To help spur on investment in startups, the non-refundable tax offset could be more generous, by pushing the cap beyond $200,000.
We were very encouraged and excited when Malcolm Turnbull announced the National Innovation and Science Agenda at the end of last year. We support all the changes the Government has announced to date, but believe a lot more could be done if it wants to achieve meaningful change.
For example, to help spur on investment in startups, the non-refundable tax offset could be more generous, by pushing the cap beyond $200,000. And in regards to helping start-ups attract and retain good talent, the Government should abolish or at least reduced Payroll Tax, which is a primary reason some Australian businesses choose to outsource roles overseas.
Further, in regards to the new Entrepreneur Visa, the concept of having to have actually obtained capital before being issued a provisional visa is ridiculous. It would be near impossible for someone based outside of Australia to raise capital in Australia for an Australian based business.
There should be an allowance of a reasonable period of time for the individual or company to raise the capital in Australia after they have been issued the provisional visa.
But reform isn’t just needed for startups. We work with thousands of small businesses on a daily basis in the hospitality space. This industry is predominantly made up of small businesses, and is an important part of our economy.
One area that would provide relief to those small hospitality businesses would be to raise the annual turnover threshold at which the Simplified Tax System – STS – applies. At the current threshold of $1 million, the STS only helps a very small section of the industry.
We deal with many of the smaller businesses in the industry, but they average well over $1 million per year. The Government should review the threshold and at minimum bring it into line with the ATO’s own definition of a small business which is less than $2 million in annual turnover.
Sean O’Meara, CEO, Impos
