Aussie small businesses apprehensive about upcoming Federal Budget

* 43% of SMES are not confident the Budget will deliver a positive outcome

* 60% consider $20K instant tax write-off to be the most pressing need

* 48% consider lowering company tax rate second most pressing need

With the Federal Budget less than a week away, new research from MYOB has revealed almost half (43 per cent) of Australian small businesses are not confident it will deliver a positive outcome for them.

Echoing this finding, the survey asked SMEs if they trust the Government to deliver the best outcome for them, and 35 per cent said no.

“This research tells us the small business community is showing trepidation ahead of the upcoming Federal Budget,” said Tim Reed, CEO of MYOB.

This latest SME Snapshot survey from the cloud accounting provider found that SMEs considered the introduction of a permanent $20K instant tax write-off for new assets to be the most pressing need (60 per cent), followed by lowering of the company tax rate (48 per cent), and subsidies for employing young Australians (42 per cent). The research also revealed instant tax write-offs were the main area where small businesses are looking for cash flow support from the Government (33 per cent).

“It’s no surprise that Australian SMEs want the $20K instant tax write-off for new assets made permanent in this year’s Budget,” said Mr Reed.

“When we asked this question in our June 2016 Business Monitor, 68 per cent said making the policy permanent was the number one initiative they would vote for.

“The $20K instant tax write-off is a budget measure which has an immediate impact on the sector it targets and we can’t ignore the benefits it provides to the Australian small business community.

“I call on the Government to think seriously about the impact of not making the $20K instant tax write-off permanent, which would effectively undo the great work it has done in this space.

“Last year, Treasurer Scott Morrison said of small business: “they are the hope of the side”. This year’s budget presents an opportunity for the Government to back small business and cement their future in Australia,” said Mr Reed.

This month’s survey also asked businesses if they believe the Federal Budget would have a better outcome for SMEs if the Labor Party was delivering the budget. Almost half (49 per cent) of respondents disagreed with this statement.

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For further comment or other information please contact:
Sarah Beyrath, MYOB
M: 0427 223 841 / E: Sarah.Beyrath@myob.com

Georgia Colahan, Ogilvy PR
P: 02 8437 5384 / M: 0432 882 080 / E: Georgia.Colahan@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 http://investors.myob.com.au/Investors or follow @MYOB on Twitter.

About the MYOB SME Snapshot
First carried out in July 2015, the MYOB Snapshot is a monthly online survey of a section of MYOB’s 1.2 million customers. The survey provides the opportunity to quiz SMEs about topical issues and their responses to business conditions.