Covid-19 has significantly disrupted and devastated the world's economy. Data from Malaysia shows that more than 30,000 companies have closed their operations since the movement control order (MCO) implementation due to Covid-19 that began in March 2020. However, the effects on small businesses are especially severe, mainly due to the higher vulnerability levels and lower resilience related to their size. This study provides an empirical analysis of the key drivers leading to the business resilience of small businesses in Malaysia that have survived the Covid-19 pandemic. Data from 215 small businesses were collected physically and online across Malaysia from May 2021 to December 2021. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using Smart PLS 3.2.4 was used to analyse the data, whereby nine hypotheses were tested in the current study. The results showed that technology acceptance, government support, and financial literacy significantly influence business resilience among small businesses in Malaysia. The results also indicated that financial literacy moderates the relationship between compliance cost and government support with business resilience. Thus, the findings revealed three important determinants of small businesses' resilience framework, namely technology acceptance, government support, and financial literacy. The study recommends a dynamic, resilient framework to adopt in the "new normal" situation for the successful navigation of small businesses in the future. Moreover, the study provides insight into the key drivers for business resilience factors that small businesses must be concerned with, as the framework can be used to deal with not only the global pandemic but also uncertain conditions.
Given the strong rumour that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) may be re-introduced in Malaysia, Bernama (2022) reported that Malaysia is keen on reintroducing GST to expand its revenue base and carry the weight of public subsidies. Due to GST abolishment, Malaysia incurred an annual revenue loss of RM20 billion, shockingly, the reintroduction of SST contributed little to the government. Unfortunately, from the public's perspective, GST remains a very unpopular indirect tax reform due to its regressive nature, affecting both the poor and rich. Since the tax applies to every transaction regardless of the socioeconomic status of individuals, it places an undue burden, especially on poor households. The literature on the critical catalyst of the public acceptance of Malaysian indirect tax also lacks discussions on a specific public acceptance model for indirect tax policy implementation. This study, therefore, aims to bridge the gap by proposing an indirect tax acceptance model using the guiding principles of sound tax policy recommended by AICPA ( 2017). Using a quantitative approach, questionnaires were distributed to the B40, M40, and T20 household income earners throughout Malaysia. The results show that the guiding principles of the effectiveness of tax administrations, transparency and visibility, appropriate government revenue, neutrality, and simplicity are the variables that allow the assessment of public behaviour towards indirect tax. The findings can provide helpful feedback to relevant policymakers and tax authorities in designing a more acceptable indirect tax.
The increase in digital transformation through Industry 4.0 has become a top priority for both businesses and governments on a worldwide scale, thus forcing the need for updating the tax system. With substantial technological advancements and accelerating demands to save costs, many tax authorities are undergoing a considerable transformation from the conventional to an online platform in engaging with taxpayers and tax agents; however, the tax agents responsible for advising and assisting companies or individuals with income tax matters may not be ready for such a transformation. This study aims to examine tax agents' readiness towards the digitalisation of tax administration in Malaysia. By using the probability sampling technique, a list of tax agents was obtained from the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia (IRBM)'s website and data were collected from the structured questionnaires distributed to the IRBM-registered tax agents in Malaysia. Considering that Malaysia is still at an early stage of fully digitalising its tax system, the findings of this study are, therefore, important for many parties involved and the body of knowledge. By selecting 173 respondents that consist of tax agents listed with the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia (IRBM), this study employed Quadrant Analysis to determine the factors of priority in supporting the readiness towards the digitalisation of tax administration. Based on the findings, the three elements that demand immediate attention from the policymakers are perceived ease of use, technology infrastructure, and government policy and support. These findings are crucial for policymakers who intend to speed up the digital transformation process to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of tax administration. This study should be able to ascertain the factors that influence tax agents' readiness to deal with the digitalisation of Malaysian tax administration. There is a paucity of research on the digitalisation of tax administration, particularly for services to taxpayers that should have been fully digitalised years ago. This study should contribute to the literature by identifying the factors that contribute to the delay in fully digitalising tax administration in Malaysia.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.