF Board using the CPF Submission Number (CSN). This change is to support the UEN initiative and will replace the existing Employer Reference Number (ERN), which would be effective until 31 December 2008. CPF Board would have notified employers of their CSN in November 2008.

Click here to read more.

 

:. Skills Development Levy Act

With effect from 1 October 2008, the Skills Development Levy Act (SDL) will be revised to make it compulsory for employers to contribute SDL for all employees up to the first $4,500 of gross monthly remuneration at a levy rate of 0.25%, subject to a minimum of $2, whichever is higher.

Employees Include
Full-time, casual, part-time, temporary and foreign workers rendering services wholly or partly in Singapore

Remuneration
It is any wage, salary, commission, bonus, leave pay, overtime pay, allowances and any other payment in cash.

Companies that do not have any Singaporean or Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) employees or are currently not contributing CPF will have to issue cheques made payable to "SDL", since they do not have an Employer CPF Reference number.

Click here to read more

 

:. Auto-Inclusion Scheme

IRAS announced that from 2009 onwards the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) will be made compulsory for employers with 50 or more employees.

It frees employers from preparing paper copies of their employees’ IR8As. Employees enjoy the convenience of having their income information submitted to IRAS directly such that they only need to log in to myTax Portal to check and perform their tax returns electronically.

Click here to read more