Treasurer Scott Morrison delivered some good news for small businesses and regulators, but said nothing about housing or FHBs
Treasurer Scott Morrison delivered his last federal budget before the next election on Tuesday night, delivering some good news for small businesses and regulators, but saying nothing about housing affordability or first homebuyers.
Compared to last year’s budget when he introduced the Bank Levy, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, the new Banking Executive Accountability Regime, and the First Home Super Savers Scheme, this budget held back from controversy.
As Deloitte’s panel of experts called it, the budget was “more Santa than Grinch, and definitely more politics than prudence”.
Greg Charlwood, managing director of Australian Invoice Finance, said reduced taxes should boost sales levels.
“As we have seen in the past, tax handouts are spent rather than saved. The infrastructure fund will also be a boost as SMEs can be expected to be awarded a large slice of the subcontracting. Lastly, the urban congestion initiative should help increase business productivity across the board,” he said.
While Charlwood told MPA he considered the budget a win for small businesses, another executive said it wouldn’t have a significant impact given the limited changes it proposed in this area.
“This budget has been focused largely on households, with personal tax cuts and aged care investment, but we would have liked to have seen more to help drive the SME industry and grow the economy,” said Angus Sedgwick, managing director and CEO of The Invoice Market.
The government also announced a research and development tax incentive program and regional business support for farmers and regional innovation projects.
“Some may feel what is in the budget for small business is a continuation of positions taken in previous years or that the government isn't doing enough to control things such as interest rate increases on small business loans from traditional lenders,” said Finder.com.au Money Expert Bessie Hassan.
“The consumer data right is the first step towards increasing innovation and competition in Australia’s finance industry at a time where disruption is badly needed,” said Beau Bertoli, joint CEO of small business lender Prospa.
“As such, we hope the timeline for implementing an open banking system remains ambitious. Giving Australians control over their personal data will ultimately make it easier for people, including small business owners, to access new products and services.”
“The deliberate liquidation of a company to avoid paying its creditors and employees has a devastating effect on the SME sector,” Sedgwick said. “We welcome legislation and a dedicated task force to protect and enforce against this behaviour.”
“Infrastructure projects can boost local property values and they can also foster community development and expenditure — all of which fuel housing demand.”
Martin North, principal of Digital Finance Analytics, said the move to give seniors better access to their equity on a rolling basis may allow some to stay in their homes for longer.
“Perhaps there will be a small reduction in the number of older people forced to sell their property and move into a retirement setting. We certainly see a large number of people who were considering trading down. They may delay,” he said.
“Possibly the best conversation is to assist [them] to refinance to a cheaper loan, given the deals out there, especially for lower LVR owner-occupier borrowers,” he said.
“We are seeing many asking, ‘Should I sell now (before property prices fall further)?’ So possibly we will see more (property investors) seeking to cut their losses before capital values fall further, especially in Sydney. The budget does not change this in my view.”
If you have questions about the budget and how it might affect your business, please submit them to MPA editor, [email protected]
