Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Pratt for the supplementary question. The minerals resource rent tax, which will help spread the benefits of the mining boom to all Australians and strengthen our whole economy, includes the announcement that the write-off threshold for assets will increase to $6,500 from 1 July this year. That is, if a small business buys an asset for $6,500, it means a $6,500 tax deduction, and this instant 100 per cent depreciation will be a boon for so many small businesses. In fact, in New South Wales there are 889,000 small businesses. In Victoria there are 712,000 small businesses. In Queensland there are 562,000 small businesses. In South Australia there are 200,000 small businesses. In WA there are 274,000 small businesses that will benefit from this. Tasmania has 52,000. The Northern Territory has 16,000. In my own territory, the ACT, there are 34,000. (Time expired)