Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week I announced my new company tax policy to provide relief for our small business community—a company tax cut for small business in the form of a tax-free threshold of $20,000. Personal income tax reforms were completed last year. I voted to make those cuts fairer so that, in the cost-of-living crisis, all income earners received the much-needed benefit of more dollars in their pocket. This is the next critical step in the tax reform process.

On the Northern Beaches of Sydney, as in regions across Australia, small businesses are not only the backbone of the local economy; they are central to our community. Small-business owners are our friends and our neighbours. Sometimes they are the people we see every week or even every day: our tradies, florists, cafe owners, audiologists and butchers. But, last year, 49 per cent of small businesses did not break even. The cost of doing business has hit them hard, with the rise in rents, interest rates, insurance, wages and energy costs. Combine that with the downturn in consumer spending, and many businesses are doing it tough. Sadly, a recent CommBank study reported that 52 per cent of business owners have experienced negative impacts on their mental health due to these economic pressures.

COSBOA, the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, has for many years strongly called for the tax burden on small business to be eased. The coalition's recently announced policy which incentivises some bosses to take long lunches is simply not going to cut it. I want to make it easier for small businesses to grow, to innovate, to invest in efficiencies and to thrive. Innovative businesses enhance productivity. Thriving businesses grow jobs and our standard of living. COSBOA found that the major barrier to innovation for small business is access to finance. This is the core issue that my small-business company tax cut seeks to address.

As I mentioned earlier, my plan revolves around the introduction of a tax-free threshold of $20,000. Below the threshold, no tax is paid. This could equate to a tax saving of up to $5,000 for a small business. And I strongly believe that it is the small-business owners themselves that are best placed to decide how to reinvest the savings into their businesses. Whether it be energy efficiencies, job creation, innovation, renovations or new equipment, they know best.

So why develop a tax policy for small business? Firstly, there's a serious policy void in this space. The coalition's long-lunch incentives are not serious reform; they are merely a temporary pre-election sugar hit. My team and I have been out doorknocking local small businesses for many, many months, because I know it has been an incredibly hard few years for business. We have many empty shopfronts in our shopping strips. We've dedicated a lot of time to this because, firstly, I wanted to ensure that the businesses were aware of all the supports available to them from all the different levels of government and, secondly, I wanted to hear from them—and I have heard firsthand, over and over, and business owners are telling me it has been tough.

I also conducted a local business survey in which an overwhelming 86 per cent of local businesses identified the escalating costs of doing business as their primary concern. This finding was a resounding call to action and is the critical aspect that I seek to address with the policy that I announced earlier this week. I propose that from July 2025 small businesses with an annual turnover of under $10 million benefit from a tax-free threshold of $20,000. Not only will this plan support the nearly 33,000 small businesses on the Northern Beaches which generate over 116,000 jobs, but nationwide it stands to benefit 2.58 million businesses.

This measure for the Northern Beaches arrives at a critical juncture. Our local businesses in Mackellar are currently bracing for a nearly 40 per cent rate hike by the Northern Beaches Council. Such a move would exert undue pressure on households and local enterprises across the region. (Time expired)