Australian SMEs call for reduced company tax rates in upcoming Federal Budget

With just three business days left before the government announces the Federal Budget, Australian small to medium business owners have voiced a united desire for company tax rates to be reduced, according to the latest MYOB Business Monitor. 

The survey of more than 1000 Australian small to medium business owners by Australia’s leading accounting software provider MYOB found that 60 per cent of SMEs agreed that company tax rates should be reduced, if Australia’s business environment is to remain competitive.

An overwhelming majority of business owners saw taxation as the most important area of government regulation to be simplified, with 52 per cent indicating that it was most important, followed by work, health and safety which trailed at 12 percent.

However, when it came to the question of fairness, business owners were slightly more likely to believe that the tax system was fair (37 per cent) than unfair (32 per cent).

“What the results tell us is that while business owners are managing with the current tax regulation, there is a lot more that the government could be doing to reduce the day-to-day burdens”, explained Tim Reed, CEO of MYOB.

“We can’t ignore the benefits that reducing company tax rates would provide to the Australian small and medium business community, who make up the vast majority of businesses in Australia.

“Given the group’s prominence, there is a significant economic benefit for Australia if we enable SMEs to become more competitive via tax reform.”

The Business Monitor also revealed that under half (44 per cent) of business owners intended to take up the instant tax write off this financial year, with 30 per cent having already purchased an asset and 14 per cent intending to purchase an asset.

“The tax incentive was certainly a great step forward in assisting small and medium business owners, and we hope to see a similar emphasis on lifting the tax burden on Tuesday evening.

“We hope that the government listens to the united call for company tax reform, as business owners gear up for the next economic year ahead,” explained Mr Reed.

- ends -For further comment or other information please contact:

Saba Chowdhury, MYOB PR Manager

M: +61 400 300 913 / E: saba.chowdhury@myob.com

Louise Halloran, Account Manager, Ogilvy PR

P: 02 8437 5357 / M: +61 407 044 727 / E: louise.halloran@ogilvy.com.au

About MYOB

MYOB Group Ltd (ASX: MYO) is a leading cloud based business management solutions provider. It makes business life easier for approximately 1.2 million businesses across Australia and New Zealand by simplifying accounting, payroll, tax, practice management, CRM, job costing, inventory and more. MYOB provides ongoing support via many client service channels including a network of over 40,000 accountants, bookkeepers and other consultants. It is committed to ongoing innovation, particularly in cloud computing solutions, and in 2015 was awarded the BRW award for the most innovative large company for 500+ employees and placed 2nd in BRW’s Most Innovative Companies Award list across all categories nationally. For more information, visit investors.myob.com.au/Investors/ or follow @MYOB on Twitter.

About the MYOB Business Monitor

After six years of conducting the MYOB Small Business Survey we've enhanced it to better reflect the profile of Australian businesses. We've now incorporated medium businesses, along with the sole traders and small businesses that were already part of the survey. We're pleased to present the new look MYOB Business Monitor.

The MYOB Business Monitor is a national survey of over 1000 Australia's business owners (and directors) conducted twice a year by Colmar Brunton.