SME-friendly tax package

Todd Muller MP for Bay of Plenty. Photo/John Borren

Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our communities.

With 96 per cent of all Western Bay of Plenty enterprises employing 20 or fewer people, it is vital to continuously search out ways to reduce the financial and time burdens that small businesses face.

That's why the Government, for example, has cut ACC levies. It's why we introduced 90-day trials and a starting-out wage. It is why we fund the roll-out of faster broadband.

These and other measures help explain why small business confidence is in solid, positive territory in New Zealand.

But there is always more to do.

Last week the Prime Minister announced new steps to help the hundreds of small businesses in the Bay.

The key measures announced are:
• Reforming provisional tax with a new pay-as-you-go option
• Use-of-money interest will be eliminated or reduced for the vast majority
• Contractors can choose a withholding rate that suits their needs
• Ongoing 1% monthly penalties will be scrapped

With these changes we are planning on saving businesses $180 million over four years.

These reforms recognise the modern world - that we need a tax system which, while robust, is structured so that it reflects the practical realities of the small businesses which are the backbone of the new Zealand economy

Building a more productive and competitive economy is a priority of the National-led Government. We want businesses to focus their energies on building their businesses, not navigating red tape.