THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, covers the significant achievements of the ASBFEO office as this week marks its second birthday.

“This week is our 2nd birthday. Over that period of time a lot of things have been achieved due to the great work of my wonderful staff and the input of small businesses from around Australia.

“You told us that one of the things upsetting you was big business and governments paying slower and slower. We did a major piece of work and we found that you were right; they are paying slower. The outcome of that has been that the Business Council of Australia has set up a new Code of Practice to encourage big business to pay in 30 days or less, and the Australia Government has announced that they will move to 15 business day payments by the middle of next year.

“We’ve been working with the fintechs, the online lenders, and released a major paper that will make fintech lending more transparent, and by the middle of the year a capacity for small businesses able to compare different fintech offerings so that they can make good decisions if they think fintech lending is the solution for their businesses.

“Please get in touch with our office if you have anything you’d like us to investigate or you’ve got a problem you’d like us to help you solve on your behalf.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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"THE Fair Work Commission, the independent umpire, has given us a green light to proceed to amalgamate on March 27, and that’s what we will do,” said Michael O’Connor, the presumptive National Secretary of the new Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union.

Early in the month the Fair Work Commission (FWC) approved the amalgamation of the CFMEU, the MUA and the TCFUA, setting the date of amalgamation as March 27. However, employers had appealed the decision and sought a stay on the original decision to approve the amalgamation pending the hearing of their appeal.

The decision on the stay application was handed down this morning by FWC Vice President Hatcher. The stay application was denied. The full appeal will be held on April 9.

TCFUA National Secretary Michelle O’Neil said, “The AMMA and MBA should stop wasting their members money and the Fair Work Commission’s time. Our members voted overwhelmingly to amalgamate, their democratically reached decision needs to be respected. We are getting on with the business of joining with the MUA and CFMEU and improving the lives of our members.”

Mr O’Connor said, “The full executive of the new union will meet in Melbourne on Monday March 26 to set out a detailed plan of work for the first 100 days, taking us to the inaugural Conference of our union on the Gold Coast on June 12 to 15, where nearly 400 delegates will set out a plan and direction for the next two years.”

MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said, “Today we’re calling on both employers and the government to respect and accept the decision of the independent umpire. The decision to amalgamate has been overwhelmingly endorsed by our members and the FWC has, after extensive hearings, approved our amalgamation. It’s time now to move and let us do our business.”

www.fwc.gov.au

www.mua.org.au

www.cfmeu.org.au

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TALK of extending the $20,000 instant asset write-off from both major political parties is a positive sign, according to the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA).

The Treasurer has signalled that the $20,000 instant asset write-off will be extended for small business along with a possible increase in the amount that can be claimed, while the Labor Party has indicated the write-off initiative could be extended to all businesses.

“The IPA has long advocated for the write-off initiative for small businesses and we are keen for it to continue as part of the tax regime,” said chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“We were relieved by the decision made in last year’s Federal Budget for it to continue up to 30 June 2018 as the reversion to a limit of $1,000 at that time would have been a huge disincentive for many small businesses.

“The increase in the accelerated depreciation write-off threshold to $20,000 has proven to be of great assistance to small business cash flow.

“This initiative brings forward the tax deduction that would have previously been deductible over a number of years.

“What should be kept in focus is the positive impact that this initiative has on the broader economy as it incentivises small businesses to reinvest in their future, making way for growth, employment and prosperity.

“We fully support a higher instant asset write-off becoming a permanent feature of our tax system going forward.  The Henry Review into Australia’s tax system recommended that a higher threshold should apply.

“The need for this initiative to be set in stone, particularly for small businesses, is paramount as it brings an injection of economic growth, giving small businesses the confidence to buy new equipment, reinvest in their operations and grow,” said Mr Conway.

www.publicaccountants.org.au

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SPEAKING today (March 16) at The Tax Institute’s 33rd National Convention in Cairns, Queensland, theDavid Coleman MP, the Assistant Minister for Finance, indicated to delegates that tax policy is a useful lever with which to pursue economic growth.

Following that theme, Tax Institute Senior Tax Counsel Professor Bob Deutsch CTA commented, “Tax policy is critical to the development of the Australian economy. The next Federal election is likely to be a real battle of ideas about which levers of tax policy should be pulled."

The Assistant Minister also told delegates that while the Coalition believes that tax should be as low as possible, tax must be paid at the relevant legislated levels. He said the Government has worked tirelessly to put in place the right legislative framework to ensure that outcome, referencing in particular the Diverted Profits Tax and the Multinational Anti Avoidance law.

Prof. Deutsch also reflected on the Commissioner of Taxation’s earlier message to delegates on the need to build trust, confidence and integrity in the tax system.

"As the Assistant Minister has reminded us this morning, sound tax policy is critically important but this must occur in an environment in which all players are confident in the integrity of the system as mentioned in the Commissioner’s address."

www.taxinstitute.com.au

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