Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Hougang): Mr Chairman, a resident, who is a single father taking care of two daughters in their early teens, shared with me that while he welcomed the change in law last year doubling the paternity leave from two to four weeks, the benefits which he received are significantly less than single mothers, divorced or otherwise, who are having care of their children. For example, he does not enjoy the substantial reliefs which a woman is entitled to under the Working Mother’s Child Relief. My resident, who has a full-time job, would like to engage a migrant domestic worker to help with housework and care for his children. However, he is not entitled to any tax relief under the Foreign Domestic Worker Levy Relief. IRAS allows women who are married, separated from their husbands, divorced or widowed, and had children who lived with them to claim the relief.
Can the Government consider equalising the entitlement to this relief, such that men or women can qualify to apply for this relief as long as other criteria are fulfilled, so that single fathers like himself needing domestic help will get the same relief as single women in his position?
The Second Minister for Finance (Mr Chee Hong Tat): Mr Dennis Tan asked about extending the Foreign Domestic Worker Levy Relief (FDWLR) to divorced single working fathers. Deputy Prime Minister Wong announced in Budget 2023 that the FDWLR would lapse with effect from the Year of Assessment 2025. He explained that this was because we already have a migrant domestic worker levy concession, which provides more targeted support for families who need help caring for their dependants, regardless of whether they pay income tax. This includes single working fathers with young children living in the same household. They can qualify for the migrant domestic worker levy concession.
Ministry of Finance
28 February 2024
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=budget-2345
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 