With the Federal Government’s October Tax Forum due to kick off soon, a new study by MYOB revealed 71 percent of local business owners want the Business Activity Statement (BAS) simplified ,76 percent want GST rules reviewed and over 33 percent claimed this would affect their voting decisions. In light of this, MYOB has released an online petition for business owners to send a clear message to government to introduce legislation that makes SME’s lives easier.
The MYOB Business Monitor – GST and BAS Special Report surveyed over 3,900 Australian business owners on a range of economic and tax reform issues.
CEO of MYOB Tim Reed said there was a growing frustration among Australian business owners that their concerns are not being addressed the Federal government.
“Nowhere is this clearer than the fact that despite the SME sector making up more than 96 percent of Australian businesses, the Treasurer has only invited one small business representative to the Tax Forum in October.”
MYOB research also found 59 percent of Australian businesses feel they are treated like an extended administrative arm of the government and resent spending more time on compliance reporting now than five years ago. On average business owners spend 10 hours a month on a single BAS submission.
“Based on these findings, we call on the Federal Government to use the Tax Forum to deliver on the vision of the Henry Tax Review, address the proliferation of red tape and make a firm commitment to actively engage with Aussie SMEs moving forward.”
According to the report, only 36 percent of businesses put aside the GST they owe ahead of time, and 31 percent do not plan their cash flow to meet tax obligations at all.
Cash flow management being critical for an SME’s survival, Reed has voiced his concern over this finding:
“They risk ATO fines or worse if they suffer an unforeseen downturn in revenue – which is far too common in the current economic climate.”
MYOB encourages business owners to sign the petition at www.myob.com.au/petition.
