Joe Hockey has transformed into an optimist for his second budget, urging Australia to “look at the glass half full”.
Leaving behind the budget emergency warnings of a year ago, the treasurer has focused on pumping up the economy by showering small business with sweeteners and rewarding parents who work.
Unveiling a $5.5 billion jobs and small business package featuring tax cuts and instant deductions, the treasurer defended his optimistic projections.
The government predicts declining budget deficits and improving exports against predictions unemployment will remain above six per cent until 2018/19, and continuing low iron ore prices that have made up $20 billion of a $52 billion hit to government tax receipts since 2014.
“You can always look at the dark side of life, you can do that. Not me,” Hockey said, urging people to “look at the glass half full”.
In a stark departure from last year’s references to “lifters and leaners” and warnings of the “pain associated with budget repair”, Hockey described his 2015 effort as “a budget that unleashes our nation’s potential”.
The warning aimed at voters a year ago has gone – perhaps because the federal government spooked by the huge resentment directed at its last budget effort.
The small business package gives all of these entrepreneurs an instant tax deduction for individual purchase of equipment up to $20,000.
That’s on on top of a 1.5 per cent company tax cut to companies with turnover under $2 million and a five per cent tax discount to unincorporated small businesses.
You might like
Australian small businesses comprise 96 per cent of all businesses and employ more than 4.5 million people.
Called “the engine room of the economy”, the government is now hoping for Australia’s cash-hoarding business owners will spend up big, boosting growth and create new jobs.
Working families are the other budget target, with Mr Hockey announcing an as-expected $4.4 billion package, including an extra $3.5 billion to increase childcare subsidies for most families with children in care.
Hockey said there were 165,000 parents who wanted to work more and he expected the child care industry to create the necessary places to help those parents get back to work by 2017.
Federal budget at a glance
– Budget deficit – $35B
– Economic Growth – 2.75 per cent
– Inflation – 2.5 per cent
– Unemployment – 6.5 per cent
– $3.5B reform package to make child care simpler, more affordable, accessible and to support return to work
– $869M for Child Care Safety Net to assist vulnerable, disadvantaged children
– $26M incentive payments for GPs to vaccinate children
Stay informed, daily
– “No jab, No pay” to access child care payments saving $500M over four years
– Save $252M from price changes on the PBS
– $843M to the states to fund more preschool education
– Pension changes with new assets test threshold to help poorer retirees while wealthier will lose the pension or have payments reduced.
– Extra $1.2B to keep Australia “safe and secure”
– $1.2B National Wage Subsidy pool to target long term unemployment
– $6B in new trade agreements with China, Korea, and Japan
– Foreign aid cuts of up to $1B
– Small business corporate tax rate cut from 30 to 28.5 per cent
– Multi-national Anti-Avoidance Law to recover unpaid taxes by large international companies that shift profits overseas
– GST on digital downloads (Netflix tax) to raise $350M
– New fee regime for foreign investment in Australia to deliver $735M in revenue
– Save $845M from changes to work-related car deductions
– $5B for Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to help WA, NT and Queensland open up the north for business
– $250M for drought concessional loan scheme
– AAP
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
