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The sector deserves star billing as it faces a fresh set of challenges, says Gavan Ord of CPA Australia.
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May budget ‘must deliver for imperilled small business’
11 April 2023
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10 minute read
The upcoming budget needs to deliver for small businesses because their resilience is being tested to the maximum by rising interest rates and inflation, said the senior manager of business and investment at CPA Australia, Gavan Ord.
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Speaking on the latest Accountants Daily podcast, Mr Ord said the sector barely got a mention in Labor’s first budget, but, this time, it deserves star billing.
“Last year before their October budget, the Treasurer spoke about this being a two-part budget,” Mr Ord said.
“If you’re thinking about a mini-series, in budget number one there was no mention of small business in that particular show, it was basically not to be heard of.
“In this budget we hope that small business becomes one of the main attractions, one of the main stars.
“We wouldn’t want a situation where in this two-part budget the government says actually, we’re doing a third season. As you know watching TV series, the third seasons are often the worst.
“We’d like to keep the government to account. This needs to be a budget that has a focus on small business. We can’t have another budget where small business gets left off the agenda.”
Mr Ord said small businesses were still recovering from three years of the pandemic and natural disasters going back to the 2019–20 bushfire season.
“Businesses have been actually quite resilient. They’ve gotten through some very difficult times, with a lot of government help at the start,” Mr Ord said.
“Now they’re facing new challenges, but without that huge amount of government support.
“So yes, businesses are more resilient but we can’t just assume businesses will get through this period without any assistance.
“Businesses need help accessing advice so they can get through this period.”
He said ideal government support would involve incentives for businesses to seek out specialist help from their accountant, bookkeeper, or lawyer.
“Many business owners would never have worked through a high inflation environment, many of them haven’t seen high interest rates for a long period of time,” Mr Ord said.
“So to speak to that professional who knows how to help them out, that’s the best form of assistance that government can provide in this budget.”
He said other support could come from extending the timelines for the twin 120 per cent small-business tax deduction schemes for digital take-up and training. Introduced by the previous government a year ago, they have yet to be made law.
There was also potential for schemes that focused on particular technologies.
“I think there’s scope for smaller programs or more targeted programs aimed at technologies that really do provide a boost to small business and obviously programs which help business build management skills,” Mr Ord said.
On the talent shortage, he said businesses wanted a further increase in the skilled migration scheme.
“Our members keep telling us they can’t find staff, their clients can’t find staff, so it remains a real issue and needs to be addressed,” Mr Ord said.
“The quickest way to do it is through increasing skilled migration. Longer term, it’s through education but there’s an immediate problem that needs to be addressed through skilled migration.”
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