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Independent member for Wentworth Allegra Spender has criticised the government over its failure to deliver the promised instant asset write-off and small-business energy incentives in a timely manner.
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Miranda Brownlee
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Small businesses have lost trust in the government’s ability to deliver on promised incentives, with the government still yet to pass tax incentives first announced over a year ago, Allegra Spender has said in a speech yesterday (28 May) before Parliament.
The Support for Small Business Charities and Other Measures Bill remains stalled in Parliament after the Assistant Treasurer moved that the house insist on disagreeing to amendments insisted on by the Senate. The House of Representatives voted in favour of the motion.
The amendments made by the Senate include increasing the instant asset write-off threshold increased to $30,000 instead. The amendments also expanded the range of businesses able to access the measure to businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $50 million.
The member for Wentworth said these measures had been tied up across both houses of Parliament over the past year and continued to cause uncertainty for small businesses.
“I’ve been a small to medium business owner for a number of years, and when I talk to other small-business owners in the electorate, they say they don’t listen to what goes on in this house because they do not believe this house operates with their interests at heart,” Allegra said.
“They believe this house is more interested in politics and playing games than they are in making a difference to small business.
“To have been promised something in May and then by the following May still not be sure if it’s going to come to fruition, it just makes the word of government seem absolutely pointless.”
Allegra said businesses need to be able to rely on what the government promises and it is up to the government to ensure they pass the laws that they “have promised with much fanfare”.
“[Labor] need to ensure they can pass these laws in whatever way they can to get them through the House of Representatives and the Senate,” she said.
“It’s about time that we made sure that this house lived up to the budget and made sure that it delivers on those incentives. If the threshold needs to increase, then I support that increase. That’s what the government needs to accept because they can’t control the Senate.”
Allegra said it was time for government to “do the right thing by small business” and give them the opportunity to make the investments that they need to make with many businesses hurting and needing support.
The National Tax & Accountants’ Association (NTAA) previously raised concerns that the small-business owners are fast becoming an unwanted “political football” due to government delays in passing key tax changes designed to assist small businesses.
The NTAA said its membership is deeply frustrated with Parliament’s inability to pass pending legislation relating to these key depreciation concessions for small businesses, a measure first announced in May last year.
Other tax professionals have similarly labelled the situation “absurd” and are concerned the latest instant asset write-off measure announced in this year’s budget will follow a similar fate.
Intuit QuickBooks Australia country manager Lars Leber said the uncertainty surrounding the passage of the instant asset write-off measure from last year’s budget, with just weeks left in the financial year, highlights the need for greater predictability to support business planning and investment.
“Making the instant asset write-off permanent would provide much-needed stability for SMEs,” Leber said.
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