Ninety per cent of Australians said support for small business will aid Australia’s economic prosperity, which should be prioritised in Tuesday’s (29 March) federal budget, according to a new survey from business management platform MYOB.
The poll of more than 1,000 Australians found only 32 per cent expect this year’s federal budget to deliver benefits for Australia’s small and medium enterprises while 94 per cent said the government should do more to support SMEs compared to bigger business.
Eighty-four per cent said the economy still requires government intervention to aid recovery.
The report highlighted the gap that exists between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s stated intent to wind back COVID-era spending and the ongoing challenges faced by SMEs as a result of ongoing pandemic impacts and other natural disasters, such as current flooding events.
The report also found that Australians would like to see support to small business in tax cuts (45 per cent), favouring specific support for businesses impacted by natural disasters (42 per cent) and more mental health support (38 per cent).
“The contribution the 2.4 million-strong small business community makes to Australia is well known, but the landscape for businesses in Australia is now materially and indelibly changed,” said MYOB’s chief employee experience officer, Helen Lea.
Previous research undertaken by MYOB highlighted the value supporting the digitisation of SMEs could deliver for the economy.
“MYOB analysis has found improving digitisation for the one in five SMEs with little to no digital presence will lead to a 1.8 per cent increase in SME GDP – equivalent to a $10.5 billion gain for the economy,” Ms Lea said.
“Meaningful digitisation goes much deeper than an online presence, and yet there are many businesses out there who still need to make this initial leap.
“While 78 per cent of our survey respondents said they expect to interact with small businesses via their website, our January 2022 MYOB Business Monitor data shows more than a third (37 per cent) of SMEs don’t have an online presence.
“This highlights the importance of Government assistance to digitally upskill SMEs and achieve the nation’s goal of becoming a leading digital economy and society by 2030.”
