From foreign talent to Singapore talent

IN HIS New Year message delivered on Dec 31, 2019, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stressed the importance of Singapore remaining an open economy in today's volatile world. He signalled that the upcoming Budget 2020 will continue to work towards helping both businesses and individuals maximise opportunity as well as mitigate the external risks brought about by trends and issues that include global trade tensions, the rise of populism, wider regional instability and Industry 4.0. A key priority will be to support businesses in raising their productivity by helping their employees to retrain and build new skillsets and capabilities.

Over the past three decades, Singapore has strengthened its position as a major hub in the region and with this confidence, Singapore has started to shift its focus from attracting foreign talent to grooming local talent. As a result, many of the tax breaks that were previously available to foreigners to attract them to relocate and be based in Singapore are being removed or phased out. The latest to be lapsed is the Not Ordinarily Resident (NOR) scheme where foreigners could enjoy tax savings under the time apportionment of income tax concession if they travelled significantly from Singapore for work purposes.

However, Singapore's merits and relative strengths now present us with opportunities to invest in policies that continue to drive improved growth and productivity in the short and medium term.