Industry lauds digital economy measures in 2019 budget

KUALA LUMPUR: The governments' continuous efforts to spur the digital economy in the country as presented in the 2019 Budget has received high praise from industry players.
Online shopping platform Lazada Malaysia CEO Christophe Lejeune welcomed the government's decision to reduce fixed line broadband prices by end-2018 and allocate RM1 billion for the National Fibre Connectivity Plan to boost internet connectivity in rural areas within five years.
"Rural connectivity is essential to grow the next generation of rural entrepreneurs from previously unconnected areas.
"With this programme, we can help uplift more entrepreneurs, increase rural buyers' access to cheaper online products and in turn improve their welfare," he said in a statement.
Lazada currently has over 50,000 sellers who will benefit from this initiative and the company plans to empower a total of 100,000 sellers by mid-2019, he said.
Meanwhile, Microsoft Malaysia Managing Director K. Raman opined that businesses that do not embrace the digital revolution and evolve fast enough would be less competitive or even obsolete as they face disruptions in every industry.
"As enterprises and small and medium enterprises in Malaysia look for better and faster ways to leverage on the fourth industrial revolution and transform themselves, artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data, powered by cloud computing, will have a crucial role to play," he said.
On the government's proposal to tax the digital economy, KPMG Tax Services Executive Director of Indirect Tax, Ng Sue Lynn, viewed it as a 'bold move'.
In the budget, foreign suppliers who provide digital products and services to consumers will be required to register with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) from Jan 1, 2020.
"This move to tax the digital economy is in line with the intention of other countries and it is a bold move as Malaysia will be one of the first to introduce such a system.
"There are further areas that need to be clarified such as how the foreign service providers will register with the RMCD, and what enforcement rules and reporting mechanism are in place," she said.
Ng said the RMCD has one year to study, analyse and come up with an efficient mechanism. — Bernama