This letter was sent to Today paper on 1 Feb 2012 (but not published yet)
Reduce cost of doing business
Reduce cost of doing business
Mr. James Ang (Crutch mentality in businesses, 1 Feb) said that our
business federations should not just lobby for subsidies, grants and
tax incentives, but get their members to innovate, raise productivity and
explore new markets overseas.
I also recall similar calls by our government leaders on innovation and
productivity for as long as I can remember.
I have run a small business for three years and wish to share my experience
about some of the mindless regulations and processes that increase
the cost of doing business in Singapore:
1. Our government agencies require businesses to submit requests and
compliance returns using their online processes. Their websites are extremely
complicated and each process can take hours to someone who is not familiar.
Mistakes are made and have to be rectified. A more sensible alternative is to
allow the public to make their submission using a manual form, which can be
faxed to the agency, and for a staff to spend a few minutes to handle the data entry.
2. Many forms from government agencies ask for too much information for relatively
routine matters. These agencies should realize that the time spent by administrative
staff is not free.
3. Businesses have to compute and show GST for each invoice
and to account for the input and output GST on their quarterly returns to
the tax authority. The compliance adds to the cost of doing business. It
can be reduced significantly by some simplification to their processes.
4. Many businesses still have to make payment by cheques, due to our archaic
payment processes. Many countries have moved to electronic payments long ago.
As long as our government agencies are not mindful of the cost and burden that
they impose on the business sector, there will be the perpetual call
from the business associations for financial assistance.
Tan Kin Lian
3 comments:
The Gov knows how to influence the SMEs.
They are kept on a short leash and are very dependant on Gov contracts or initiatives to survive.
They also serve a political purpose.
Each SME is only concern with their own predicament. It may be rental, foreign worker or licensing.
All these things are Gov controlled and they have no choice but to comply.. that is why they have a crutch mentality.. so used to many years of conditioning.
Newspapers only highlight a few cases of success stories to showcase SPRING singapore's efforts or EDB.
Innovation remains on the lips of the policy makers.
It is said that one has to gain fame far away from the village, only then will there be recognition.
Online stores like Gmarket and Alibaba Express are providing stiff battle for retailers selling certain items in Singapore.
Their items are cheaper because of there is one less middleman and no GST. However, people who are not internet savvy cannot take advantage of this.
I have come to conclude that lifelong education is important for all people. If not, they lose out.
hi cd-rom,
Yes online stores are a great way to avoid killer rent in the stuff we buy in sinkieland.
Bkstores like Harris, Page 1, Popular, Clementi bkstore are closing or have closed. Can't compete with online stores with their lesser overheads.
S'pore's manipulated property mkt with its killer rent is gonna destroy a swathe of the retail scene here when the plus of buying things online & waiting for its delivery outweight buying it locally & bringing it home right away.
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