Small Business and the Queensland Budget
Small Business Minister Chris Cummins said the Queensland Government had committed a record level of funding assistance in the 2006 Budget to develop the State’s important small business sector.
Mr Cummins said the government continued to recognise the significant contribution small business makes to the State’s economy.
“The Queensland Government is actively promoting a culture of entrepreneurship and business success,” he said. “The 2006 Budget continues our commitment to delivering dedicated services to assist the small business community, be that online, face-to-face, through workshops and through a tailored funding scheme that helps business maximise growth.
“A key piece of good news for the small business community is the announcement that the payroll tax threshold will rise from $850 000 to $1 Million. This means that 90% of Queensland employers will pay no payroll tax at all. Our tax free threshold is the most generous in the country - almost double that of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. We also have the lowest payroll tax rate in the nation, at 4.75%.”
Mr Cummins said small business remained the engine room of the State economy, particularly in regional Queensland.
“Earlier this year the government released an important small business discussion paper to obtain the views of the business community on future support for their sector,” he said. “Over coming months we will listen closely to the feedback provided through the discussion paper as we develop new support programs and additional online tools. We are also continuing with our efforts to reduce red tape for small business.
“In 2004-05 the Government implemented 26 red tape reduction initiatives that saved the business community more than $14 million. Our aim now is to build on that success and identify further opportunities for streamlining through the annual Red Tape Reduction Stocktake.”
Mr Cummins said some of the highlights for the small business sector included:
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* Implementation of $7 million dollars over four years for the Small Business Accelerator Program;
* Further development of programs to encourage more women into the small business sector, including the Women in Business Coaching Scheme; and,
* Delivering targeted initiatives for the growing home-based, franchise and micro business sectors.
