Singapore Budget 2018: SME reactions

What did SMEs think about Budget 2018? Hear from past winners and finalists of the Emerging Enterprise Awards and Enterprise 50 Awards, which are supported by OCBC Bank.

The Wage Credit Scheme has given us time to adjust to the wage increases in a tight labour market. Its extension is thus helpful. We will spend our payout on areas such as talent development programmes and employee welfare benefits - ultimately, we are giving the payout back to our people. We understand the scheme will taper in subsequent years till 10 per cent in 2020 as it's a short term measure, as the key to organisational growth is a stable and dedicated workforce. By that time, we should and would have up-skilled our people to support higher value-added services in the industry. The increase of the corporate income tax rebate for YA 2018 and extension of the tax rebate to YA 2019 is also generally welcomed by businesses, especially those with smaller profits. It is unlikely to have a significant impact on those making higher profits, given the cap which still remains relatively low at S$15,000. - Damien Tan, chief operating officer, The Benjamin Barker Group, which was an Emerging Enterprise Awards winner in 2016

"The support provided by the Budget for SMEs focuses on longer term strategies to enhance SMEs' capabilities and encourage innovation through various schemes that pave the way for business growth, which is very positive for businesses. The possible demand dampening effect of the eventual GST increase from 7% to 9% may be a concern for retail companies, but for ValueMax, this will further differentiate our pre-owned jewellery and watches as consumers do not bear the full GST on sales prices." - Yeah Lee Ching, executive director, ValueMax Group, which was an E50 Award Winner in 2010

"As a company that is R&D intensive, we are especially satisfied with the 250 per cent tax deduction on qualifying R&D expenses that was announced. We also welcome the streamlining of various business grants into one Productivity Solutions Grant that we can apply for via the Business Grants Portal. The simplification of this process will go a long way to encouraging the adoption of new technologies by companies." - Victor Yuen, chief financial officer, ZWEEC Analytics, which was an Emerging Enterprise Award Winner in 2015

What about you? How will Budget 2018 affect your small business? Let us know at the sgsme.sg Facebook page. Or, join our discussion on which Budget measures will have the greatest impact on SMEs, over at the SMEs of Singapore group. [Budget 2018: 10 changes that will affect SMEs.]

For more stories on Budget 2018, click here.