What you need to know
Can an employer who hires a foreign domestic helper this month enjoy levy suspension?
Yes. The relief measure granting a two-year levy suspension became effective in August this year. The latest proposal has no effect on the measure.
Can employers get money back under the proposed five-year levy suspension if they have already paid the levy?
No. The government stated very clearly when it introduced the two-year levy suspension in August that there would be no refunds.
Does the proposed five-year levy suspension affect current contracts?
No.
Who can take full advantage of the proposed five-year levy suspension plan?
An employer who signed a new contract or renewed a contract with his or her foreign domestic helper in August 2008, securing a two-year suspension that lasts until 2010, would benefit under the proposal. That employer would renew the contract some time around August 2010, gaining another two-year levy suspension until 2012, at which point he or she would re-sign for two more years. The employer would then renew the contract signed in 2012 one year early to meet the deadline of the proposed five-year levy suspension plan, which falls on July 31, 2013. That will extend the suspension until 2015, meaning seven years without the levy.
