Tap PIC for business rescue fund

I wish to commend the Government for extending the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme to YA2018, and increasing the claim limit to $600,000.

But should big profitable companies like SIA, SingTel, Keppel, Sembawang, DBS, OCBC, UOB, SPH, F&N, Hong Leong Group, City Developments, AIA and Great Eastern also dip their hands into the public purse for the $600,000, when their net profit each year is in the hundreds of millions of dollars?

Either we put a cap on this or we continue to have it as is, but promote a public sense of equity and corporate social responsibility.

The Government should encourage huge and profitable corporations to return the sum claimed under the PIC and place it in a "Business Rescue Fund" - with dollar-for-dollar backing by the Government - to prepare Singapore to face any cyclical business downturn in this age of economic uncertainty.

I hope the dollar-for-dollar matching will help incentivise corporations to do so.

The Government should also acknowledge publicly corporations, big or small, foreign or locally owned, which voluntarily return the PIC sum.

A list of the sums received should be kept on a publicly accessible website to encourage more like-minded corporate chiefs to do their part for society.

TAN KOK TIM

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