Given the sheer number of people who use social media on a daily basis, it makes perfect sense that some eager entrepreneurs use its platforms to sell their wares. Around the world, individuals and businesses advertise everything from home accessories to fresh food on Facebook and Instagram. The recent spike in this online trading has raised a set of challenges for UAE regulators.
The crux is how to strike a balance between encouraging small businesses, the bedrock of every successful economy, and protecting consumers with regulations to ensure that the products they buy online are safe and delivered from reputable sources. While regulators must ensure they are aware of every company and individual doing business, selling goods online – whether they be coffee or smartphones – is an undeniably fertile area for entrepreneurs. Social media platforms have shrunk the world and made transactions across the planet as easy as one click of a mouse.
One way of solving the regulation problem is to revisit the business licensing process. Currently, licences are prohibitively priced for some individuals and small businesses. The start-up cost for a new company can outweigh any prospective revenue in the first few years of operation. The solution is to lower licensing fees for small companies that are ready to provide clear and detailed reporting on the nature of their businesses.
Not only would this ensure that entrepreneurs could test their skills with new business ideas in an environment that is regulated and secure, but it would lay the groundwork for reporting when value-added tax takes effect in 2018.
We have argued before that the growth of online shopping and cashless transactions will ease the transition to VAT reporting for businesses that have traditionally relied on cash payments. The same principle is at work with the creation of cheaper business licences for online traders.
As we embrace new models of trade, updated regulatory frameworks will have positive effects across all sectors of society.
Leaderboard
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Rankings
ATP: 1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 10,955 pts; 2. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 8,320; 3. Alexander Zverev (GER) 6,475 ( 1); 5. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 5,060 ( 1); 6. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4,845 ( 1); 6. Roger Federer (SUI) 4,600 (-3); 7. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 4,110 ( 2); 8. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 3,960; 9. John Isner (USA) 3,155 ( 1); 10. Marin Cilic (CRO) 3,140 (-3)
WTA: 1. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 7,030 pts ( 3); 2. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 6,290 ( 4); 3. Simona Halep (ROM) 5,582 (-2); 4. Sloane Stephens (USA) 5,307 ( 1); 5. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 5,100 ( 3); 6. Angelique Kerber (GER) 4,965 (-4); 7. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 4,940; 8. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4,430 ( 1); 9. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 3,566 (-6); 10. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 3,485 ( 1)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Leading all-time NBA scorers
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
Karl Malone 36,928
Kobe Bryant 33,643
Michael Jordan 32,292
LeBron James 31,425
Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
Scoreline
Swansea 2
Grimes 20' (pen), Celina, 29'
Man City 3
Silva 69', Nordfeldt 78' (og), Aguero 88'