Small business backed with 47-point Plan
National is supporting small businesses with a 47-point Small Business Plan to reduce compliance costs and make it easier to invest, grow and employ staff, National’s Small Business spokesperson Cameron Brewer says.
“Small businesses make up around 97 per cent of all New Zealand enterprises. Around 600,000 businesses employ approximately 680,000 people.
“Behind those numbers are owners, workers and families whose ambition and effort help drive our economy.
“National will back those businesses to succeed. We want the sole trader to feel confident taking on an apprentice, the café owner to open a second premises, and the local manufacturer to win their first overseas order.
“When small businesses can invest, employ and grow, the benefits flow to their communities, with more jobs and more opportunities to get ahead.
“National’s 47-point Small Business Plan will make doing business easier by:
- Delivering a Tell Government Once service built around the New Zealand Business Number and existing government systems including Inland Revenue, ACC, the Companies Office and relevant licensing bodies.
- A fast track for straightforward disputes within the Employment Relations Authority, for suitable minor employment disputes.
- Reviewing the compulsory GST registration threshold, which has remained at $60,000 since 2009.
- Rewriting priority health and safety codes and guidance in plain English, with practical examples for small businesses.
- Helping more small and medium Kiwi businesses succeed overseas by backing the next 200 high-potential exporters with intensive support.
- Making repeat seasonal hiring easier with a standard recurring seasonal agreement and shorter renewal process.
- Keeping Investment Boost, protecting the immediate 20 per cent deduction that backs businesses to invest, grow and hire.
“A big part of our Small Business Plan is simplifying employment rules so it is easier to take on new staff and create more opportunities in small businesses’ communities,” Mr Brewer says.
“The First Employee Support Package will deliver practical, dedicated advice for new employers through first year of their first hire - employment agreement tools, payroll guidance, and tax and ACC reminders.
“Small businesses don’t have teams of people to deal with government paperwork. Often it is the owner doing everything themselves late at night after the kids are in bed.
“That is why this plan is focused on practical changes that give them time back, whether that is helping them through their first hire, resolving employment disputes faster, or letting them update core business information once instead of repeating it across government.”
“National backs the Kiwis who put their savings, livelihoods and ambition into building a business. Investment Boost supports businesses to invest in better equipment, expand their premises or take on more work. That creates opportunities for their staff and their communities. Labour wants to take it away.
“National knows the only way to create jobs and help Kiwis get ahead is to grow the economy, spend sensibly and get debt down, with no new taxes. Backing small businesses to succeed is a key part of how we make that happen.”
National’s Small Business manifesto HERE
