Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the heart of the growing Jobs and Small Business package are tax cuts for over two million Australian small businesses which will help drive investment and employment across our country, and this is much needed. The budget delivers $3.25 billion in tax cuts for small business and $1.75 billion in accelerated depreciation measures, in addition to the benefits Australian small businesses are gaining from the abolition of the carbon tax.

I want to go through a few key initiatives that will encourage business start-ups and entrepreneurships, which are what our country needs to promote more. We are doing this through a number of initiatives. Start-ups will be able to immediately deduct professional expenses incurred when they begin a business. Streamlined business registration processes will make it quicker and simpler to set up a new business. The government will remove obstacles to crowd-sourced equity funding, and there will be expanded tax concessions for employee share schemes. These are all important and crucial initiatives.

Let us remember that a lot of big businesses commenced their life as start-ups and small businesses. A quick overview of history shows that the Microsofts or Apples of this world often started in a garage somewhere around the world. Obviously these examples were in the United states, and Westfield is a great success story of the Australian business community. It started in the suburbs of Western Sydney as a delicatessen selling specialised food products. I have just returned from a meeting with a number of US senators, and it was interesting to hear them reflect on the successes of some of their American states, whether it be Texas or North Carolina. Lower taxes and better regulation were all key ingredients behind stimulating the economy for more jobs and improving employment for greater prosperity in their regions.

As the member for Petrie mentioned, there are important measures in this bill, such as the unincorporated tax discount for small businesses with a five per cent discount on tax payable on their taxable income. We have had considerable community support on these measures, whether it be from ACCI, or from the Small Business Council. When I have been touring my electorate and talking to numerous small businesses over the many months since the budget, whether it be in hospitality, or retail, or a general service area, they have all been extremely optimistic and positive about the benefits of this budget for them, whether it be the tax cuts or the incentives, and they have been buoyed by the commitment the government has given to support them.

In that respect these are very important initiatives that the federal government has introduced. We know that small businesses are the heart of our economy. In my state they are 98 per cent and across Australia they are 96 per cent. Imagine if every small business expanded and grew. What a difference that could make to our economy. What a difference that could make to our employment prospects. This is why we are focused so strongly on this key element of the economy. These are hard-working mums and dads and hard-working families who work six or seven days a week to continue the small business that their previous generation set up. They need this support, they deserve it and they will benefit from it.

In terms of a couple of other measures that I will specifically address in relation to this bill, there is the cut to the company tax rate for 780,000 incorporated businesses by 1.5 per cent, which is significant in its own right. There is also the immediate deduction for every asset up to $20,000. We had a look at the results of purchases of equipment from JB Hi-Fi recently, whether they be computers or telecommunications equipment. Small businesses have seized on this opportunity, have spent and have helped stimulate our economy. This is part of what this measure was intended to do. One of the major in objectives was to stimulate the economy, to encourage businesses to go out with confidence and spend knowing that they would get returns on their investment.

We are the party of lower taxes and lower regulation. We are working in order to improve that as best we can, and it is delivering results. We have had increased employment numbers and we have increased consumer confidence. Whenever a business indicator comes out there is a bit of optimism knowing that our economy will benefit from these important measures.

I commend this bill to the House. It is a great initiative by the federal government.

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