Fears SMEs set to miss out on tax relief

The IPA said the Enterprise Tax Plan Bill is unlikely to pass the Senate unless the granting of tax relief for large entities (turnover in excess of $10 million) is abolished.

IPA CEO Andrew Conway said that by removing the larger entities, the bill could “successfully progress through Parliament and provide much-needed tax relief for SMEs”.

“The bill currently contains company tax relief for large entities over a 10-year period, but these entities may have to wait as there seems little chance these reforms will pass through the Senate, and their inclusion in this bill would therefore be at the detriment of other tax relief measures for smaller entities,” Mr Conway said.

“We don’t oppose tax cuts for the larger entities, but not at the detriment of smaller ones.

“With 61 per cent of actively trading small businesses (turnover of less than $2 million) being non-employing, moving the tax threshold for access to small business concessions to entities up to $10 million can potentially contribute to more employment, as such entities are already employing entities.”

Mr Conway said the revenue foregone would likely be “substantially covered by the economic benefits from increased employment, higher wages and lower compliance costs”.

The recommendation forms part of the IPA’s pre-budget submission.