The Turnbull Government’s 2017 Budget is the next stage in our economic plan, making the right choices to secure more and better paying jobs.
Further backing Australian small business and workers
The Government’s plan will better support and encourage over 3.2 million Australian small businesses and their employees.
The instant asset write off will be extended for a further 12 months to 30 June 2018, allowing small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $10 million to immediately deduct eligible assets each costing less than $20,000.
This will improve cash flow for small business helping them to invest in their future and grow.
In the past four years, the Government has cut more than $5.8 billion in business regulation, red tape and compliance costs, freeing up businesses to invest more in themselves and their employees. However more needs to be done to reduce regulation that can impact more directly on everyday business operations. That is why the Government will provide $300 million to incentivise States and Territories to cut these costs for small businesses through a new National Partnership on Regulatory Reform.
The Government will also establish a $1.5 billion Skilling Australians Fund through a new levy on foreign workers in order to train Australians to take these jobs. This is about ensuring that Australians come first for Australian jobs.
To be less reliant on foreign workers in the future, we need to train more Australians to secure these jobs.
Building Australia
We know that better infrastructure boosts productivity and helps our businesses and communities. That is why our total funding and financing commitments are over $70 billion from 2013-14 to 2020-21 for critical transport infrastructure, including $8.4 billion for a direct rail freight route – Inland Rail – from Melbourne to Brisbane and up to $5.3 billion for a new Western Sydney Airport.
The Government is establishing a $10 billion National Rail Program to fund priority regional and urban rail investments. The Program will support transformational urban passenger rail initiatives in our major cities and improvements to regional rail services.
In addition, the Government is providing $1 billion to fund priority regional and urban infrastructure in Victoria, including $500 million for regional passenger rail, $1.6 billion towards a $2.3 billion road and rail infrastructure package in Western Australia that will create 6000 jobs and provide better access to the Fiona Stanley Hospital precinct, and $844 million for new Bruce Highway priority projects including to upgrade the Pine Rivers to Caloundra section.
The Government is also supporting stronger regions — the lifeblood of our country — with a number of initiatives, including:
- creating a $472 million Regional Growth Fund to deliver job-creating infrastructure;
- establishing a $100 million Advanced Manufacturing Fund to support skills development, research and business capital for a flourishing advanced manufacturing sector;
- investing more than $42 million to assist regional workers remain competitive in a changing world;
- expanding the Stronger Communities Program by $28 million to support small organisations to implement necessary upgrades to local infrastructure and facilities; and
- exploring options to decentralise Commonwealth Government agencies to boost skills and create job opportunities in our regions.
Choosing to invest in regional growth
The Turnbull Government will establish a new $472 million Regional Growth Fund to invest in infrastructure projects that can make a real difference to regional economies. This will include $200 million in new funding to support a further round of the successful Building Better Regions programme.
In one of the biggest investments ever seen in regional Australia, the Government will fund the Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail project with $8.4 billion in equity to be provided to the Australian Rail Track Corporation. Construction on this 1,700km project will begin in 2017-18 and will support 16,000 jobs at the peak of construction and provide benefits, not just to Melbourne and Brisbane, but for all the regions along its route.
Delivering our plan
Our 2017 Budget initiatives build on the successful delivery of our National Economic Plan. Key achievements include:
- Delivering the first instalment of our Ten Year Enterprise Tax Plan to lower the company tax rate to 25 per cent for businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50 million
- Increasing the small business entity turnover threshold from $2 million to $10 million per annum, granting over 90,000 additional business entities access to a range of small business tax concessions
- Growing Australia’s defence capacity, increasing our regional security and creating jobs across the supply chain by green lighting vital ship building in Western Australia and South Australia
- Securing export trade deals with China, Japan and South Korea that benefit businesses and consumers across Australia
- Supporting individuals and businesses to innovate through the National Science and Innovation Agenda by improving collaboration and access to capital, as well as helping young Australians to get the skills they need for jobs in the digital age
This week the Government will introduce the remaining elements of our Enterprise Tax Plan so we can support even more Australian businesses to invest, create jobs and remain globally competitive.
The Turnbull Government remains committed to our National Economic Plan so we can make the right choices to secure better days ahead for all Australians.