Federal Budget 2023-24: What it means for small business

The Federal Government has announced some modest energy bill and tax relief for small business in the 2023-24 Federal Budget, delivered on Tuesday.

Key measures to support small business announced in the Budget include:

• A return of the instant asset write-off threshold to $20,000, for 12 months from 1 July 2023
• An estimated one million eligible small businesses to have $325 deducted from their power bills
• Up to $20,000 in bonus tax rebates per asset under the Small Business Energy Incentive scheme, to encourage businesses to install energy efficient appliances.
• $18.1 million for the Department of Finance to improve the ability for SMEs to compete for government procurement, including improving AusTender to increase transparency and establish a supplier portal for panels
• Support for small enterprises to adopt artificial intelligence technologies to improve business processes and increase competitiveness
• $392.4 million over four years to establish the Industry Growth Program to support Australian SMEs and startups to commercialise their ideas and grow their operations with funds redirected from the Entrepreneurs’ Program
• The ACCC establishing a complaints mechanism for small business advocacy groups to raise systemic issues.

The Budget also confirms commitments to make it easier for small businesses to meet their tax obligations including:

• A halving of the increase in quarterly tax instalments for GST and income tax in 2023–24. Instalments will only increase by 6 per cent instead of 12 per cent
• A lodgement penalty amnesty program for small businesses with aggregate turnover of less than $10 million to encourage them to re-engage with the tax system
• Tax agents can file multiple Single Touch Payroll forms on their clients’ behalf from mid-2024
• Small business will have up to 4 years to amend their tax returns, from 1 July 2025
• Measures to assist SMEs with tax compliance, but also additional funding for the Tax Office to crackdown on GST avoidance.

The Budget also will have some industry specific impacts with some changes to payments and user charges including:

• Changes affecting pharmacies including new rules relating to the length of prescriptions and increased support through the Regional Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance.
• Increase in the Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge rate. The rate will increase from 27.2 cents to 32.4 cents over three years (6 per cent a year).

More information at budget.gov.au