New small business support a win for those ‘already struggling to retain talent’

Chartered Accountants ANZ (CA ANZ) has backed the federal government’s commitment to legislate tax deductions for small businesses, calling it “a big win for those already struggling to retain talent”.

This week, Treasurer Jim Chalmers released draft legislation to introduce two tax incentives designed to support small businesses to train and upskill employees, and improve digital and tech capacity.

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Small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50 million will have access to an extra 20 per cent deduction for eligible expenditure on external training of employees until 30 June 2024.

CA ANZ chief executive, Ainslie van Onselen, welcomed the news, saying it is something the accounting industry body has previously advocated for.

“Small businesses are grappling with the capacity to retain their staff and this move will give them certainty to invest in their people, and to give their staff some clear pathways in their professional development,” Ms van Onselen said.

“This type of investment may be the difference between a staff member staying with a business or deciding to pursue another opportunity.”

Submissions on the draft legislation can be submitted now and will close on 19 September.

The news comes as the jobs and skills summit kicks off in Canberra where low financial adviser numbers are expected to be addressed.

Speaking to ifa earlier this week, FINSIA CEO and managing director, Yasser El-Ansary, said the summit will “undoubtedly” be an important catalyst for a wide-ranging policy discussion about “how we position our economy for the future”.

“For too long now, we have generally failed to adequately prepare for the long-term structural changes that are already impacting our economy,” Mr El-Ansary said.

“We know that the skills which will propel the growth of our economy into the future will be significantly different from the skills we have relied on in the past — I hope and expect the summit will create a strong platform for the whole community to engage in this discussion over coming months. Everyone in the community has a stake in creating a strong economy that is supported by skills and capability building for the long term.”