REDUCING COSTS, COMPLEXITY, AND THE TAX BURDEN

And in more detail...

The Good Party recognises the vital importance of the business community, both big and small, to the life and well-being of every Australian. Without it, there would be no jobs and no tax revenue to pay for essential services like health, education, and defence, all the services and programs that make for a stable, workable democracy.

The Good Party also recognises that employees are the lifeblood of a successful business. Healthy businesses understand that collaboration between employees and industry, rather than confrontation, leads to business success and higher profits. To this end, we aim to reduce business costs, simplify compliance and reduce the tax burden to make running a successful business easier.

Taking care of SMEs

Small businesses are the heartbeat of the Australian economy.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for around 98% of all businesses and contribute around $700 billion to GDP, equivalent to over 55% of Australia's total economy. It employs over 7.6 million people, 66% of the workforce, making it Australia’s biggest employer. SMEs also employ 220,000 apprentices and trainees, 78% of Australia's total.[1]

The Good Party believes that providing genuine assistance to your business will directly stimulate employment, efficiency and economic growth.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for around 98% of all businesses and contribute around $700 billion to GDP, equivalent to over 55% of Australia's total economy. It employs over 7.6 million people, 66% of the workforce, making it Australia’s biggest employer. SMEs also employ 220,000 apprentices and trainees, 78% of Australia's total.

Removing payroll tax

At the Good Party, we agree with the conventional wisdom that taxing payroll is a tax on employment. This is a hindrance to your business and negatively impacts the prospects of people looking for work. We will do away with it the first chance we get.

Simplifying the GST

Currently, businesses must tag every line item on an invoice and select whether GST is applied. If the good or service is exempt, they must also identify which type of “No GST” code pertains to the transaction. Most businesses must then negotiate a number of coding options for each “No GST” transaction. And for some, there are up to eight possible classifications to select.

Uncertainty and confusion around selecting the “No GST” classification lead many small business operations to make errors in their reporting, some of which then alert them to the ATO for audit.

On average, Australian small business operators spend 84.1 hours each year on GST compliance. This equates to an average of $6778.00 in internal costs with an additional average outlay of $2433.00 each year for bookkeepers and accountants to help administer the tax compliance costs.

The Good Party will remove the requirement to allocate each transaction to one of the various “No GST” categories, saving businesses time and money and reducing the stress and burden of being a defacto ATO tax collector

The Good Party will remove the requirement to allocate each transaction to one of the various “No GST” categories, saving businesses time and money and reducing the stress and burden of being a defacto ATO tax collector.

Recognition for meaningful vocational and on-the-job training

The Good Party wants increased federal government funding for vocational and on-the-job training, cadetships and apprenticeships, and recognition of such with an equivalent certificate, diploma, or degree awarded by the relevant body or tertiary facility.

Overcoming ageism

Anyone over 50 trying to get a job these days comes up against ageism. An enormous amount of skill, experience and basic job smarts is thus lost to the economy, to say nothing of the personal cost to individuals who find themselves on the “employment scrap heap” when they still have so much to contribute. When people are now expected to work well past the traditional retirement age of 64, and many more are forced to simply because their super won’t support them, the Good Party will establish a wage subsidy for businesses employing people over 50.

Big business will benefit

The large corporation is an orchestra of employees, shareholders and management, with the CEO as the conductor. Australian CEOs are generally highly competent and head up some of the world’s largest companies. The Good Party’s goals for this vital sector of the economy are:

• To give clear policy direction in consultation with businesses and unions so that corporations understand the present and future environments they will be operating in
• To promote productivity by reducing red tape and introducing long overdue genuine taxation reform
• To support R&D and innovation
• To engender a common purpose between management, employees and shareholders whereby the entire entity and its stakeholders benefit from success and profits while being a good corporate citizen.