Brimbank’s small businesses have been dealt a sweet hand in this year’s federal budget with incentives including tax breaks, concessions and red-tape reductions.
The generous package is expected to be welcome news to the 12,530-plus small businesses that actively trade in Brimbank, and has been praised by Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Mark Stone.
“[It] includes a reduction in the corporate tax rate, a tax discount for unincorporated businesses, asset right-off relief and support for start-ups,” Mr Stone said.
“These measures will lower costs, improve cash flow and help stimulate new investment and jobs growth.”
Mr Stone said the 1.5 per cent tax cut for incorporated small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $2 million would help Brimbank’s businesses remain competitive.
Unincorporated small businesses will be eligible for tax discounts of up to $1000 a year and red-tape will be slashed as all work-related portable electronic devices become tax-free.
It will also become easier to start a business, with the streamlining of registration processes and an immediate reduction in start-up costs.
Preschoolers and their parents were also winners in this year’s budget, with the Abbott government committing $843 million for universal access to kindergartens until 2017.
The federal government funds 4.25 hours of kindergarten a week per child, as part of an arrangement in which 15 hours of kindergarten each week are provided in the year before children start school. The state government funds the other 10.75 hours.
Keilor mum Kylie Clifford said she was relieved that her three-year-old son Baxter could continue to attend Keilor Gatehouse Preschool next year.
“That 15 hours is essential for every child – it should be the minimum to prepare them for primary school,” Ms Clifford said.
Western Health has missed out in the 2015-16 federal budget, with the government not reversing cuts contained in last year’s budget.
Sunshine and Footscray hospitals face losing $794 million in projected funding in the next decade.
Treasurer Joe Hockey said states must find their own funding for hospitals.
Western Health operations executive director Russell Harrison said the cuts would place a heavy burden on the west’s hospitals.
“There’s no doubt they would have a profound impact on Western Health’s ability to provide the best care to its patients,” he said.
