LIBERALS TO GIVE A FAIR GO TO SMALL BUSINESS

The Coalition has announced policies to ensure that the engine room of our economy, small business, will get a fair go if elected later this year.

“It’s really important that we focus on real local solutions for small businesses in our community,” said ACT Liberal Senator Gary Humphries and Liberal Candidate James Milligan today.

“Time and time again, we’re being told by small business that they have been taken for granted under Labor.

“The Coalition will establish a Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman to provide an advocacy, dispute resolution and support role for the sector across the Commonwealth Government.  The office would support the Cabinet-level Coalition small business minister in ensuring that there is a “whole of government” approach to responding to sector specific concerns and that there is meaningful engagement on policy implementation.

“Further, we would also extend the unfair contracts protections available to consumers to small business, recognising that smaller enterprises may also be subject to ‘standard form’ contracts on a ‘take it or leave it’ basis with no opportunity to vary the terms and a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and responsibilities.

“Labor originally included ‘business-to-business’ contracts up to $2 million in value in the unfair contracts laws, only to break its promise, claiming it would revisit the issue after other related reviews which have now long been completed.

“A Coalition Government will not change the current personal service income laws as no case has been made or evidence provided to justify changes to force independent contractors and self employed people into more ‘employee-like’ arrangements.

“Labor, despite a pre-election promise to the Independent Contractors of Australia to make no changes to current independent contracting/self employed tax laws, instigated a review by the Board of Taxation at the urging of unions and sponsored changes through the Henry Review process that would wipe out many small businesses, create more red-tape, restrict deductions and discourage the use of contractors.

“The Government has refused to re-affirm and honour its ‘no change’ promise and now claims that the laws they wouldn’t touch are “a threat to the integrity of the taxation system and a threat to working conditions of employees” (Senator Nick Sherry, 16 December 2009).

“The Coalition believes that the existing personal services income laws support both independent contracting and self employed people and protect the tax system by applying proper criteria and tests to confirm the genuine nature of the contracting enterprise.  Available evidence about the current law’s implementation simply highlights successful ATO compliance activity involving selected high-risk targets rather than making any meaningful case to change the law.

“These three commitments are the kind of positive support and real local solutions that small business people deserve.

“Only the Coalition will deliver real local solutions for small business in our community,” Senator Humphries and Mr Milligan concluded.

8 July 2010