Federal Budget Pic: Lawyers Weekly
Wayne Swan's 2011 Federal Budget has made little headway when it comes to helping the small business owner or the franchise sector.
With a focus on getting the budget back to surplus by 2013 and helping manufacturers make the most of the mining boom, the Budget lacks incentives for small business funding and start-ups.
Benefits for small businesses will come from a $5,000 tax relief on a vehicle purchase, and the extra investment in apprentices and skills training.
However, Steve Wright, executive director of the Franchise Council of Australia, believes there is not much for small business to hang a hat on, and nothing specific to franchising.
"The initiative with car purchase deductibility is a net benefit to the Commonwealth coffers, so it is hard to see how this could be regarded as a genuine benefit for more than a select group," he told Franchising.
"In my view, the recent Commonwealth initiative which has probably had the most positive response from the small business community, including the franchising community, is the Tax Office leniency for businesses affected by the awful flood crisis in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and parts of northern WA. The leniency and the support offered by the ATO in this instance has been commendable.
"If the Commonwealth wants to spur small business, it needs to look at the tax structure and reduce some of the direct and indirect imposts; a good starting point would be harmonization of payroll tax, to eliminate the anomalies in the current state-by-state patchwork which favour businesses in some states over others," Wright said.
