ENHANCED CHILD RELIEF/FOREIGN MAID LEVY RELIEF (Claim of relief by men)

Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for Finance whether he will allow men to claim for (i) enhanced child relief and (ii) foreign maid levy relief which are currently only given to women.

The Minister of State for Finance (Cdre (Res) Teo Chee Hean)(for the Minister for Finance): Mr Speaker, Sir, the enhanced child relief and foreign maid levy relief are targetted at women for specific objectives and will remain so.

The enhanced child relief is separate from the normal child relief which either husband or wife or both can claim. It was introduced as an incentive for women who have obtained three GCE '0' levels or equivalent to remain in the workforce. In our labour-short economy, we cannot afford the loss of highly trained women from the workforce. This clearly does not apply to men in general and therefore the relief will not be extended to them.

Similarly, the foreign maid levy relief is intended to encourage married women to participate in the workforce and have children at the same time. It is not meant to help all employers of foreign maids.

Mr Chiam See Tong (Potong Pasir): I wonder whether the Minister is willing to consider one category of men who are divorced and who have custody of their children and they have to go out to get employment and, at the same time, they have to employ maids to take care of their children. If the policy is inflexible, this group of people will suffer.

Cdre (Res) Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, as I have explained, the foreign maid levy is intended to encourage married women to participate in the workforce. In the case that the Member has mentioned, there is no necessity for further encouragement to participate in the workforce. So I think the incentive is not necessary.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Sir, I am just wondering whether the Minister would be flexible enough to take care of this group of people. Because sometimes it is not out of choice, the children are forced on him as their mother gets married to another person and they go abroad and abandon the children.

Cdre (Res) Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, while one is sympathetic to the plight of persons who are in that situation, the objective of the foreign maid levy relief should be seen clearly in perspective, and that is, to encourage married women to participate in the workforce. As I said, there is no necessity for further encouragement for such persons, as the Member has described, to participate in the workforce.

Mr Heng Chiang Meng: Sir, I just want to ask for another category. Would the Minister consider a category where the wife is the breadwinner? In this case, I think you want to encourage the man, rather than the wife, to go to work.

Cdre (Res) Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, in such a case, the purpose of the foreign maid levy relief has been achieved. Basically, if the wife is the main wage earner, she may well have been encouraged to keep on working because of the foreign maid levy relief. In that case, the scheme has achieved its objective and I do not think it is necessary to extend it.