Federal Budget 2019-20 – Snapshot for Small Business
We’re backing the Sunshine Coast’s 40,000 small and medium businesses:
- We are lowering taxes
The company tax rate for companies with an annual turnover of less than $50 million has been lowered to 27.5 per cent and we’re lowering it further to 25 per cent by 2021-2 while also increasing the unincorporated small business tax discount rate to 16 per cent, up to $1,000.
- We are increasing the instant asset write off
Our instant asset write-off scheme has proven extremely popular and so we’re increasing the threshold that applies to each asset a business can instantly write-off from $25,000 to $30,000 and we’re also extending this benefit to all businesses with a turnover less than $50 million.
- We are investing in skills
We need to ensure people are equipped for the jobs of the future and so we’re investing $525 million to upgrade our vocational, education and training (VET) sector including providing up to 80,000 new apprentices in occupations experiencing shortages.
- We are making it easier to export
To help small and medium businesses take advantage of our Free Trade Agreements, we’re delivering an additional $60 million to the Export Market Development Grant scheme to reimburse the costs of marketing products overseas.
- We are improving access to finance
Many small businesses find it difficult to access finance to invest in their business and so we’re establishing a $2 billion Australian Business securitisation Fund to allow easier access.
- We are cutting red tape
To cut red tape for small businesses, we are streamlining GST reporting by reducing the number of BAS GST questions, reducing financial reporting and audit costs and simplifying the regulatory regime for employee share schemes.
- We are making it easier to resolve disputes
To help small businesses resolve tax disputes, we’re creating a dedicated Small Business Tax Division within the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, we’re requiring the ATO pay reasonable legal costs when their decisions are challenged and we’re improving Ombudsman support.
- We are improving digital capability
As technology becomes ever more important, we’re creating a non-government organisation dedicated to improving the digital capability of small businesses.
- We are helping reduce the cost of energy
To help small businesses make real energy efficient equipment changes to save money, we’re investing in a $50 million in the Energy Efficient Communities grants program.
- We are making sure multinationals pay their fair share
While we’re already global leaders in efforts to prevent multinational tax avoidance, we’re doing more by providing $1 billion to extend the ATO’s Tax Avoidance Taskforce operations
For more information, please visit www.budget.gov.au