If re-elected, the Liberal and Nationals Government plans to support the creation of 400,000 new small and family businesses over the next five years.
“Our plan for a strong economy and a stronger future for all Australians relies on strong small businesses,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison on today’s announcement.
“That means keeping taxes at record lows, slashing red tape, backing trades training and apprentices, signing new trade deals to create new export markets, and ensuring businesses can tackle the overhead costs of electricity prices.”
As part of this pledge, the re-elected government will also back programs to help businesses cut overhead costs. It previously announced plans to offer grants to help SMEs save money on their energy bills through a $60 million Powering Business program. Up to $25,000 for small businesses and $50,000 for medium businesses would be made available to support energy-efficient equipment upgrades.
“Overall our incentive programs are expected to support $320 billion of business investment and create an additional 60,000 jobs by the end of June 2023,” the Prime Minister stated.
According to Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business Stuart Robert, over 100,000 SMEs have started up in the past year in Australia, with various schemes announced in the recent Budget intended to support them.
“It builds on our small business investment incentives, including a 20 per cent bonus tax deduction on the costs of external training for employees and a 20 per cent bonus tax deduction on investing in new technology, up to $100,000 per year,” Minister Robert said.
These initiatives were also highlighted in the first leader’s debate last month when Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese were questioned on their plans to support Australian SMEs.
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