Change in government and tax policy changes affecting small businesses.

With a change in government comes change in policies that affects each one of us directly or indirectly. 

 

Below are some of the Coalition's potential tax policy changes that would affect small businesses:

• Removal of the carbon tax. This is likely to ease the pressure of rising costs of businesses
• Cut of 1.5% in the company tax rate to 28.5% from 1 July 2015 - as any tax paid by a company is eventually claimed back as franking credits when the profit is distributed to shareholders as dividends this would just be a timing difference and not affect small businesses in the long run.
• 1.5% levy  on companies with taxable income above $5 Million to fund to its Paid Parental Leave Scheme.
• No increase in GST.
• Removal of Labor’s policy to abolish the statutory formula for calculation of Fringe Benefits Tax  on motor vehicles. This would take things back to way they were and help businesses keep the paperwork down.
• Changes to the $6,500 instant asset write-off  and the accelerated depreciation for motor vehicles. Over the long term it does not affect small businesses as this just slows down the depreciation/write off, the claim would still be the same over the life of the asset.
• Discontinuing the tax-loss carry-back measure.
• Keeping the current 9.25% rate for Superannuation Guarantee until 1 July 2016 when it will increase to 9.5%
• The paymaster requirement for parental leave is due to be removed

By SURESH RAJANI

Suresh Rajani is the Business Leader at TAX FIRST (NSW) & TAX FIRST (SA) - accounting and business advisory firms located in Sydney and Adelaide.

 

 

 

www.taxfirst.com.au

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 things businesses can learn from Labor's election defeat

Wise are those who learn from their mistakes but wiser are those who learn from other people's mistakes so they don't have to pay the price for making those mistakes.

 

Here are four things that businesses should learn from Australian Labor Party's defeat in Australian Federal Election yesterday:

1. If you want to succeed; you need to keep your promises. Whether the promises are about quality of product, timeliness of service or anything else, you just can't not deliver and get away with it. The clients/customers would leave you for others who would keep their promises.
2. When you are trying to sell; focus on why people should buy from you and not why they shouldn't buy from someone else. There is no point in trying to shift the focus from your positives to someone else's negatives.
3. The leadership should have one clear direction and you cant keep changing the leadership or the direction of the business every few months. Leadership and direction are about the long term not the short term.
4. The team needs to have the same view as the leader. If the owner wants to take the business in one direction but has people in the staff that don't share the same view then the business is doomed to fail in the long run or have a team that is just not happy.

BY SURESH RAJANI

Suresh Rajani is the Business Leader at TAX FIRST - an accounting and business advisory firm.

 

www.taxfirst.com.au