Call to trim individual, corporate tax rates

APART from addressing the issue of foreign worker shortage, Chinese traders want the government to consider reducing individual and corporate tax rates in its 2018 Budget.

Also high on their budget wish list are government funding and favourable policies to help speed up transformation for small and medium industries (SME), and traditional trades.

Chinese businesses, particularly SMEs, believe that only by transformation and automation could they reduce their heavy reliance on foreign labour, China Press reported yesterday.

The main aim of transformation is to meet the market needs of the e-commere era and to stay in business.

What concerns Chinese trade bodies most is getting the necessary help for traders in their bid to transform. This is where the government can lend a hand.

Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia’s (ACCCIM) SMEs and Human Resource Development Committee chairman Koong Lin Loong, who was among ACCCIM representatives who had attended meetings with government officials involved in planning the national budget, said ACCCIM had, on May 20, submitted its 2018 Budget proposals for consideration.

He disclosed in presenting the proposals, ACCCIM focused on the spiralling costs of operation; and taxes, in which ACCCIM suggested for a reduction in personal income tax and for corporate tax rate to go down to 15% for the first RM500,000 chargeable income, from 18% currently.

Koong said ACCCIM has also proposed for the corporate tax threshold to be raised to RM1 million from RM500,000 at present, adding that this, together with a reduction in corporate tax rate, will make SMEs more competitive.

Meanwhile, SME Association of Malaysia president Datuk Michael Kang hoped that the government would make a bigger allocation to help train manpower as well as provide incentives for exportoriented SME start-ups to encourage more entrepreneurs to get involved in the export business.