Have your say and attend Federal Labor’s listening tour at MYOB HQ

The local leader in online accounting software, MYOB will be hosting Federal Labor’s first stop on the recently announced national listening tour of small businesses.

Small business is regularly highlighted as the ‘backbone of the Australian economy’ by business leaders and politicians alike.

As an example of the way the Australian Labor Party intends to engage with small business, it has recently announced a ‘listening tour’ of the nation, whereby the party invites small business owners to attend and voice their thoughts and opinions on the subjects that matter most.

And the first stop on this listening tour will take place at MYOB’s offices in Cremorne, Melbourne, which will take the form of a morning tea. Once there, attendees will have the chance to discuss issues they care about with MYOB chief executive Tim Reed, shadow minister for small and family business Brendan O’Connor and shadow minister assisting for small and family business Matt Keogh.

Your voice matters

Reed has previously gone on the record to highlight the importance of small business to the Australian economy, noting that over the last three years, small business had played a critical role in policy debate, even more so than in previous decades.

“The importance of small business in the context of the broader economy has moved from being just words to actions – meaningful policies such as tax cuts for small businesses, increase to the instant asset write-off, and policies that encourage research and development in early stage companies,” Reed said.

“They told us that a lower company tax rate allows them to invest in their business, that utility and fuel costs are rising to crippling levels, that they greatly value the instant asset write-off and want access to e-invoicing.”

Some of the key statistics from MYOB research gathered in the lead up to this year’s Federal Election indicate the pain points they face, and the topics most likely to be brought up on the national listening tour.

For example:

• 69% would vote for policies committing Government and big business to paying small businesses within 30 days
• 53% listed small business tax cuts as the most important business-related issue
• 1 in 3 have already seen a reduction in tax they pay, and of those, 85% used the tax cut to reinvest in their business

“They also revealed they want the government to simplify – remove red tape, streamline the BAS and GST reporting process, and increase their digital service offerings.

“With more than two million small businesses in Australia, this is a powerful voting group all parties want to sway; both the government and opposition must take notice of these findings,” said Reed.

Want to have your say? This event is FREE to attend, but places are limited. The first stop in Federal Labor’s listening tour will take place on Tuesday, 20 August from 10am to 11.30am at 167 Cremorne Street, Cremorne. RSVP here.