Constraints on SMEs: The Challenges of Finance, Taxation and Regulation

Small businesses are the engine of the Australian economy – and likewise of most national economies in the world. Whether they are one-person firms, family businesses, small proprietary companies or SMEs (small and medium enterprises), they all face similar challenges in the startup and finance seeking stages. And they all, also, at some point will interact with government entities including taxation bodies and industry and market regulators. But how, exactly, does government regulation (the `supply side’) impact on small business performance? And how is that impact perceived from the perspective of small businesses? This is referred to as the `demand side’ of regulation. Constraints on SMEs: The Challenges of Finance, Taxation and Regulation explores the impact of regulations and regulatory bodies on SMEs. Questions raised include exploring whether large corporates have an unfair advantage over SMEs when engaging with and interacting with governments and regulatory bodies. Ultimately, this book looks at whether there is a relationship between government regulation and the performance of SMEs. If SMEs can better understand the regulatory environment they must operate in,they can then design business strategies to improve their efficiency in regulatory compliance and improve their economic and social performance.

About the Author :
Yongqiang Li is a research fellow in the Governance Research Program at the College of Law and Justice at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. His PhD is also from Victoria University. Li has copublished one book, a number of peer-reviewed journal articles, and many conference papers. He is alsoa frequent contributor to public inquiries into draft legislations relevant to small businesses in Australia.Li’s research has won many awards and he has received numerous research grants. He has been invitedto deliver dozens of guest lectures on public policy and regulation-related issues to visiting seniorgovernment officials from a number of countries in the region. Li also serves as a company director fortwo private companies, and as a member on the Academic Board of the Research and Research TrainingCommittee of Victoria University. Additionally, Li sits on the Expert Committee as a foreign expert in theMongolian Chamber of Commerce in Hainan. Anona Armstrong is Professor of Governance, the Director of Research and Research Training and the Head of the Governance Research Program in the College of Law and Justice at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Graduate Diploma in Public Policy from the University of Melbourne. Anona has published over 20 books and supervised over 60 postgraduate students. Her research interests are governance, evaluation and ethics.