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Treasurer Wayne Swan announced in his Budget speech last night that small businesses are the “backbone of the Australian economy” and as such has implemented a number of measures in the Budget designed to support small business.
Small business have received some tax relief in the Budget, with the Government increasing the Small Business and General Business Tax Break (Investment Allowance) from 30 percent to 50 percent. The 50 per cent deduction will be available on new capital worth $1,000 or more, such as vehicles, purchased between December 13, 2008, and December […]
‘Nation building’ was the theme of Federal Budget night, with Treasurer Wayne Swan allocating $22 billion to transport and broadband infrastructure in his second Budget. “The centrepiece of this Budget is the $22 billion we are investing in the infrastructure our nation needs to grow and to prosper in the years ahead,” said Swan in […]
The education sector will receive $5.6 billion in funding over six years, according to the Federal Budget delivered by Treasurer Wayne Swan last night. Swan noted the role of education in Australia’s recovery from recession: “Australia’s recovery depends heavily on our human capital, on our ability to educate our people, and innovation in business.” With […]
Treasurer Wayne Swan has flagged a record deficit of $57.6 billion this year in his second Federal Budget, with no sign of surplus for government coffers until the 2015-16 financial year. The deficit comes amid a spending spree that includes an increase in the aged pension, up $32.49 per week, a paid parental leave scheme […]
As expected, the Federal Budget has included an 18 week paid parental leave at the minimum wage, amounting to roughly $540 a week and will be available for women earning less that $150,000 a year. The scheme is expected to be implemented in 2011 and has been welcomed by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick who […]
In a blow to small business, the Government have delivered cuts to superannuation tax concessions in the Federal Budget, expecting to save more than $1 billion next year by halving limits on tax-deductible contributions, and reining back on its co-contribution scheme. The Government will halve the maximum limit on concessional contributions from $100,000 to $50,000 […]
The latest private health insurance rebate scheme delivered in the Federal Budget has been a blow for high income earners, as they face $1000 a year increase in health insurance payments, with the government tapering the 30 percent rebate for the wealthy. The rebate will start to reduce for couples with incomes of $150,000 (singles […]
After months of speculation that the boost to the first home owners grant was due to expire on June 30, the government has delivered a welcome surprise for first home owners, extending the grant until December 31. The first home owners grant was lifted from $7,000 to $14,000 for existing dwellings and from $14,000 to […]
Pensioners have been given a boost in the Federal Budget with the pension for single people raised to $32.49 a week, while couples will have their pensions increased by $10.14 a week. However, they will have to work an extra two years in order to be eligible, with the pension age increased from 65 to […]
I was watching “Talking about your Generation” last week and it got me thinking about the constant generational battle that seems to play itself out in the media and in the workplace. It was quite a funny show, with a few Gen Y insults thrown in for good measure. Normally I don’t mind a bit […]
Last week we saw the announcement of winner of “the best job in the world” up in Queensland. What a great job. $150,000 for six months “work” telling the world how beautiful it is staying on those beautiful tropical islands. What a lucky “you-know-what.” That was one of the great marketing campaigns. The whole world […]
Australian and New Zealand cities rank among the best in the world for quality of life, according to the latest results from the 2009 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, conducted by a global HR company Mercer. Robert Knox, Head of Mercer’s information product solutions business, said that economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region outstrips most […]
The predicted unemployment rate could have been up to 10 percent without the Federal Government’s two stimulus measures announced Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, after receiving advice from Treasury figures. “This Treasury advice finds that if the Government had done nothing, national unemployment in Australia would have been forecast to reach 10 percent,” said Rudd. “This […]
A survey conducted by credit reporting firm Dun and Bradstreet reveals that 28 percent of businesses expect to cut staff by the end of the September quarter, despite a rise in sales and profit expectations since the last survey. More than half of the businesses surveyed indicated that movements in the Australian dollar in foreign […]
Treasurer Wayne Swan will tonight announce the highly anticipated and talked about May 2009 budget. High on the agenda: a paid maternity leave scheme, pension increase, means testing for private health insurance rebates, and the removal of the boost to the first home owners grant. In his pre-budget doorstop meeting in Canberra this morning, Treasurer […]
Today is the official launch day for the Australian-developed polling site, The Global Poll, with the stimulus package and swine flu hot topics. The Global Poll website has been designed to allow any person or business to reach a global group of opinion leaders and gain valuable market research, by conducting free online polls. The […]
The latest findings from Symantec’s 2009 Global Small and Mid-sized Business (SMB) Security and Storage survey for Australia and New Zealand has revealed that more than half (58 percent) of small and medium sized businesses have experienced security breaches where personal information is lost, stolen or hacked. The results highlight the problems small businesses are […]
The NSW Government is currently in the process of considering extending its $3,000 first-home owners grant, after it was reported they were planning to scrap it. The Government announced the scheme in November last year for first-home buyers who purchase a new or newly construction home within a year, with the scheme expected to expire […]
International trade is part of the solution to the global food crisis, not one of its causes, said World Trade Organisation director-general Pascal Lamy. Lamy said trade enabled food to be transported from areas where it could be produced efficiently to areas of demand. “International trade was not the source of last year’s food crisis. […]
