Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (1) and (3) as circulated in my name together:

(1) Clause 2, page 2 (table item 9), omit "Schedules 6 and 7", substitute "Schedules 6 to 8".

(3) Page 99 (after line 15), at the end of the Bill, add:

Schedule 8

Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997

1 At the end of section 328-180

Add:

Increased access linked to waste reduction or energy efficiency

(7) Despite any other provision of this Act, section 328-180 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 applies in relation to:

(a) an increased access year beginning after 30 June 2025; and

(b) a depreciating asset between $20,000 and $50,000;

only if the depreciating asset would reduce waste or be covered by the energy incentive in section 328-465 if the appropriate change were made to that section.

In relation to the instant asset tax write-off, it's raising the question of how it is used for small businesses. In the past, there has been concern that the instant tax write-off has been used for, essentially, spending by some businesses—for example, the paying of the RAM tradie utes. We've seen them proliferate in some of our areas. So it's looking at the question of how small business can be incentivised to invest into energy efficiency and waste reduction, because these are key elements that the government ends up spending significant amounts of money on in other programs. So these amendments seek to justify the increase to $50,000 for that instant asset tax write-off by linking it to waste reduction and energy efficiency measures for small businesses. These come in so many ways that the write-off would essentially be available to most businesses and industries, but it gives small business that incentive and that encouragement to spend that money in a really purposeful way.

We know from the national climate risk assessment that small businesses across Australia will face notable impacts and increasing risks from climate change. They will potentially face compounding impacts from inundation, flooding and erosion, making them unviable, particularly in high-risk areas across Queensland, WA, the Northern Territory and New South Wales. Often, small businesses also struggle to get insurance because of the amount of risk they carry when it comes to climate impacts. So for small businesses there's a real benefit in being incentivised to act to reduce that risk and invest in those efficiencies for their buildings and in the ability to act now to protect their energy sources and ensure they can build resilience in their business and continue to operate in the face of rising temperatures and increasing risks.

So these amendments would incentivise small businesses and deliver real benefits by allowing small businesses to invest in energy efficiency and decarbonisation options to reduce the costs of doing business. For example, the cost of utilities is a key driver of stress for small to medium enterprises. The amendments would allow for investment in productivity enhancement, and they would simplify tax compliance, removing the confusion of annual threshold changes.

I urge the government to consider: if not through these amendments, how, through other measures, do we incentivise small to medium businesses to innovate and to build resilience within themselves? We need to ensure that they have access to ways to build energy efficiency in their operations but also to build waste management. We know we need to build towards more of a circular economy and ensure that that waste management is there.

I've had the privilege of spending time with small businesses within my electorate. They're ambitious, hardworking and innovative. They deserve tax frameworks that reward innovation and support cleaner, more efficient technologies. Under the current arrangements, it shifts every budget cycle, which risks missing the opportunity to help small businesses be part of the clean energy transition. With better design, the instant asset write-off can be a powerful tool towards our national decarbonisation efforts and lifting productivity through small businesses. So these amendments, like others, support both business growth and Australia's long-term economic resilience. It's about providing certainty and fairness, not shifting goalposts. So I commend these amendments to the government and urge the government to consider much greater support for small to medium enterprises.

Question negatived.

Bill agreed to.

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