A National Government will back the private sector, in particular our small businesses, to create jobs and get the economy moving again, National Party Leader Judith Collins says.

At the announcement of National’s Small Business plan today, Ms Collins pointed to New Zealand’s entrepreneurs as being critical to our economic recovery.

“The only sustainable way to create new jobs is to reduce barriers, costs and uncertainty for the private sector, and in particular small businesses,” Ms Collins says.

“National will empower small businesses to grow, thrive and succeed.”

You can read our Small Business Policy Factsheet here

National has announced a comprehensive package of small business policies, which will:

• Reduce the cost and compliance of the tax system for small businesses
  
  
• Make employment law fairer for small businesses
  
  
• Improve cash flow for small businesses
  
  
• Reduce red tape for small business
  
  
• Improve access to capital for new and existing small businesses

We have also reaffirmed our previous policies which will benefit small businesses:

• Encourage small businesses to invest in new equipment and machinery by allowing them to immediately deduct new capital investments up to $150,000
  
  
• Encourage job creation for small businesses by providing a $10,000 cash grant for new hires with our JobStart policy and repeal Labour’s changes to the Employment Relations Act
  
  
• Provide New Zealanders who have lost their job up to $30,000 in capital to put towards a new business idea through our BusinessStart package

New Zealand is facing its worst economic downturn in 160 years. More than 200,000 New Zealanders are now on unemployment benefits and a further 280,000 jobs are being kept alive by wage subsidies.

“New Zealanders need a Government with the experience, the competence and the vision to rescue the economy, save businesses and protect jobs,” Ms Collins says.

Small Business spokesperson Andrew Bayly says better employment law and incentives for job creation will help businesses take on new staff, getting them off unemployment benefits.

“Kiwi businesses are struggling under the weight of poor regulation and mounting costs.”

National will simplify industrial relations legislation to reduce red tape and encourage businesses to create new jobs by repealing the Government’s changes to the Employment Relations Act.

“We will initiate a review of WorkSafe, five years since its inception, to ensure it is focused on delivering a high performance culture, with an emphasis on a collaborative and reasonable approach to health and safety improvement,” Mr Bayly says.

“National will also require all government departments and agencies to pay their contractors on time and within seven days.

“Cash flow is critical to small businesses, only half of all businesses are cash flow positive at any one time.

“When large businesses do not pay their bills on time or in a timely manner, then small businesses with limited working capital are the ones who suffer.”

Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says National will introduce a range of changes to the tax system that reduce cost and compliance of for small businesses.

“National has been very clear, we won’t be increasing taxes or introducing any new taxes.

“Businesses need confidence to invest and create more jobs, the last thing New Zealand needs right now is higher taxes.”

National will lift the threshold to expense new capital investment from $5000 to $150,000 per asset and increase the provisional tax threshold to rise from $5000 to $25,000 and raise the compulsory GST threshold from $60,000 to $75,000.

National will allow businesses to expense an asset once its depreciated value falls below $3000, as opposed to having to continue to depreciate it until its depreciated tax value equals zero.

You can read our Small Business Policy Factsheet here