ABN Meeting with Federal Parliamentarians - Community Input Sought

As the peak representative organsation for Australian businesswomen and female entrepreneurs, the Australian Businesswomen’s Network is meeting individually with the Federal Minister for Small Business, Dr Craig Emerson and the Federal Assistant Treasurer, Senator Nick Sherry next week.

Community Director Suzi Dafnis will be meeting with Senator Sherry and Advisory Board member Susan McGrath is meeting with Dr Emerson.

We’re seeking input for both meetings so we can make the most of this opportunity to represent the concerns of the Australian SME community to both parliamentarians.

If you have a public policy issue you would like us to raise with either Dr Emerson or Senator Sherry, please contact us on policy@abn.org.au, or call the ABN on 1300 720 120.

The more input we receive, the stronger the messages we can take to the Minister and the Assistant Treasurer - this is one of the few opportunities Australian businesswomen and female entrepreneurs will have this year to have their voice heard at the highest level of Australian government, so we would love to hear from as many community members as possible.

Sincerely

Suzi and Susan

South Australian Taxes Highest for Business

Today’s Australian newspaper reports that research by the Institute of Public Affairs has found South Australia is the highest taxing Australian jurisdication for business.

Queensland continues to slide in its competitiveness, while WA has the most favourable taxation regime for business.

The report’s author, IPA research fellow Julie Novak, says that tax reform should be a priority for all governments in the current low-growth economic environment.

The ABN has long been advocating for fiscal and economic public policy reform to assist small business; particularly those owned by women. 

We would welcome your input and ideas about public policy reform, or any other issues relating to the small business environment, so that we can raise them at our next meeting with Senator Craig Emerson, the Minister for Small Business.

Please post your input below, or email to policy@abn.org.au.

50% business tax break purchase deadline 31 December 2009

 The Small Business and General Business Tax Break was introduced as an investment allowance a year ago, to boost business investment during the global financial crisis.

It was extended in this year’s Budget to allow small businesses to claim an extra 50% tax deduction on eligible assets bought by 31 December 2009.

As the deadline for eligible purchases draws closer, the ATO has developed some online information materials to help explain the business tax break to businesses:

· A Tips for Business fact sheet

· A Myth Busters fact sheet

· A short article for use in newsletters or websites

· A business tax break overview ‘hand out’

· Information in languages other than English

 The kit is available on www.ato.gov.au and the business tax break communications team can provide further information via businesstaxbreakcommunications@ato.gov.au or 1300 337 921 (8.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday).

Pay gap between women and men comes under scrutiny

ANY employer, including small businesses, would need to disclose what female staff earn relative to men to a Pay Equity Unit with a ‘’sticks and carrots” approach to solving the gender pay gap, a Federal Government report recommends.

Describing the main industrial relations system as ‘’steeped in gender assumptions”, the committee chaired by the Labor MP Sharryn Jackson found most women worked in low-paid and casual work that was reliant on the minimum wage and award safety nets, and wants the ”modern” awards also re-examined on gender grounds.

The Committee found that Australian women are paid on average 17 per cent less than men because of social assumptions about the role of women as parents, because women disproportionately work in part-time and casual work and because typically female ”caring” work is undervalued.

Plain sex discrimination was also to blame.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au

Comment:

Ms Jackson and her committee seem to me to have based their argument on a somewhat shaky foundation. If one works in a low paid or casual job, one will obviously earn less than someone who works full-time in a highly paid job. I don’t see that as discrimination, or a gender assumption, just a pragmatic example of cause and effect.

And although I agree that caring work is undervalued, I would argue that is the result of market forces of supply and demand, rather than discrimination.

The answer? To educate ALL children about the commercial realities and long term implications of their work and life choices at an early age, so they are able to make informed decisions at each of their life transition points.

Susan Wareham McGrath

Important Announcement for Small Businesses

Business and individual taxpayers may be affected by the ATO’s plans to implement its new income tax system in late January 2010.

The Tax Office’s computer systems will be unavailable from Friday, 22 January until Wednesday, 27 January 2010 while it implements the new system. In addition, it will suspend some processing in the weeks leading up to the implementation.

There will also be some processing delays in the weeks following the implementation as the new system gradually returns to full processing levels. The ATO advises that these delays may continue during February 2010. 

The ATO recommends that business and individual taxpayers expecting a tax refund have their income tax returns lodged as early as possible (before Christmas 2009) to reduce the likelihood of any delays. 

Details about processing suspensions and other implications for tax agents and taxpayers will be provided as soon as they are available.

 

Female Board Members in Australia – Going, Going, Gone?

Compared with Norway, where the Government has mandated that listed company boards have a composition of at least 40 per cent women, the number of female directors on ASX 200 company boards is quite shocking, at just 8.3 per cent.  And in what we hope is not the beginning of a downwards trend, the figure has dropped from last year’s 8.7 per cent.

Australia also rates poorly compared with other Western nations. In the United States 15.2 per cent of listed company board seats are held by women, in Britain 11.5 per cent and in Europe 9.7 per cent.

In August, the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee, the organisation that advises the Federal Government on corporate law matters, brought down a report which noted that directors of public companies come from a ”relatively limited pool” and are often ”drawn from the ranks of other boards and senior corporate executives”.

CAMAC has urged the ASX Corporate Governance Council to develop guidelines to boost the representation of women on Australian boards.

herVoice believes this is one of the few cases in which the imposition of quotas must be progressed, with heavy penalties for non-compliance, to ensure equal numbers of  male and female board members for Australian listed companies, public sector agencies and statutory authorities.  

Without such quotas, the glass ceiling will remain firmly in place, despite the efforts of the many skilled, talented and qualified women who continue to try and break through it.  

smh.com.au article - Making Pink the New Black   

Work/Life Balance Awards - Applications Close Soon!

Businesses, government and community organisations are encouraged to apply for the 2009-10 National Work-Life Balance Awards (the Awards) ahead of the closing date on COB Friday, 18 September 2009.

 

The Awards will acknowledge leaders in various industry sectors who excel in offering work, life and family initiatives. There will be 13 award category winners and one overall national winner.

Award winners will be able to use a winner’s symbol for a three-year period, helping them to attract employees. Winners will be announced at a ceremony scheduled for February 2010.

 

To apply or to find out more about the Awards go to http://www.deewr.gov.au/worklife or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94. If you would like further information about other workplace relations initiatives go to www.deewr.gov.au/WorkplaceRelations

What is a small business? The ATO explains.

In response to a common question being asked at the moment,  the ATO has advised as follows:

The tax office definition of a small business is: an individual, partnership, trust or company with aggregated turnover less than $2 million. An aggregated turnover is your annual turnover of any businesses you are connected or affiliated with.

If your previous year’s aggregated turnover (gross income not net profit) was $2 million or less, you are a small business for the current year. If one of your last two year’s aggregated turnover was less than $2 million, you can estimate that your current year will be $2 million or less.

These allow you, as a small business, to access the various PAYG Instalments, GST, CGT, FBT and income tax concessions.

Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace

The Federal Government has released its issues paper on the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace legislation and called for public comment.

Submissions close on 16 October 2009 and instructions on how to make submissions are included in the paper.

Women in the workforce have undeniably come a long way since the days of blatant discrimination and sexism in the 70s.

But in her media release announcing the review, Minister for the Status of Women, Tanya Plibersek, highlighted the fact that the pay gap between male and female full-time earnings is now 17.2 per cent and that over the last decade we have seen a decline in women in executive leadership roles.  

Hopefully, the review will go some way towards forcing the government to strengthen its legislation and address these issues.

Tax Office Warns on Door-Knock Scam

 

The Assistant Treasurer has warned taxpayers of a door-to-door scam operated by people claiming to be consultants from the Tax Office.

Senator Nick Sherry said the bogus consultants ask people to sign up to a supposed Government program promising financial incentives, including a reduction in taxes. The offer is a fraud and  under no circumstances, should anyone give personal information including credit card, banking or super fund details to these people.

“Anyone who has given personal information to an illegitimate source should immediately report it to their credit card provider, bank or super fund,” said Senator Sherry.

Anyone concerned about the legitimacy of the call or identity of a Tax Officer, should call the Tax Office on 13 28 61 and report any suspicious activities.

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