Update 14 May 2015: Research into Australians’ perceptions of the Budget shows Gen Y have the most faith in the Budget measures. The majority of the population say it won’t make them more confident for the future.
Word of mouth influence company Social Soup has measured the views of over 1,000 Australians and have found that across the country people thing the Federal Budget is relatively fair and responsible, and 44% of people think the government has done well in communicating the Budget this year (a far cry from the dismal 11% last year).
Stay at home mothers feel they got the short end of the stick from the government, with only 17% agreeing it will improve their confidence in the future and just 23% believing the budget to be fair.
Despite the benefits for small businesses, only 1 in 5 said the budget measures will give them confidence to hire more staff. Still, 68% say the tax cuts will help them buy necessary equipment and 55% think they will help their business grow.
Original story 13 May 2015: Last night Treasurer Joe Hockey delivered the Coalition Government’s second Federal Budget and while it is a far friendlier and milder budget than was delivered last year, there are a still some important changes, particularly for families, retirees and small business owners.
Small businesses are the big winners with a $5.5 billion package of tax cuts and concessions thrown their way. The budget documentation has a section entitled ‘Encouraging start-ups & entrepreneurship’, marking an acknowledgement of the importance of entrepreneurship and technology innovation in Australia.
According to the budget forecasts, the deficit reduces every year from $35.1 billion in 2015-16 to 6.9 billion to 2018-19. The unemployment rate is currently siting at 6.5 per cent.
Here’s a snapshot of what you need to know:
Small businesses
- Tax break for purchases up to $20,000
- Tax cut of 1.5 per cent for small companies
- Tax discount of 5 per cent for small unincorporated businesses
- Removal of fringe benefits tax on mobile devices
Health
- Almost $2 billion in savings
- $400 million to be distributed from Medical Research Future Fund
- $1.6 billion to list new drugs
- More consumer choice in aged care
Families
- An extra $3.5 billion over five year for childcare
- Focus on lower and middle income families, as well as disadvantaged children
- Two year trial for nannies, at a cost of $246 million
Pensions
- $2.4 billion saved by increasing asset test threshold and taper rate for the pension.
- Dumping 2014-15 proposal to index pensions to consumer price index
- $128 million for not going ahead with last budget’s measure that would freeze income eligibility thresholds for three years
Tax Evasion
- The target will be 30 companies that book sales overseas in low-tax or no-tax nations
- The government will also give the Australian Tax Office an extra $11.3 million over four years to implement new transfer pricing documentation standards
- The ATO will get new info on large companies that give details on their tax affairs including a country-by-country report
- The government is also working with business to develop a new voluntary code that will give public disclosure of their tax affairs.
For more, head to the Sydney Morning Herald’s five-minute budget summary