Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced on Monday (6 Apr) that more self-employed people – aka freelancers – will be eligible for financial help with the new Solidarity Budget.
This comes as the government received feedback that the initial criteria to qualify for the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) was too strict, said DPM Heng.
With the new criteria, up to 100,000 self-employed people will be able to qualify for SIRS, which is 12,000 more than the previous number, 88,000, reported The Straits Times.
Read on for more details about the reviewed SIRS.
SIRS now applies to some self-employed people who live in private property.
Previously, only those who lived in property with an annual value of $13,000 were eligible for it. In the new Solidarity Budget, the threshold has been increased to $21,000.
Other than that, self-employed and freelance workers who are already earning minimal income from other forms of employment will be eligible for SIRS.
Instead of receiving a monthly cash payout of $1,000, those eligible for SIRS will receive 3 payouts of $3,000 each in May, July and October, reported TODAY.
Other than the newly-introduced measures, there will be no changes to the criteria for SIRS, reports Channel NewsAsia.
DPM Heng also announced in his nationwide address that the National Trades Union Congress would assist the Ministry of Manpower with the expected influx of applications for SIRS.
Hopefully these payouts will come as a timely source of savings for our friends in the gig economy who need them most.
Featured image adapted from MS News.
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