Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Small Business. Would the minister update the House on how the government is supporting small business with targeted tax cuts and what the consequences would be for small business if these tax cuts were removed?

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moreton for his question and for his advocacy on behalf of the 19,000 small businesses in Moreton. The efforts of Australia's three million small business owners employ around 4.8 million Australians and contribute around 20 per cent of our economy. That is why this government has taken concrete action to support small business.

We have lifted the tax-free threshold, which is a tax cut for every unincorporated business in Australia. Very importantly, the government has also increased the instant asset write-off threshold from $1,000 to $6,500, which will be worth more than $1 billion this year alone. This means increased and improved cash flow and less red tape for small business. We are also providing other tax relief. The government has introduced tax loss carry-back, which encourages innovation and productivity improvements and provides more certainty. The majority of the 110,000 businesses which will benefit from this are small businesses. These are some of the positive things the government has done—concrete action taken by the government on behalf of small business.

The honourable member asked what the consequences of reversing these tax cuts would be. All honourable members would be concerned by the coalition's plan to reverse measures associated with the MRRT and with the carbon price. Reversing these tax cuts would be a blow to small business cash flow. Reversing these cuts would be a blow to steps to reduce the red-tape burden on small business. Any opposition which reverses these cuts is a false friend to small business. They can talk the talk about small business but they cannot walk the walk. This is an opposition in no position to lecture the government about small business.

I am not the only one who thinks this—the Council of Small Business thinks it too. This is what they say about the opposition:

We stated our concern last year that there are still people in the Liberal Party who believe that all small businesses vote for the coalition and therefore there is no need to do anything special for the small business community. We still have that concern and will continue to have dialogue with key coalition shadow ministers as we head towards an election in 2013. It is time that the whole of the coalition came to recognise that small businesses and independent contractors are in fact a mainstay of the economy and need fairness and transparency in policy and process.

That is what COSBOA says about the Liberal Party, the once friend of small business. About the government, COSBOA says the 'level of interest and dialogue is welcomed and is recognition from the government that we count as citizens of Australia.' That is what the government believes. (Time expired)

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.