Feedback from my 8 articles on PIC and PIC Training revealed that many people, including top management and consultants, have mis-understandings about PIC. Such mis-understandings arise because of misreading IRAS, hearsay from uninformed people and plain ignorance. If you allow such misunderstandings to affect your career and business, you will lose as much as $375,000 cash over 6 years. The top 11 misunderstandings are:
- PIC is only for Singapore companies. 100% foreign owned companies, like the Singapore Branch of Bank of China, are not eligible. Truth: All businesses are eligible for PIC as long as they have 3 local (Singaporeans and Singapore PRs) staff on their payroll with CPF. Note that the '3 local staff' here EXCLUDES the directors, shareholders and proprietors of the business
- PIC is going to expire in 2015. Truth: PIC is expiring in 2017 (Y/A 2018)
- You cannot claim PIC for Training for foreigners and staff that are not on CPF. Truth: All employees, full time and part-time, including employees on commission (like taxi drivers and real estate agents) are covered for PIC Training
- Mobile phones and i-Pads cannot claim PIC. Truth: All mobile phones and tablets are eligible, including those non-smart phones like the old Nokia phones.
- You need a consultant to claim PIC for you if you want to get money fast. Truth: It only takes 11 minutes for you to fill up the form, and even kids know how to do the paperwork easily
- The Government will, after paying you PIC money, take money back from you. Truth: This is true for PIC Bonus, where you have to pay tax on it. PIC cash payouts are not taxable.
- Websites, including domain names registration, are not claimable. Truth: With effect from 2014, they are all claimable.
- You need to submit original or photocopied invoices to support your claim. Truth: you only submit documents upon request.
- E-filing of PIC is faster. Truth: no such thing, all PIC claims are to be done manually and submitted on paper
- PIC does not benefit big companies. PIC does not distinguish between big and small companies as they all enjoy the same entitlements: claim 60% cash or 300% tax deduction on 9 types of spending: External Training, Internal Training (up to $10,00 0 yearly), IT Hardware, Software, Websites, Automation Equipment, R & D, Intellectual Property Rights and Singapore Design Council projects
- If you enjoy subsidies by other government schemes, like WSQ or iSPRINT, you cannot claim PIC for such expenditure. Truth: PIC is claimable for the balancing amount not covered by such schemes. For example, iSPRINT gives you 70% grant on IT projects, you can easily claim PIC 60% cash payout for the balancing 30% not covered by iSPRINT.
By Andy Ng, Chief Trainer at Asia Trainers, details here. Related articles:
- Sales Training: Waste Money or Earn Money?
- How Much Do You Charge? More than What You Think!
- 7 Changes to PIC that You Must Know
- How Employees can get Promoted with PIC
- What They Don't Tell You About PIC
- 11 Mistakes that People Make in PIC Claims
- How to Get $36K from Government without spending 1 cent
- Claiming for Training under PIC must cover these 5 things
- Salespeople are the Problems, and How PIC Can Save Salespeople from Oblivion
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