Economic downturn Profitable companies return subsidies under Job Support schemes
Some profitable companies, such as banks and pharmaceutical companies, have returned the subsidies given by the government under the Job Support schemes. 

Their action is laudable. However, some other profitable companies may pocket the subsidies. 

This shows the weakness of the approach adopted by the finance minister to help business meet the cost of the circuit breaker measures.

What is a better approach?

The business that need the subsidy should make an application. it is quite easy for their to submit their application in an online platform. They only need to apply with their business registration number. Only the businesses that need this support will make an application.

The amount of the support can be indicated in the application. It should cover the monthly payroll, rental and utility charges. These payroll can be verified against the past contribution to the CPF. The other items can be verified at a later date. A cap can be applied to prevent abuse.

The financial support should be in the form of a loan that needs to be repaid. A portion of this loan can be forgiven, but this can be evaluated at a later date. For the immediate future, the loan can be granted based on a declaration by the applicant. A fraudulent application can be subject to legal prosecution.

The approach that I have suggested will help the businesses that are really in need of the loan. The loan can be disbursed monthly. The business can apply for a portion of the loan to be forgiven. This can be evaluated at a later date. Manpower will be required to process these applications for loan write-offs, but these are useful jobs that should be created.

The actual cost under my proposed approach will be much lower that the approach that has been adopted by the finance minister. It is a more prudent use of taxpayers' money.

Tan Kin Lian

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