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Foreign worker levy to go up from July 2010
Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE: Foreign worker levy are set to increase.
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, presenting the 2010 Budget Statement in Parliament on Monday, said the increase will be "calibrated and carefully phased in".
Levy rates will go up between $10 to $30 for most Work Permit holders on July 1 this year.
Adjustments will be made in 2011 and 2012.
In the next three years, companies can expect a gradual total increase of about $100 on average per worker in manufacturing and services.
The construction industry will see a larger increase, according to the minister.
The aim of raising the levies is to encourage companies to rely less on foreign workers and give them an incentive to upgrade so as to grow via improvements in productivity.
Changes will also be made for S Pass workers, with two levy tiers instead of one.
The rates for the first and second tiers will be $100 and $120 in July this year — going up from a single rate of $50 currently.
Further adjustments will be made till rates reach $150 and $250 by July 2012.
— CNA
New conditions have been introduced to prevent employers and employment agencies from profiteering from employment of foreign workers.
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