Support green finance, cash-strapped businesses; greater food security: KPMG

Singapore

MORE grants and subsidies can help Singapore maximise its potential as a green finance hub in Asean, said KPMG in its proposal for Budget 2021.

Food security and support for cash-strapped businesses were also on KPMG's Budget 2021 wishlist, which was released on Wednesday.

Ajay Kumar Sanganeria, partner and head of tax at KPMG in Singapore, said Singapore can become a green finance hub by facilitating sustainable finance deals in line with international standards and regulations.

The audit, tax and advisory firm proposed a special grant of up to S$250,000 for investments in platforms linked to decarbonisation.

The Covid-19 pandemic has presented Singapore with an opportunity to "re-create its business landscape and explore new possibilities for growth", KPMG said.

Supporting the development of green economy-related projects, businesses and services would help create sustainable jobs in a range of different sectors.

Examples of such opportunities highlighted include cleantech, green buildings, waste management and green transportation.

KPMG also proposed grants to co-fund half of the salaries for sustainability teams in organisations, and a property tax rebate for green buildings.

Meanwhile, Covid-19's disruption to food supply chains have highlighted the need for food supply chain resilience.

To secure greater food security, KPMG suggested encouraging urban farming using existing real estate assets and advocating for alternative protein sources.

To this end, KPMG called for tax incentives for companies operating in agri-tech and aqua-tech.

It has suggested several enhancements to the R&D Tax Incentive Scheme that would cover a wider range of expenses and investments.

It is also proposing new tax incentives such as a tiered concessionary income tax rate based on production capacity and nutrition value, and a property tax rebate for properties used for food production.

As the pandemic has severely impacted Singapore's companies, with around 35,000 entities having shut down between January and October last year, KPMG has suggested that more should be done to help businesses.

It has recommended a property tax remission for 2021 and 2022, and longer instalment plans for income tax payments.

"In the past year, the Singapore government has rolled out many programmes that have helped to soften the impact of Covid-19 among individuals and organisations," said Mr Sanganeria. "Our proposals for Budget 2021 will further strengthen existing policies, as well as propel Singapore to emerge from the crisis stronger than ever."