IPA pursues ‘big vision’ for small business

The Institute of Public Accountants has laid out its push for radical policy change to improve the small business productivity landscape in Australia following the release of its Small Business White Paper.

by | 3 Oct, 2018

Budget should prioritise 'national interest', says IPA

Last week, the IPA, in partnership with the IPA Deakin SME Research Centre, put out the white paper that it said was heavily focused on Australia’s declining productivity levels and provides policy solutions for the small business sector to help arrest this decline.

The white paper covered 12 topics: productivity, regulation, taxation, SME financial markets, workplace relations, job creation and job destruction, innovation, competition policy, family firms, internationalisation, mental health, and digitisation and cyber security.

As a result, the IPA then set out its Big Vision recommendations, which are to:

  1. Broaden the base and lift the rate of GST (subject to the appropriate equity measures).
  2. Cut direct taxes.
  3. Undertake a zero-base design of a thoroughly modern taxation system.
  4. Reform and simplify the personal income tax scale.
  5. Standardise a company tax rate at 25 per cent.
  6. States and territories to be held accountable to the Intergovernmental Agreement on Tax Reform to eliminate payroll tax and stamp duties. These revenues could be channelled into a state infrastructure fund to grow the economy.
  7. Commit an incoming federal government to hold a small business summit within the first six months of assuming office.
  8. The Prime Minister should form and chair a small business advisory council to provide direct policy input and options to the government to inform the COAG agenda with a core focus on productivity.
  9. The federal Small Business Minister should remain a permanent position in cabinet, preferably with its own department.
  10. The federal government should facilitate small businesses joining global value chains to remain competitive and access global markets.

“Never before has there been such an assembly of informed academic research, together with practitioner insights, purely focused on small business productivity, growth and prosperity; much needed ingredients for our economic wellbeing and future living standards,” said IPA chief executive Andrew Conway.

“Our primary message to policy makers is; think big, get out of the way of entrepreneurs, and watch small business truly drive productivity.

“Again, we need to ensure that the small business sector that is so vital to the Australian economy and standard of living, is well supported, encouraged and liberated to grow.”

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