Only 16 per cent of small-business owners surveyed by MYOB rated the 2017 Federal Budget negatively.
The latest SME Snapshot from the cloud accounting provider reveals 34 per cent of SMEs feel the measures announced were more positive than negative, with 34 per cent also suggesting the measures would have no impact to their business.
Tim Reed, CEO of MYOB, says the positivity from SMEs is most likely due to the extension of the $20,000 instant tax write off, which 60 per cent of SME respondents felt positively about.
“Ahead of the Budget, we knew that 60 per cent of small-business owners considered the instant tax write-off to be the most pressing need. The extension has created a very positive sentiment around the Budget amongst the SME community.
“Considering that ahead of the Budget, 43 per cent of small business owners weren’t confident it would deliver a positive outcome, it appears that policies like the tax write-off extension and company tax cuts have turned this sentiment around,” says Reed.
The company tax rate cuts were the second most popular move by the Government among SMEs, with 49 per cent viewing these positively. Additional funding of training programs to help fill skill shortages was also praised, with 17 per cent believing this would have a positive impact, compared to the two per cent who believed it would impact, negatively.
Big ticket items for SMES in the 2017 Federal Budget
Infrastructure and education spending – the ‘big ticket items’ of the Federal Budget were also given a nod of approval from the SME sector, with 29 per cent and 11 per cent respectively agreeing they were positive moves, and only one per cent and two per cent respectively suggesting they would were negative.
The changes to 457 visas were controversial however, with more small businesses believing they would have a negative rather than positive impact (12 per cent and five per cent, respectively).
“The visa changes may cause issues for some of our small businesses, particularly for those looking for manual workers in more rural areas where potential hires are much smaller,” says Reed.
Inside Small Business
