The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) says 2012 will be the appropriate time for the government to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Its Deputy Chairman of SMEs & Head of SMEs Survey Unit, Koong Lin Loong, said a majority of businesses felt that they should be given at least 24 months to prepare for the new tax system.
Quoting the ACCCIM 2010 SMEs Survey findings, Koong said 33 per cent of the respondents had said that their businesses were not prepared for the implementation due to a lack of information from the government.
"The government needs to strengthen its efforts in this regard. It needs to educate the public through various mediums for a positive view on the GST," ACCCIM President Tan Sri William Cheng meanwhile highlighted.
He suggested the government draw up a clear timetable and provide more details so that the public have sufficient time to understand and prepare accordingly.
By having sufficient preparation, the public, especially the businesses will not be caught by surprise or have any resistance and misunderstanding of the GST, Cheng explained.
The survey also revealed that 80 per cent of respondents' computer systems were not ready to cater to the administration of GST.
The study was done in June 2010 by ACCCIM. A total of 2,000 copies of the survey questionnaires were sent out, of which 1,250 copies were received in return.
Koong said the lack of readiness was most obvious in Sabah and Sarawak with a respective 92 per cent and 86 per cent of entities there saying their computers were not ready for the implementation.
He said the government should also consider giving free GST software in order to kick start the implementation.
He said training by the government as well as business incentives were also needed for better administration of the GST.
"Twenty five per cent of respondents said they will wait for the government to provide training, while another 31 per cent are willing to send their staff to attend external training," Koong elaborated.
Meanwhile, Cheng said businesses, especially SMEs should take the initiative so that they do not overlook the importance of computerising their accounts.
Once the GST is implemented, the SMEs without computerisation will be impacted directly and their operations will be affected, he added.
The government in November 2009 expressed its plans to implement the GST by 2011.
However, the second reading of the proposed GST Bill, originally scheduled in March 2010 was postponed by the government.--BERNAMA
No comments:
Post a Comment