Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to speak about an issue that is very important to many people in my electorate of Swan and an issue that I have deep empathy for and an understanding of, and that is the increased regulatory burden on small business. I represent an electorate that is home to more than 20,000 businesses which form a key part of the Western Australian economy and provide employment opportunities to many of my constituents. Small business is an integral part of a thriving economy. The dedication of talented men and women risking everything they have to act on their ideas, labour to create a business, and then grow and expand that business is what has generated jobs and wealth for millions of Australians, including Western Australians, since our founding days.

Unfortunately for the thousands of small business owners in my electorate of Swan, this government just does not understand the value small business has to our economy. This government does not understand that you cannot have a strong and prosperous society without first having a successful economy to sustain it. This government has continued to introduce new taxes and regulations since taking office. Despite the government promising a tough one-in, one-out approach to regulation in 2007, a whopping 16,163 regulations have been passed whilst a mere 79 regulations have been repealed. The one-in, one-out policy Labor promised in opposition quickly has become a 204-in, one-out policy in government. The increased red tape is not only stifling business activity for many of these operators in my electorate; it hinders the entrepreneurship, innovation and sacrifice which create successful businesses.

Today we saw the government in question time trying to convince everyone they are a party that looks after small business. I can tell them that I have run a small business for nearly 30 years, and the one thing that all small businesses dread and fear is a Labor government. The government, as part of the mining tax, is increasing taxes for Australia's 400,000 small businesses by removing the entrepreneurs tax offset. The Gillard government is trying to sell the one per cent cut to the company tax rate as a broad cut to small business when in fact less than one-third are actually set up as companies. These same businesses who miss out on the tax cut will not be able to escape dangerous cost increases due to the carbon tax. A one per cent cut in company tax represents one cent in a dollar. The only companies who are going to achieve that benefit are companies that are actually making a profit. So for all the businesses in the current economy who are not making profits that one per cent means nothing to them at all. An early tax write-off of $6,500 does not help cash flow, because the companies still have to pay for the assets they have actually bought. So there is no benefit to cash flow, which is what the Labor government is trying to represent.