Your shopping cart is empty
Australia’s SME tax identity crisis
Published on 01 Jan 07 by "AUSTRALIAN TAX FORUM" JOURNAL ARTICLE
The Australian taxation landscape has never really come to terms with the concept of what it means to be a small business vis-à-vis small to medium sized businesses and larger businesses. Whilst various attempts have been made by successive governments to demonstrate that they have an understanding of what a small business is, tax initiatives in the SME sector have been ad-hoc and reactive in nature.
This article examines and evaluates the various approaches adopted in defining what is a small busines in Australia, and concludes that there are too many and varied definitions of the term small business. This has contributed to policy makers failing to properly identify and target relevant tax concessions in this sector. The Federal Government's proposed legislation to standardise the eligibility criteria for small business tax concessions is a (small) step in the right direction. What is clear, is that a change in approach is well overdue.
Author profile
Dr Mark Pizzacalla CTA
Dr Mark Pizzacalla, CTA is Partner-in-Charge of the Business Services practice of BDO in Melbourne, and is integrally involved in the firm’s Tax and Advisory practice. Dr Pizzacalla’s business experience, including acting as Managing Partner of his predecessor firm, gives him a strong appreciation of both the strategic and operational issues facing business and provides relevance to the technical tax advice he delivers. Dr Pizzacalla completed his PhD in relation to the taxation of SMEs in Australia and is one of the few tax practitioners whose work has been cited in Australia’s Parliament. Dr Pizzacalla is a member of The Tax Institute’s Victorian Technical Committee, and is a former Chair of The Tax Institute’s National SME Sub-Committee, as well as being a former Victorian State Councillor. Dr Pizzacalla was appointed to the Board of Taxation in January 2015 and was reappointed for a further three-year term commencing 1 January 2018. - Current at 04 July 2023
The Tax Institute is Australia's leading professional association and educator in tax providing the best resources, professional development and networks.