BUDGET PROVES LABOR IS NO FRIEND OF SMALL BUSINESS
Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta said the Federal Budget offered little or nothing for small businesses in Bonner about to be whacked by the world’s biggest carbon tax.
“The Gillard Government has shown that its got no feel for small business, offering nothing new in the budget to provide immediate relief to struggling businesses with the sector seeing a 48 per cent increase in insolvencies,” Ross Vasta said.
“First the Gillard Government broke its promise not to introduce a carbon tax, now it’s broken its promise to cut the company tax rate.
“Carbon tax-related ‘sweeteners’ in the form of accelerated depreciation allowances rely on small businesses having the ready cash to spend on new capital items.
“The Gillard Government’s abolition of the Entrepreneurs Tax Offset has increased tax for nearly 370,000 of our smallest businesses, including micro, home-based, independent contractor and start-up businesses, with incomes of less than $75,000.
Ross Vasta said the Institute of Chartered Accountants rightly identifies that 80 per cent of all small businesses have no prospect of gaining any benefit from ‘loss carry back’ as they are not structured as corporations and fewer still could satisfy the complicated eligibility criteria under current trading conditions.
“The local corner shop in Bonner is not only going to have to deal with an increase in costs for supplies and electricity, it’s also going to have pressure from consumers looking for a bargain as cost of living pressures increase and unemployment rises as forecasted in the Budget,” Ross Vasta said.
“The greatest insult from the Gillard Government is the toxic carbon tax. Small business will be hit the hardest because their costs will go up and up and up as the carbon price goes up and up and up, and they won’t receive a single cent in compensation.”
Ross Vasta said the Coalition had a clear road map to restore hope, reward and opportunity for small business by scrapping the carbon tax and getting out of the way of business by slashing $1 billion worth of red tape.