Skills Development Levy Bill

“Comptroller” means the Comptroller of Income Tax appointed under section 5 of the Income Tax Act (Cap. 141) and includes a Deputy Comptroller so appointed;

“Council” means the Advisory Council established under section 9;

“employee”, in relation to a month, means an employee rendering in that month services wholly or partly in Singapore and an employee who is on leave during that month where such leave is attributable to services rendered wholly or partly in Singapore in any previous month, but does not include any domestic servant, gardener or chauffeur, wholly and exclusively employed by an individual otherwise than in connection with his trade, business, profession or vocation;

“employer” means any person who pays or is liable to pay any remuneration to an employee;

“Fund” means the Skills Development Fund established under section 6;

“remuneration” means any wages, salary, commission, bonuses, allowances (including a housing allowance or other like allowance) or other emoluments paid in cash by or on behalf of an employer to an employee, and includes any leave pay;

“skills development levy” or “levy” means skills development levy imposed by this Act.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, there shall be imposed on every employer a skills development levy in respect of each of his employees at the rate of two per cent of the remuneration in any month of that employee or five dollars, whichever is the greater.

The levy shall be collected and paid in respect of the month of October, 1979, and every subsequent month.

The Minister may from time to time by order reduce or increase the rate of the levy specified in subsection (1).

No skills development levy shall be chargeable for any month in respect of any employee whose remuneration exceeds seven hundred and fifty dollars for that month.

The Minister may by order vary the amount of remuneration specified in subsection (1).

The Minister may by order —

The Minister and the Comptroller shall have and may exercise in respect of the collection of skills development levy the like powers and authorities (as far as they are applicable and with necessary modifications) as if the levy were payroll tax.

Except as otherwise provided by this Act, the Finance Act and any regulations made thereunder shall, as far as applicable and with any necessary modifications, apply in all respects as if skills development levy were payroll tax and as if an employer liable to pay skills development levy under this Act were an employer liable to pay payroll tax under the Finance Act (Cap. 139).

On the commencement of this Act, there shall be established a Fund to be called the Skills Development Fund which shall be under the control and management of the Minister.

The proceeds of the skills development levy collected under this Act, together with penalties recovered for late payment, shall be credited to the Fund.

For the purpose of reimbursing the Comptroller for the expenses incurred by him in the collection and recovery of the levy, the Minister may authorise the Comptroller to be paid such percentage, not exceeding two per cent, of the levy collected as may be determined by the Minister.

The objects for which monies of the Fund may be applied are as follows: —

In carrying out the objects of the Fund, the Minister may from time to time authorise monies of the Fund to be paid out and expended for all or any of the following purposes: —

For the purposes of advising the Minister as to the administration and application of the Fund there shall be established an Advisory Council.

The Council shall consist of twelve members appointed by the Minister, of whom —

The Minister shall appoint one of the members as Chairman.

The provisions of the Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Council.

Any person who obtains payment of any grant or loan from the Fund by means of any false or misleading statement or any document that is false or misleading in any particular shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment.

Where an offence under subsection (1) committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent and connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Where a person is convicted of an offence under section 12 the court may, in addition to imposing a penalty under that section, order the person to make repayment of the amount of any money wrongfully obtained.

Where an order has been made under subsection (1) a certified copy of the order may be filed in a court having civil jurisdiction to the extent of the amount ordered to be repaid and the order is thereupon enforceable in all respects as the final judgment of that court.

The accounts of the Fund shall be audited annually by the Auditor-General.

The Minister shall cause to be presented to Parliament, as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year, a copy of the audited financial statements relating to the Fund, together with the Auditor-General’s report.

In this section, “financial year” has the same meaning as in the Financial Procedure Act (Cap. 68).