Singapore Budget 2018: S$190m yearly to boost philanthropy

Singapore

THE government will allocate about S$190 million yearly to support boosters that will lift the spirit of giving.

These boosters include extending the 250 per cent tax cut for donations to Institutions of a Public Character (IPC) for three years, beefing up the government's one-stop platform to better match donors and volunteers with charities, raising the cap for government support for the Community Development Councils (CDCs) and extending the Business and IPC Partnership Scheme (BIPS) for three years.

Introduced as a pilot scheme in 2016, the BIPS gives a 250 per cent tax deduction to busineses for costs linked to encouraging staff to volunteer or donate.

SHARE, launched as the One scheme in Budget 2016 to encourage businesses to back staff to donate regularly to the CDCs, will continue as the One scheme till FY2021. The scheme provides dollar-for-dollar matching on donations.

The cap for government support for the five CDCs will be raised from S$24 million to S$40 million yearly from April 1.

Currently, the government matches S$3 for every S$1 that the CDCs raise, up to an annual cap of S$24 million.

Dollar-for-dollar matching on donations will also be given for the next five years to the Empowering for Life Fund (ELF) under the President's Challenge. The ELF pays for the most vulnerable in society to upgrade their skills and find jobs.

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