Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA
accountants daily logo

Education a missing piece in SME tax discussion

Tax

Educating small businesses around business management and compliance was all but ignored amid the continuation of a range of tax measures in the federal budget, according to an accounting software firm.

By Adrian Flores 9 minute read

One of the major taxation items in the budget was the extension of the $20,000 instant asset write-off for a further 12 months to 30 June 2019.

Commenting on the extension, Reckon managing director of Australia and New Zealand, Sam Allert, cited recent research it undertook that found that 91 per cent wanted the extension, but almost 40 per cent said they didn’t really know what to do with it.

“I'm impressed that they've extended it for one year. It probably would've been devastating if they hadn't have done that, but I would be more interested in extending it longer, and then looking at other ways to support small businesses,” Mr Allert said.

Mr Allert said he’d like to have seen more tax breaks and incentives for small business owners to invest in themselves and their employees in training and education, across areas including business management, accounting, compliance requirements, technology and data security.

He also mentioned education around reducing the black economy, especially given the amount of attention the government put towards the issue in the budget.

“I think that they've done some exciting things around the black economy, in terms of investing in the right area, because I think we all benefit if we reduce the black economy,” Mr Allert said.

“That's the reality. Even people getting educated about that for their business, and then having incentives or tax benefits to do that would be huge.”

Last month, a recent KPMG report measuring sentiment from mid-market firms regarding certain issues before the federal budget found that 69 per cent hadn’t utilised the increased instant asset write-off threshold.

Twenty per cent said they invested their savings into new equipment or technology, while 5 per cent said they invested the savings on improvements to the premises.

Another 5 per cent said they hadn’t invested the savings back into the business.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

You need to be a member to post comments. Become a member for free today!

Adrian Flores

AUTHOR

You are not authorised to post comments.

Comments will undergo moderation before they get published.

accountants daily logo Newsletter

Receive breaking news directly to your inbox each day.

SUBSCRIBE NOW