Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Ryan, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the member for Warringah's amendment to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives and Integrity) Bill 2024. The Greens support increasing and extending the instant asset write-off, which allows small businesses to claim an immediate deduction for the business portion of the cost of an asset in the year the asset is first used. The Greens understand how important small businesses are to our communities and the broader economy. I very much understand this myself from deep and long-term personal experience. For half a century, I was a director of my own practice and of small and then medium businesses.

Small businesses make a huge contribution to Australian society and the economy. We also know that too many small businesses are struggling right now in the wake of the pandemic and with high inflation and interest rates. These important employers of so many Australians need some extra support. Extending the instant asset write-off will give small businesses the certainty that they need, as the member for Warringah mentioned, to invest in their businesses, which will have flow-on effects for their customers, workers, the communities they're based in and, indeed, the whole Australian community.

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