The Federal Budget was focused on measures to ease the cost of living for Australians, but there were also some key business announcements that didn’t receive as much media attention. Read on to find out all about them.
Excise on fuel halved
The fuel excise tax will be temporarily halved for the next six months, reducing the cost of both petrol and diesel fuel by about 22 cents per litre. This will not only help individual motorists, but also those businesses who use fuel in their operations or who rely on suppliers to deliver goods and services to them.
High fuel costs have been a major problem for both business and consumers to deal with since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Increased tax deductions for technology and training
Businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50 million will be able to claim a bonus tax deduction of 20% more than their actual expenses on new technology or external training courses up until 30 June 2023.
For example, if a business spends $1,000 on a new computer or on external staff training, then they will be able to claim $1,200 (i.e. an extra 20%) as a tax deduction, up to a maximum of $100,000 per year.
This means it could be a great time to boost the technological capacity of your business — asset and equipment finance may be able to help you do it.
The Apprenticeships Incentive System
This initiative provides wage subsidies to businesses who employ apprentices in priority areas. It replaces the Boosting Apprenticeships Commencements Scheme, which ended on 31 March.
Up to $15,000 per employer per apprentice is available in wage subsidies under the Apprenticeships Incentive System, depending on the sector.
An enhancement of the patent box scheme
The patent box scheme was announced in last year’s Budget, but it has now been enhanced to include a 17% concessional tax rate for income derived from patented technology in the agricultural and low emissions technology sectors.
Previously, this concessional tax rate only applied to income derived from patented technology in the medical and biotechnology sectors.
A temporary overhaul to GST and pay as you go (PAYG) tax payments
For the 2022/2023 financial year, businesses will only have to pay 2% GST via their monthly or quarterly BAS statements to help boost their cash flow. Any shortfall can be made up at the end of the financial year.
Boost to the Export Market Development Grants program
The 2022 Budget has provisions for an extra $80 million to be provided over the next four years for the Export Market Development Grants program. This program provides support for eligible small and medium-sized Australian businesses to export goods and services to international markets.
The Bottomline
With the federal election looming, there is no guarantee that all of the business measures announced in the 2022 Budget will come to fruition if Labor wins the election. However, it’s unlikely that Labor would wind back many (or any) of these business initiatives that are designed to stimulate the economy.
Earlypay has supported Australian SMEs with fast and flexible alternative funding solutions for more than 20 years. Our invoice finance, business line of credit, and asset finance products allow business owners to proactively manage their cash flow, freeing up your working capital for investing in growth. To chat about whether our solutions could be right for your business, call us on 1300 760 205. If your business has been impacted by COVID-19, our participation in the SME Recovery Loan Scheme could be of interest.
If you'd like to learn how Earlypay's Invoice Finance & Equipment Finance can help you boost your working capital to fund growth or keep on top of day-to-day operations of your business, contact Earlypay's helpful team today on 1300 760 205, visit our sign-up form or contact [email protected].