Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I can inform the House that our government backs small business, and I'll make these points: we announced $3½ billion in the budget in new measures that lower taxes for businesses to encourage investment and innovation; we're making the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent for the first time, providing $890 million in cash flow support over five years; we're introducing a permanent loss carry-back to support resilience, investment and risk taking, helping up to 85,000 companies a year; we're introducing loss refundability to help up to 25,000 startups per year grow in their early years; we're expanding tax incentives for venture capital to unlock industry knowledge for young, expanding firms; and we're better targeting the R&D tax incentive.

When it comes to capital gains, there are four different carve-outs and concessions for small businesses, and all four are staying in place. What that means is if you sell your active business to retire, to start a new business or to relocate you can still reduce, or in some cases completely remove, your tax on any capital gains. Ninety per cent of small businesses in Australia are eligible for these concessions, and they'll continue to remain eligible. All budget measures on top of that are entirely prospective. They don't start until 1 July 2027. That means that any business value that's been built up before this date can use the old discount rules, no matter when the business owner decides to sell in the future.

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