By now, we’re all familiar with the political rhetoric around ‘tightening our belts’ to recover the $36.9 billion Federal Budget deficit and survive higher cost of living. The recently announced budget suggests that resource prices, taxes and low-unemployment are crucial to economic recovery. Read on to discovery how those budget themes will impact SME’s.

• Women and primary carers in the workforce – a $4.7 billion investment in childcare should subsidise childcare fees by up to 90% for families earning less than $530,000 a year. This makes is more affordable for women and primary carers to increase their participation in paid employment.  
• Aged and veteran pensioners in the workforce – the income threshold for pensioners who wish to work for additional wages has increased by $4,000. This means that those who work and earn are less likely to lose pension dollars in the process.
• Upskilling the workforce – more university places and free TAFE courses (to the tune of $1.4 billion) will support Australian businesses to source local skills and talent. An additional $10,000 wage subsidy will be available for apprentices in renewable-focused fields.
• Taxing the ‘shadow economy’ – additional resources have been assigned towards recovering at least $5.7 billion of the $44.8 billion tax debt that is currently tied up in businesses operating in Australia that are structured for tax avoidance.
• Expanding enterprise bargaining rules – the Fair Work Commission will receive $7.9 million over four years to support small business to access the system.
• Domestic Family Violence Leave – the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations will receive $3.4 million from 2022-2023 to assist small businesses to access the legislated ten days of paid family domestic violence leave.
• Mental health support for small business owners – $15.1 million is being invested in mental health support and debt counselling services.

A few SME agenda items have been omitted from the Federal Budget, namely self-assessment of intangible assets for depreciation purposes, the cyber safety training program (known as Cyber Wardens) and vouchers to small business owners to access professional advice. The Entrepreneurs Programme will be re-assessed before the next budget, with little hope being held for its survival, at least in its current form.

A Federal Budget can feel far away to a small business owner, but it absolutely and always impacts the bottom line. To discuss opportunities and impacts of the budget to your business, contact our experienced Business Coaches for a complimentary Discovery meeting.