SMEs – How can we help the Ant-Man of our Economy?

We have big expectations for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia.  SMEs are estimated to contribute the following to the economy by 2020, if the implementation of the SME Masterplan 2012-2020 is successful:

• Share of GDP will increase to 41%
• Share of employment will increase to 62%; and
• Share of exports will increase to 25%.

Just because we’re small doesn’t mean that we don’t pack a punch.
Image Credit: www.geeksofdoom.com

However, a recent statement made by SME Corporation Malaysia chief executive Datuk Hafsah Hashim on SMEs not registering due to fear of high registration costs and attracting higher tax rates[1] highlights the need for extra aid for these smaller businesses. As such, this article attempts to shed some light on some of the bodies/organisations that are involved in development of SMEs in Malaysia.

Equity Crowdfunding – Cautious Optimism for Start-ups & the SME Industry

Blanche DuBois famously proclaimed in A Streetcar Named Desire, “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”

What is crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is defined as the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet. Popular crowdfunding sites include ArtistShare, Kickstarter and Indiegogo. They provide a platform to fund creative projects ranging from films, games, and music to art, design, technology and cause/charity-based projects.

These platforms are usually donation-based or reward-based, where individuals donate a financial amount in return for a product or service gift from the recipient.

• A British shoe shop worker launched a crowdfunding campaign to help Greece pay back its $1.8 billion IMF loan – he raised €1.9m.
• Singaporean blogger, Roy Ngerng, turned to crowdfunding to raise funds for his court case against the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong – he raised about SGD90,000.
• A woman attempted to raise SGD1.7m for her toddler to seek specialised medical treatment – she raised around SGD500,000 in 3 weeks.[1]

Commercial Applications of Company Law in Singapore (5th Edition since 2011)!

The long anticipated 5th edition of Commercial Applications of Company Law in Singapore will be available on 27 July 2015!

Published a full four years after the last edition, this 5th edition has been extensively revised and updated for the latest company law cases as well as significant changes and developments arising from the Companies (Amendment) Act 2014 as at 1 July 2015. In this 5th edition, a new subchapter has been included in Chapter 12 (Conflicts of interest) discussing directors’ duties on taking corporate property, information and opportunities. In addition, a number of new cases have been discussed, particularly in Chapter 14 (Members’ remedies).

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

Scenes from the Malaysia GST Compliance Conference at Prince Hotel (8-9 July 2015)

Our library of books at the sales booth

Some of our Wolters Kluwer Sales staff, always ready to help!

Michael Hendroff of KPMG discusses the grey areas

Indonesia considers tax amnesty to boost tax revenue?

It was recently reported in the press that the Indonesian tax office is considering a tax amnesty in an effort to bring back overseas funds to Indonesia. The proposal is to allow the perpetrators of financial crimes to pay 10 to 15 percent of tax on the assets they bring back into Indonesia in return for pardon from criminal prosecution. A significant amount of the Indonesian assets are believed to be ‘parked’ in Singapore.

According to Wikipedia, a tax amnesty refers to ‘a limited-time opportunity for a specified group of taxpayers to pay a defined amount, in exchange for forgiveness of a tax liability (including interest and penalties) relating to a previous tax period or periods and without fear of criminal prosecution’. There have been instances of tax amnesty granted by other governments such as Italy, Spain and the United States.