Over 1 in 4 firms unable to cope with foreign worker levies

The construction sector has been hardest hit.

Over a quarter of local firms have not been able to adapt to the government’s foreign worker levies, a report from the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants revealed.

The survey showed that 28% of respondents indicated that their firms have not been able to adapt to the change in policy, while 52% of businesses stated that they are still affected by recent changes to the foreign worker policy,
The findings indicate that the construction sector has been hardest hit by the levies, with 88% of respondents from this sector stating that have been affected by the policy.

Of respondents who indicate that their firms had been affected by the changes to the foreign worker policy, 43% of public accountants and 41% of professional accountants in business indicate that the main approach adopted by their firms to adapt to the changes had been to hire more local workers.