Over 2 out of 5 SMEs crippled by extremely high rents, manpower costs

This should be addressed in the 2015 budget, says KPMG.

The government should help local businesses cope with escalating rental and manpower costs in the 2015 Budget, KPMG’s Budget Wishlist revealed today.

According to KPMG’s pre-budget poll, 41% of SMEs cited rising rental and labour costs as a top operational concern. Surprisingly, only 10 percent of those polled are concerned about improving productivity.

KPMG stated that measures to address building and rental costs would help businesses cope with these operational challenges.

KPMG urged policymakers to broaden the scope of the Land Intensification Allowance to allow more businesses access to the scheme.

Rental or tax rebates should also be targeted directly at tenants instead of landlords to ensure that benefits of the rebates reach the businesses themselves.