Why should anyone start an online business in Malaysia, or anywhere in the world for that matter? I’ve got a stable job, it pays pretty good and it puts food on the table and a roof over my head. Where there are a few reasons, let me go through a few of them.
You Can Start an Online Business From Home
Unlike most other types of businesses, an online business can be started not only form home, but part time as well. You don’t have to give up that 9 – 5 job that you are secure with, you can just do things after work, from the comforts of your home.
It allows you to add to your revenue and who knows, maybe one day it’ll be so successful you’ll be able to do it full time? But that’s not for all people, so take it slow, try starting simple, like a blog, or a small ebay site.
There’s no hurry, the internet will be around for some time to come.
You Can Save On Taxes (Cause You Don’t Need To Pay Tax)
OK, this statement is a little controversial, as here in Malaysia, the tax law is a bit grey in terms of internet businesses. On top of that, with some shoddy departments, there are plenty of businesses who don’t pay their taxes even when they should.
I did send an email to the tax department to see if an internet business should pay tax or not, and in their reply they said we have to declare all money made as taxable income. But I suspect that this is not the case when you get a cheque in the mail from Google etc.
It’s almost like asking you to declare tax if your Dad who works in another country sends you a birthday card with a cheque in it. Would you?
I need to find out more about this as I’m going to be doing a lot of internet marketing and when I make money (hopefully) I need to see if I have to pay tax.
If anybody has any ideas on this, please do leave a comment and let me know.
It’s Fun
Let’s face it, outside of work, we may not hang out or socialize with all that many people. You may have lost touch with your old school friends, or they might just be in other parts of the country or even the world.
With Internet Marketing (such as this blog) you get to interact with people who share similar interests with you. You get to talk to people around the world about things that you feel passionate about, what could be better than that?
So why not start a blog, an ebay site or something easy like that? You may end up liking it and making some good money too. Who knows?
Let me know how it goes,
-William Lee
p/s: subscribe to my feed if you could!
[Photos from Flickr - Paladin27, curious_spider, KarolusLinus]
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I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Thanks for dropping by Mike… and thanks for subscribing to me, I really appreciate it!
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“if an internet business should pay tax or not, and in their reply they said we have to declare all money made as taxable income. But I suspect that this is not the case when you get a cheque in the mail from Google etc.”
For cheque from Google, that is taxable income. You have to declare that as your income. Even though the income is from US, but all the works is done in Malaysia in order to get that income. That’s what the IRB called ‘income deemed and derived from Malaysia’
You don’t have to pay tax in Malaysia if all your works to produce that income is done outside of Malaysia.
“It’s almost like asking you to declare tax if your Dad who works in another country sends you a birthday card with a cheque in it. Would you?”
In this case, you don’t have to pay tax as the income is NOT deemed and derived from Malaysia. It’s foreign source income. Furthermore, the income is not earned by you.
*Disclaimer: I’m not professional accountant or tax consultant, but I do study about this for my own benefit. Please consult professional accountant or tax consultant if you need professional advice.
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Hi Ketih, thanks for the information… tax law when it comes to Internet income is still a bit confusing to me… the problem is that it is in a very ‘grey’ area in our tax law.
Although yes I understand that the ‘work’ was done in Malaysia, i.e. I started my blog here… there are some instances where certain laws don’t follow the country you are based in.
For an example, if you host your website in America, some people claim that you follow copyright laws of America, not Malaysia… so I’d be able to use public domain material in America much sooner than I would here…
My example above may have been overly simplistic, but I think alot of people are wondering why they should pay the govt. taxes if everything is hosted overseas and the only ‘contact’ with your business is through a laptop and an internet connection.
Hmm… will need to hire an accountant one day just to make sure.
Thanks for your advice though!
Oops, I meant ‘Keith’. My bad.
Hi William, i also been thinking if online business need to pay taxes because i never ever heard from other people who is in this online business saying about paying their tax.
I am newbie in this online business and hope to make some money from it. And im still don’t have any idea what to make to make profit with internet. hope i can learn from your website
Renzo’s last blog post..Healthy body **p
Hi Renzo, take it a day at a time, keep learning and most importantly, take ACTION!
We can read and read and read about starting a website, but until we start one, it doesn’t become anything other than a thought.
When you’re ready, start trying out things you’ve learned about, and don’t be scared to make mistakes, everyone does. You learn from them.
Good luck!
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William, do you register your business? I am just curious.
Yes I did register my business, check out my old post on ‘How To Register Online with SSM.com.my’, you can find a link on the right sidebar under ‘most viewed’
Since you have registered your business, do you still need to declare your tax? Your helpful reply is very much appreciated.