Political-Legal Environment
Businesses are affected by the political structure of the country within which they operate. It is the political regime that enacts laws, decides priorities and sets regulations. Singapore’s parliamentary democracy system has resulted in a stable and orderly government. The government’s emphasis on efficiency and excellence in the public service ensures that businessman can efficiently conduct business without red tape and bureaucratic delays. Singapore has been consistently ranked as one of the most competitive nations and best places for business in the world.
Trade
With the Whole-of-Government (WOG) approach; agencies across the public service work together to support businesses at different phases of growth. The government has created a pro-business environment by enacting favourable tax laws and offering funding for business ventures. GST increase from 5%- 7% is still lower than taxes imposed on goods and services in the United States which is 8.75% and Europe, 12%. The government has also provided a progress package to all Singaporeans and P.R to cope with the GST increase. In addition, to nudge companies along the green path, the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) announced an S$22 million grant for companies to go green. This works favourably to Urban Salvage as a young business in its infant stage in gaining support from governing bodies to achieve its objectives.
Employment Laws
Flexible labour laws allow relatively easy hiring/termination practices within contractual agreement with given notice. With no minimum wage law, the government allows free market forces to determine the wage levels. In effort to help low wage workers, the Workfare Bonus Scheme (WBS) was introduced as part of the Progress ...