Latest news with #CreditorWatch
Sky News AU
5 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Country Road to close QVB store in Sydney
Iconic fashion retailer Country Road will close down stores across Sydney as slowing sales force its South African owners to scale back its retail front. The business's landmark store in central Sydney's Queen Victoria Building will be shut down as the company looks to lower costs. It will also close its sister brand Trenery in Sydney's affluent Mosman, while its Pitt Street Mall store will close in 2028 when the lease expires. Country Road's South African owners Woolworths previously announced weak sales coming from the Australian brand. Sales plummeted by 6.2 per cent in the first half of the 2024-25 financial year and a further 8 per cent in the 26 weeks to December 29 as operating profits dropped 71.7 per cent to just $14.2m. Country Road was founded in 1974, starting out as a smart-casual men's, women's and children's clothing store while also dabbling in homewares and accessories. It grew out into an Australian lifestyle brand known for high-quality apparel, accessories and homewares and became the first major Australian brand to move into the US. In 2014, Country Road and Trenery were bought by South African brand Woolworths. Country Road's recent falls are in line with the collapse of dozens of retailers. Retail giant Mosaic Brands – owner of Millers, Rivers, Crossroads, Katies, Noni B and Autograph – collapsed into voluntary administration in October 2024. In a notice to creditors delivered in February, Mosaic's total debt was tallied at more than $318m. Iconic retailer Jeanswest also said it was hit by a 'perfect storm' of factors as it closed its stores in March, with 600 workers out of a job. CreditorWatch's latest insolvency data shows tax cuts and interest-rate relief is slowly passing through to businesses' bottom line. CreditorWatch's May data shows an easing in two key measures of business stress, insolvencies and B2B payment defaults, suggesting the July 2024 tax cuts, recent interest-rate reductions, slower inflation and fiscal support measures are beginning to alleviate some pressures on Australian businesses. CreditorWatch chief executive Patrick Coghlan said the May data on defaults and insolvencies was encouraging but some sectors remained under pressure. 'This levelling off of insolvencies has been long awaited and is very welcome but we need to remember that several industries still face significant challenges, particularly those exposed to discretionary spending,' he said. 'Post-Covid, we've seen inflation hit 30-year highs. 'Those rapid price increases across the economy don't reverse when the inflation rate comes down again – the higher prices are locked in and remain as permanent pressures for businesses.' Originally published as Fashion retailer to close flagship stores, citing sales pressure
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Iconic fashion retailer shuts Aussie stores in major city
Iconic fashion retailer Country Road will close down stores across Sydney as slowing sales force its South African owners to scale back its retail front. The business's landmark store in central Sydney's Queen Victoria Building will be shut down as the company looks to lower costs. It will also close its sister brand Trenery in Sydney's affluent Mosman, while its Pitt Street Mall store will close in 2028 when the lease expires. Country Road's South African owners Woolworths previously announced weak sales coming from the Australian brand. Sales plummeted by 6.2 per cent in the first half of the 2024-25 financial year and a further 8 per cent in the 26 weeks to December 29 as operating profits dropped 71.7 per cent to just $14.2m. Country Road will close three of its Sydney stores. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia Country Road was founded in 1974, starting out as a smart-casual men's, women's and children's clothing store while also dabbling in homewares and accessories. It grew out into an Australian lifestyle brand known for high-quality apparel, accessories and homewares and became the first major Australian brand to move into the US. In 2014, Country Road and Trenery were bought by South African brand Woolworths. Country Road's recent falls are in line with the collapse of dozens of retailers. Retail giant Mosaic Brands – owner of Millers, Rivers, Crossroads, Katies, Noni B and Autograph – collapsed into voluntary administration in October 2024. In a notice to creditors delivered in February, Mosaic's total debt was tallied at more than $318m. Iconic retailer Jeanswest also said it was hit by a 'perfect storm' of factors as it closed its stores in March, with 600 workers out of a job. Country Road is just one of many retailers struggling with cost-of-living pressures. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia CreditorWatch's latest insolvency data shows tax cuts and interest-rate relief is slowly passing through to businesses' bottom line. CreditorWatch's May data shows an easing in two key measures of business stress, insolvencies and B2B payment defaults, suggesting the July 2024 tax cuts, recent interest-rate reductions, slower inflation and fiscal support measures are beginning to alleviate some pressures on Australian businesses. CreditorWatch chief executive Patrick Coghlan said the May data on defaults and insolvencies was encouraging but some sectors remained under pressure. 'This levelling off of insolvencies has been long awaited and is very welcome but we need to remember that several industries still face significant challenges, particularly those exposed to discretionary spending,' he said. 'Post-Covid, we've seen inflation hit 30-year highs. 'Those rapid price increases across the economy don't reverse when the inflation rate comes down again – the higher prices are locked in and remain as permanent pressures for businesses.'
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Iconic retailer shuts flagship stores
Iconic fashion retailer Country Road will close down stores across Sydney as slowing sales force its South African owners to scale back its retail front. The business's landmark store in central Sydney's Queen Street Mall will be shut down as the company looks to lower costs. It will also close its sister brand Trenery in Sydney's affluent Mosman, while its Pitt Street Mall store will close in 2028 when the lease expires. Country Road's South African owners Woolworths previously announced weak sales coming from the Australian brand. Sales plummeted by 6.2 per cent in the first half of the 2024-25 financial year and a further 8 per cent in the 26 weeks to December 29 as operating profits dropped 71.7 per cent to just $14.2m. Country Road will close three of its Sydney stores. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia Country Road was founded in 1974, starting out as a smart-casual men's, women's and children's clothing store while also dabbling in homewares and accessories. It grew out into Australia's first lifestyle brand known for high-quality apparel, accessories and homewares and became the first major Australian brand to move into the US. In 2014, Country Road and Trenery were bought by South African brand Woolworths. Country Road's recent falls are in line with the collapse of dozens of retailers. Retail giant Mosaic Brands – owner of Millers, Rivers, Crossroads, Katies, Noni B and Autograph – collapsed into voluntary administration in October 2024. In a notice to creditors delivered in February, Mosaic's total debt was tallied at more than $318m. Iconic retailer Jeanswest also said it was hit by a 'perfect storm' of factors as it closed its stores in March, with 600 workers out of a job. Country Road is just one of many retailers struggling with cost-of-living pressures. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia CreditorWatch's latest insolvency data shows tax cuts and interest-rate relief is slowly passing through to businesses' bottom line. CreditorWatch's May data shows an easing in two key measures of business stress, insolvencies and B2B payment defaults, suggesting the July 2024 tax cuts, recent interest-rate reductions, slower inflation and fiscal support measures are beginning to alleviate some pressures on Australian businesses. CreditorWatch chief executive Patrick Coghlan said the May data on defaults and insolvencies was encouraging but some sectors remained under pressure. 'This levelling off of insolvencies has been long awaited and is very welcome but we need to remember that several industries still face significant challenges, particularly those exposed to discretionary spending,' he said. 'Post-Covid, we've seen inflation hit 30-year highs. 'Those rapid price increases across the economy don't reverse when the inflation rate comes down again – the higher prices are locked in and remain as permanent pressures for businesses.'
Perth Now
25-06-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Major tax change impacting millions
Millions of Aussie small businesses are being warned to pay their tax bills on time or they will be slugged with a fee, compounding daily. In changes to taxation laws coming into effect on July 1, interest charged by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), which is set at 11.17 per cent compounded daily, will no longer be tax deductible. This means businesses who previously didn't have to worry about the debt due to it being tax deductible in the next financial year, would now have to pay their tax bill plus any interest owed. A change in tax policy could see small businesses needing to pay their tax liabilities sooner. NewsWire / Emma Brasier Credit: News Corp Australia CA ANZ tax expert Susan Franks warns the approximately 2.6m small businesses in Australia this change will substantially increase the real cost of falling behind on tax obligations, particularly for small businesses already operating on tight margins. 'Small businesses currently hold the majority of the ATO's outstanding tax debt, and this change will make that debt even more expensive,' said Ms Franks. 'Previously, small businesses may not have been concerned about accumulating interest on tax debt, as it was deductible at tax time. 'But from 1 July 2025, small businesses could find themselves in a difficult situation and if not managed carefully, interest owed to the ATO could quickly exceed the amount of tax they were originally meant to pay.' The change comes into effect as the tax office tries to recoup the $45bn owed to them by small businesses. It comes as the tax office is looking get back more than $45bn in tax revenue. NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar Credit: NewsWire ATO assistant commissioner Anita Challen reminded taxpayers to pay in full and on time to avoid general interest charges accruing on overdue debts. 'These changes will mean it will cost more to carry a tax debt and, while taxpayers won't feel this change until next tax time, ATO general interest charge is currently charged at 11.17 per cent and compounds daily making it so important to get on top of your tax obligations,' Ms Challen said. 'If you have a tax debt you've been putting off paying – now is the time to pay.' The changes to the tax law comes as separate data sent from CreditorWatch shows more than 30,000 businesses across Australia owe the tax office at least $100,000. Since April 2022, the ATO has disclosed business tax debts to credit reporting bureaus, such as CreditorWatch, if they owe more than $100,000 and the business has not responded to outreach in two months. The number of businesses CreditorWatch says owes the tax office at least $100,000. Supplied Credit: Supplied CreditorWatch says this is not a full list of businesses that owe more than $100,000 but worryingly 15,635 individuals or sole traders currently owe the tax office at least six figures. The ATO urges any businesses that are unable to pay their tax liabilities to get in contact with the taxation office. 'If you cannot pay on time and in full, you should also discuss your financial position with your accountant or finance provider to understand if there are alternative methods of funding payment of tax debts that might have a lower interest rate,' Ms Challen said. ' If you are considering obtaining third party financing to pay your tax debt, you should discuss the tax implications with your registered tax agent or adviser.'
The Advertiser
23-06-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
What's on the minds of small business?
What's going on for small business right now? We have seen the first quarterly improvement since August 2022, suggesting that conditions might be stabilising and the most difficult days are possibly behind us. But we need to do more to make sure we get the best out of the small business economy for both our national wellbeing and community benefit. The ASBFEO Pulse small business health index has recorded its first (albeit microscopic) improvement since August 2022. Both the most recent MYOB Bi-Annual Business Monitor and last week's Creditor Watch May Business Risk index are also showing some signs of improvement. However, the enterprising people running small businesses around the country are still being smashed with high cost-of-doing-business pressures, legislation and compliance complexity, lack of law and regulation harmonisation across the various levels of government, as well as ongoing cyber and tech concerns to name just a few. Small business owners have been telling me just how difficult it is to navigate the complex workplace laws and the anxiety this creates because they are so fearful of getting it wrong. This fear and worry extend to managing staff and independent contractors' superannuation entitlements and obligations. A lack of visibility about what law changes are coming down the pipe and when they might take effect also keeps small business owners awake at night. Not to mention if and when small businesses will be consulted on any changes. We detect a shift in concern from staff availability to affordability. These worries are being exacerbated by the increases in payroll tax and expected wage rises. Small and family business owners are also concerned about the wide range of local, state, and federal regulations that they need to understand and comply with. These include permits for home-based businesses, transferring licenses for work across state borders, difficulty with business registrations, product labelling laws, tax obligations and differentiating between business and domain names. Cash flow continues to be a serious concern for small businesses. While many are starting to feel that the worst may be over with moderating inflation pressures, improving consumer sentiment and a small uptick in optimism following the Reserve Bank of Australia's recent reductions in the target cash rate, businesses are looking to adjust prices and review what they offer to improve viability. Rising requests for ASBFEO's help reflect these cash flow concerns and in the May ASBFEO Pulse, payment disputes continue to be the most common dispute managed by my office. In many of the payment dispute cases, the business customer has told the small business supplier that they can't afford to pay them. This non-payment can put a small or family business with modest cash reserves in a precarious position and lead to more worry about running their business. It is just one dimension of many creating viability concerns for too many small businesses contemplating their futures. We really need to address the deteriorating risk-reward balance confronting many small and family businesses. Targeted and tailored incentives and a renewed commitment to "right-sized" regulation will help to restore the "drive" in the "engine room of our economy". Supporting investment in small businesses through targeted tax incentives would be a great place to start. We know that it is in the early years of a business when cash-flow crunch can threaten financially vulnerable and undermine business growth and sustainability. A tax discount or offset scheme, allowing new businesses to retain more of their initial earnings over the first three years of an enterprise, would reward entrepreneurial and risk-taking, and support growth and reinvestment in the business. Making the instant asset write-off measure more generous and durable, and restoring the tax incentives to support digitisation, technology deployment, and energy efficiency and electrification initiatives are actions that will support greater capital investment by SMEs in productivity-enhancing, innovation-generating and viability-improving capability. Every well-intentioned change by Parliament or regulators risks adding to the mountain of red tape that gets between the owner, the business they lead and the customers they need to attract and delight. That is why right-sizing regulation is an important policy imperative and discipline that should be paramount to reviews and reform, where possible. There's been a flurry of new workplace laws and compliance obligations, and cascading reporting requirements relating to modern slavery and climate-related financial disclosures, adding to what we call "white tape" - where big business is insisting on more and more information from small business suppliers. Small and family businesses recognise their responsibilities but need a right-sized, actionable, fit-for-purpose, and efficient approach to compliance impositions with appropriate support and guidance. A simple improvement that governments at all levels across the country can make immediately is to require every submission to cabinet to include a small business impact statement. Preliminary and formal regulatory impact assessments and new policy proposals should start with and focus on small business implications, not consider this as an afterthought, if at all. This would mean every time a decision is made, small business will be front of mind and bright on the radar screen. We can and need to herald the importance of small and family business to the economy and our communities. We can powerfully send a clear message that small-businesspeople matter and are valued by creating the Prime Minister's Small Business Awards to celebrate excellence and achievement and inspire the next generation. Small and family businesses need to be front of mind for our policy makers and regulators. We need to constantly renew and re-nourish our commitment to providing the best possible environment for small and family business success. And let's never forget that lifting productivity and improving economic performance, innovation and business resilience happen at the workplace, and 93 per cent of employing businesses are small businesses. When contemplating how best to drive the economic resilience and productivity improvements, energising enterprise through small business is a great place to start. What's going on for small business right now? We have seen the first quarterly improvement since August 2022, suggesting that conditions might be stabilising and the most difficult days are possibly behind us. But we need to do more to make sure we get the best out of the small business economy for both our national wellbeing and community benefit. The ASBFEO Pulse small business health index has recorded its first (albeit microscopic) improvement since August 2022. Both the most recent MYOB Bi-Annual Business Monitor and last week's Creditor Watch May Business Risk index are also showing some signs of improvement. However, the enterprising people running small businesses around the country are still being smashed with high cost-of-doing-business pressures, legislation and compliance complexity, lack of law and regulation harmonisation across the various levels of government, as well as ongoing cyber and tech concerns to name just a few. Small business owners have been telling me just how difficult it is to navigate the complex workplace laws and the anxiety this creates because they are so fearful of getting it wrong. This fear and worry extend to managing staff and independent contractors' superannuation entitlements and obligations. A lack of visibility about what law changes are coming down the pipe and when they might take effect also keeps small business owners awake at night. Not to mention if and when small businesses will be consulted on any changes. We detect a shift in concern from staff availability to affordability. These worries are being exacerbated by the increases in payroll tax and expected wage rises. Small and family business owners are also concerned about the wide range of local, state, and federal regulations that they need to understand and comply with. These include permits for home-based businesses, transferring licenses for work across state borders, difficulty with business registrations, product labelling laws, tax obligations and differentiating between business and domain names. Cash flow continues to be a serious concern for small businesses. While many are starting to feel that the worst may be over with moderating inflation pressures, improving consumer sentiment and a small uptick in optimism following the Reserve Bank of Australia's recent reductions in the target cash rate, businesses are looking to adjust prices and review what they offer to improve viability. Rising requests for ASBFEO's help reflect these cash flow concerns and in the May ASBFEO Pulse, payment disputes continue to be the most common dispute managed by my office. In many of the payment dispute cases, the business customer has told the small business supplier that they can't afford to pay them. This non-payment can put a small or family business with modest cash reserves in a precarious position and lead to more worry about running their business. It is just one dimension of many creating viability concerns for too many small businesses contemplating their futures. We really need to address the deteriorating risk-reward balance confronting many small and family businesses. Targeted and tailored incentives and a renewed commitment to "right-sized" regulation will help to restore the "drive" in the "engine room of our economy". Supporting investment in small businesses through targeted tax incentives would be a great place to start. We know that it is in the early years of a business when cash-flow crunch can threaten financially vulnerable and undermine business growth and sustainability. A tax discount or offset scheme, allowing new businesses to retain more of their initial earnings over the first three years of an enterprise, would reward entrepreneurial and risk-taking, and support growth and reinvestment in the business. Making the instant asset write-off measure more generous and durable, and restoring the tax incentives to support digitisation, technology deployment, and energy efficiency and electrification initiatives are actions that will support greater capital investment by SMEs in productivity-enhancing, innovation-generating and viability-improving capability. Every well-intentioned change by Parliament or regulators risks adding to the mountain of red tape that gets between the owner, the business they lead and the customers they need to attract and delight. That is why right-sizing regulation is an important policy imperative and discipline that should be paramount to reviews and reform, where possible. There's been a flurry of new workplace laws and compliance obligations, and cascading reporting requirements relating to modern slavery and climate-related financial disclosures, adding to what we call "white tape" - where big business is insisting on more and more information from small business suppliers. Small and family businesses recognise their responsibilities but need a right-sized, actionable, fit-for-purpose, and efficient approach to compliance impositions with appropriate support and guidance. A simple improvement that governments at all levels across the country can make immediately is to require every submission to cabinet to include a small business impact statement. Preliminary and formal regulatory impact assessments and new policy proposals should start with and focus on small business implications, not consider this as an afterthought, if at all. This would mean every time a decision is made, small business will be front of mind and bright on the radar screen. We can and need to herald the importance of small and family business to the economy and our communities. We can powerfully send a clear message that small-businesspeople matter and are valued by creating the Prime Minister's Small Business Awards to celebrate excellence and achievement and inspire the next generation. Small and family businesses need to be front of mind for our policy makers and regulators. We need to constantly renew and re-nourish our commitment to providing the best possible environment for small and family business success. And let's never forget that lifting productivity and improving economic performance, innovation and business resilience happen at the workplace, and 93 per cent of employing businesses are small businesses. When contemplating how best to drive the economic resilience and productivity improvements, energising enterprise through small business is a great place to start. What's going on for small business right now? We have seen the first quarterly improvement since August 2022, suggesting that conditions might be stabilising and the most difficult days are possibly behind us. But we need to do more to make sure we get the best out of the small business economy for both our national wellbeing and community benefit. The ASBFEO Pulse small business health index has recorded its first (albeit microscopic) improvement since August 2022. Both the most recent MYOB Bi-Annual Business Monitor and last week's Creditor Watch May Business Risk index are also showing some signs of improvement. However, the enterprising people running small businesses around the country are still being smashed with high cost-of-doing-business pressures, legislation and compliance complexity, lack of law and regulation harmonisation across the various levels of government, as well as ongoing cyber and tech concerns to name just a few. Small business owners have been telling me just how difficult it is to navigate the complex workplace laws and the anxiety this creates because they are so fearful of getting it wrong. This fear and worry extend to managing staff and independent contractors' superannuation entitlements and obligations. A lack of visibility about what law changes are coming down the pipe and when they might take effect also keeps small business owners awake at night. Not to mention if and when small businesses will be consulted on any changes. We detect a shift in concern from staff availability to affordability. These worries are being exacerbated by the increases in payroll tax and expected wage rises. Small and family business owners are also concerned about the wide range of local, state, and federal regulations that they need to understand and comply with. These include permits for home-based businesses, transferring licenses for work across state borders, difficulty with business registrations, product labelling laws, tax obligations and differentiating between business and domain names. Cash flow continues to be a serious concern for small businesses. While many are starting to feel that the worst may be over with moderating inflation pressures, improving consumer sentiment and a small uptick in optimism following the Reserve Bank of Australia's recent reductions in the target cash rate, businesses are looking to adjust prices and review what they offer to improve viability. Rising requests for ASBFEO's help reflect these cash flow concerns and in the May ASBFEO Pulse, payment disputes continue to be the most common dispute managed by my office. In many of the payment dispute cases, the business customer has told the small business supplier that they can't afford to pay them. This non-payment can put a small or family business with modest cash reserves in a precarious position and lead to more worry about running their business. It is just one dimension of many creating viability concerns for too many small businesses contemplating their futures. We really need to address the deteriorating risk-reward balance confronting many small and family businesses. Targeted and tailored incentives and a renewed commitment to "right-sized" regulation will help to restore the "drive" in the "engine room of our economy". Supporting investment in small businesses through targeted tax incentives would be a great place to start. We know that it is in the early years of a business when cash-flow crunch can threaten financially vulnerable and undermine business growth and sustainability. A tax discount or offset scheme, allowing new businesses to retain more of their initial earnings over the first three years of an enterprise, would reward entrepreneurial and risk-taking, and support growth and reinvestment in the business. Making the instant asset write-off measure more generous and durable, and restoring the tax incentives to support digitisation, technology deployment, and energy efficiency and electrification initiatives are actions that will support greater capital investment by SMEs in productivity-enhancing, innovation-generating and viability-improving capability. Every well-intentioned change by Parliament or regulators risks adding to the mountain of red tape that gets between the owner, the business they lead and the customers they need to attract and delight. That is why right-sizing regulation is an important policy imperative and discipline that should be paramount to reviews and reform, where possible. There's been a flurry of new workplace laws and compliance obligations, and cascading reporting requirements relating to modern slavery and climate-related financial disclosures, adding to what we call "white tape" - where big business is insisting on more and more information from small business suppliers. Small and family businesses recognise their responsibilities but need a right-sized, actionable, fit-for-purpose, and efficient approach to compliance impositions with appropriate support and guidance. A simple improvement that governments at all levels across the country can make immediately is to require every submission to cabinet to include a small business impact statement. Preliminary and formal regulatory impact assessments and new policy proposals should start with and focus on small business implications, not consider this as an afterthought, if at all. This would mean every time a decision is made, small business will be front of mind and bright on the radar screen. We can and need to herald the importance of small and family business to the economy and our communities. We can powerfully send a clear message that small-businesspeople matter and are valued by creating the Prime Minister's Small Business Awards to celebrate excellence and achievement and inspire the next generation. Small and family businesses need to be front of mind for our policy makers and regulators. We need to constantly renew and re-nourish our commitment to providing the best possible environment for small and family business success. And let's never forget that lifting productivity and improving economic performance, innovation and business resilience happen at the workplace, and 93 per cent of employing businesses are small businesses. When contemplating how best to drive the economic resilience and productivity improvements, energising enterprise through small business is a great place to start. What's going on for small business right now? We have seen the first quarterly improvement since August 2022, suggesting that conditions might be stabilising and the most difficult days are possibly behind us. But we need to do more to make sure we get the best out of the small business economy for both our national wellbeing and community benefit. The ASBFEO Pulse small business health index has recorded its first (albeit microscopic) improvement since August 2022. Both the most recent MYOB Bi-Annual Business Monitor and last week's Creditor Watch May Business Risk index are also showing some signs of improvement. However, the enterprising people running small businesses around the country are still being smashed with high cost-of-doing-business pressures, legislation and compliance complexity, lack of law and regulation harmonisation across the various levels of government, as well as ongoing cyber and tech concerns to name just a few. Small business owners have been telling me just how difficult it is to navigate the complex workplace laws and the anxiety this creates because they are so fearful of getting it wrong. This fear and worry extend to managing staff and independent contractors' superannuation entitlements and obligations. A lack of visibility about what law changes are coming down the pipe and when they might take effect also keeps small business owners awake at night. Not to mention if and when small businesses will be consulted on any changes. We detect a shift in concern from staff availability to affordability. These worries are being exacerbated by the increases in payroll tax and expected wage rises. Small and family business owners are also concerned about the wide range of local, state, and federal regulations that they need to understand and comply with. These include permits for home-based businesses, transferring licenses for work across state borders, difficulty with business registrations, product labelling laws, tax obligations and differentiating between business and domain names. Cash flow continues to be a serious concern for small businesses. While many are starting to feel that the worst may be over with moderating inflation pressures, improving consumer sentiment and a small uptick in optimism following the Reserve Bank of Australia's recent reductions in the target cash rate, businesses are looking to adjust prices and review what they offer to improve viability. Rising requests for ASBFEO's help reflect these cash flow concerns and in the May ASBFEO Pulse, payment disputes continue to be the most common dispute managed by my office. In many of the payment dispute cases, the business customer has told the small business supplier that they can't afford to pay them. This non-payment can put a small or family business with modest cash reserves in a precarious position and lead to more worry about running their business. It is just one dimension of many creating viability concerns for too many small businesses contemplating their futures. We really need to address the deteriorating risk-reward balance confronting many small and family businesses. Targeted and tailored incentives and a renewed commitment to "right-sized" regulation will help to restore the "drive" in the "engine room of our economy". Supporting investment in small businesses through targeted tax incentives would be a great place to start. We know that it is in the early years of a business when cash-flow crunch can threaten financially vulnerable and undermine business growth and sustainability. A tax discount or offset scheme, allowing new businesses to retain more of their initial earnings over the first three years of an enterprise, would reward entrepreneurial and risk-taking, and support growth and reinvestment in the business. Making the instant asset write-off measure more generous and durable, and restoring the tax incentives to support digitisation, technology deployment, and energy efficiency and electrification initiatives are actions that will support greater capital investment by SMEs in productivity-enhancing, innovation-generating and viability-improving capability. Every well-intentioned change by Parliament or regulators risks adding to the mountain of red tape that gets between the owner, the business they lead and the customers they need to attract and delight. That is why right-sizing regulation is an important policy imperative and discipline that should be paramount to reviews and reform, where possible. There's been a flurry of new workplace laws and compliance obligations, and cascading reporting requirements relating to modern slavery and climate-related financial disclosures, adding to what we call "white tape" - where big business is insisting on more and more information from small business suppliers. Small and family businesses recognise their responsibilities but need a right-sized, actionable, fit-for-purpose, and efficient approach to compliance impositions with appropriate support and guidance. A simple improvement that governments at all levels across the country can make immediately is to require every submission to cabinet to include a small business impact statement. Preliminary and formal regulatory impact assessments and new policy proposals should start with and focus on small business implications, not consider this as an afterthought, if at all. This would mean every time a decision is made, small business will be front of mind and bright on the radar screen. We can and need to herald the importance of small and family business to the economy and our communities. We can powerfully send a clear message that small-businesspeople matter and are valued by creating the Prime Minister's Small Business Awards to celebrate excellence and achievement and inspire the next generation. Small and family businesses need to be front of mind for our policy makers and regulators. We need to constantly renew and re-nourish our commitment to providing the best possible environment for small and family business success. And let's never forget that lifting productivity and improving economic performance, innovation and business resilience happen at the workplace, and 93 per cent of employing businesses are small businesses. When contemplating how best to drive the economic resilience and productivity improvements, energising enterprise through small business is a great place to start.
