Did the Federal Budget deliver?

Reckon recently polled our small business customers ahead of the 2024-25 Federal Budget to gauge what their priorities were.

We found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that SMEs were particularly concerned with the cost of living and inflation.

We also found that a whopping 92% believed that not enough was being done by the government to support the ‘prosperity, growth, and resilience’ of small businesses in Australia.

As Reckon CEO Sam Allert notes,

“We’re currently witnessing stark and palpable pressures on businesses that we haven’t seen for many years.

“Higher costs of living represent a double-edged sword, where business owners are not only paying more for goods and services but are also pressed to pass these costs on to consumers, who are also tightening their belts.

“This concern was laid bare by the data we collected, with 85% of small businesses looking for measures to address inflationary pressure.”

Some of the top measures from the latest Federal Budget include the following.

• Power bill subsidies for both homes and businesses.
• An extension of the instant asset write-off scheme for small businesses with annual turnovers under $10 million.
• Tax cuts for Australians in every income bracket.
• Housing and rent support.
• Investment in the diverse ‘Future Made in Australia’ initiative, intended to localise manufacturing and achieve Net Zero Emissions faster.

While many of these measures will no doubt assist both individuals and businesses while attempting to address inflation and the cost of living, the question remains whether there was enough meat on the bone.

Further questions remain as to how effective these measures will genuinely be in terms of reducing inflation and easing the financial stress currently being felt by the average Australian business owner. 

Read our Federal Budget recap to see what it contained for SMEs and compare it with our pre-budget poll to get a better feel for the needs and wants of our small business community.