What is in the 2021-2022 budget for Small and Medium Business Owners

The 2021-2022 budget was announced the other night spraying a lot of cash around. But how much of that cash will go to small and medium business owners?

Here are some of the winners:

• Support continues for industries impacted by the Covid shutdowns such as entertainment, arts, tourism, hospitality and aviation. 
• If your business employs apprentices and trainees, there are more incentives for you to employ these staff, assuming you can find these people in the current job market.
• If your business supports infrastructure projects, then you may benefit from more work. But conversely you may be adversely impacted by the lack of staff to deliver on these projects.
• If you need to buy capital assets, then the ability to claim a 100% write off has been extended giving you more time to get the capital item installed and ready for use. But, if you don’t have access to funding to do this, your ability to utilise this may be limited.
• If your business is in the digital space such as artificial intelligence and cyber security there are some new programs that may benefit your business.

If your business is outside of these, the direct benefit to your business in this budget is limited.

One positive output from the budget is that, small to medium businesses (with a turnover of less than $50 million) will still benefit from the reduction in the company tax rate from 26% to 25% applicable from 1 July 2021, announced in previous budgets. But remember this will adversely impact your franking credits.

My biggest disappointment in this budget is that it fails to address what I see as one of the major issues facing many small and medium businesses right now. This is the ability to find and retain good quality staff today – not in 6 months when they may have been re-trained. This issue has the capacity to constrain the growth of the economy in the immediate future.

Here are 2021-22 budget announcements potentially impacting your small or medium business.

Budget Announcements potentially impacting your small or medium business starting in the 2020-21 or 2021-22 years

Budget Announcements potentially impacting your small or medium business starting in the 2022-23 financial year

Further information or advice

Wayne Wanders is an experienced Business Advisor skilled in analysing business financial performance and cash flow, and offers low cost advisory services through the NSW Government Business Connect Program. Contact Realise Business (https://realise.business) on 02 9545 5900 for a Business Advisory Session with Wayne who will assist you with this and help you understand the real drivers of your business so you pull the right levers to profitably grow their business.