Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's my great pleasure to rise today to speak in support of this Treasury Laws Amendment (Support for Small Business and Charities and Other Measures) Bill 2023. It's an important bill that shows Labor does care about small business and the not-for-profit sector.

In my time as the mayor of Ryde, while I worked for my family's small business and grew it, and now as the member for Bennelong, I've spent a lot of time talking with small-business owners. The important role they play in Bennelong and across Australia is clearer than ever. The small-business sector is vital to our economy and our wellbeing; it's a sector that remains very close to my heart.

Small businesses play a crucial role in local job creation. In Macquarie Park I've seen agile small businesses and start-ups develop innovative products and solutions. In West Ryde I've seen new family businesses open up, serving the tastiest of foods for our local community, and in Eastwood I have worked with small businesses over the years to shield them from the worst impacts of the pandemic. A strong, resilient and diverse small-businesses sector means a strong, resilient and diverse Australian economy.

In talking to small-business owners like Grace, who runs a small newsagency in Ryde, it has been abundantly clear that the last few years have been very tough. The impact of the pandemic and economic uncertainty have left small businesses struggling. We had supply chain disruptions and we had closed borders and labour shortages. It is, therefore, critical that the House acts to further support what the minister rightly calls the 'engine room of the Australian economy'. Thankfully, the last budget has funded these two important mechanisms to provide support—those mechanisms in this bill.

This bill delivers significant, new and practical measures to support resilience in both the small business and the not-for-profit sectors, helping them both prosper and deliver through challenging conditions. The first mechanism—as we have heard through other speakers—is the implementation of the $20,000 instant asset write-off, which will help improve cash flow and reduce compliance costs for small businesses. This instant asset write-off will apply on a per-asset basis so small businesses can instantly write-off multiple assets. It could be new point-of-sale software, kitchen equipment, machinery, manufacturing equipment or new telecommunication systems—whatever that needed asset may be. For growing small businesses or those who need to digitise, this bill should make it easier to access them.

Small businesses with an aggregate annual turnover of less than $10 million will be able to immediately deduct eligible assets costing less than $20,000 from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. It will help restaurants, cafes, grocers, hairdressers, tradies, accountants and small retailers. The mechanism outlined in Schedule 1 also addresses investments greater than $20,000. If an asset is over that amount, it can continue to be placed into the small-business simplified depreciation pool and depreciated at 15 per cent in the first income year and 30 per cent each year thereafter. This will help small businesses with their cash flow and simplify compliance for up to 3.8 million small businesses across Australia. If this bill doesn't go through, that $20,000 will fall to its default level of $1,000.

The second important mechanism in this bill is the mechanism which incentivises small businesses to electrify and invest in renewable energy technology. Given the inflationary pressure on electricity prices, this line of support will provide much-needed assistance to the ongoing operation—particularly high-energy-use small businesses. Businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $50 million will have access to a bonus 20 per cent tax deduction, supporting electrification and more efficient use of energy in this financial year. That will include solar panels, batteries and heat pumps. If you run a restaurant, you can electrify your cooktops and ovens. It will help businesses drive down their electricity costs. It'll also help to get a reduction emissions, which is really important to this government. Up to $100,000 of total expenditure will be eligible for the incentive, with a maximum bonus tax deduction of $20,000. It will encourage and support investments to drive down everyday business costs. Up to four million small and medium businesses will be eligible to access this scheme.

These mechanisms that support the resilience of small businesses complement the extra $1.5 billion in new tax incentives that the Albanese government introduced earlier this year. There is the technology investment boost, the skills and training boost, this renewable energy incentive and the instant asset write-off; these are all measures which we put into place, under the Albanese government, to help small businesses get through a really tough time. There's quite a bit there on simplifying compliance for not-for-profits, and I commend the relevant ministers for their really hard work. This is a comprehensive bill, one that will help small business across Bennelong and across Australia.

See this speech in context