Small businesses urged to “make your vote count” at Saturday’s federal election

With only two sleeps to go until the 2016 federal election, small businesses are being urged to understand the key policy differences between the major political parties that will affect their businesses – and vote wisely.

The Council of Small Business of Australia has launched its “Make Your Vote Count” campaign in a big to encourage small businesses and their employees to make an informed choice this weekend.

A flyer, which is available from the COSBOA website, appeals to small business owners by stating the outcome of the election “will have fair-reaching consequences that will impact private or family-owned businesses for the next 20 years”.

In particular, COSBOA says there are three policy areas that will affect Australian small businesses and the association supports the Coalition’s position in these areas.

The three issues are the abolition of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, the introduction of an effects test in Australian competition law, and extending tax benefits currently available to businesses with less than $2 million in annual turnover to those with up to $10 million in turnover.

“COSBOA supports governments that value smaller businesses’ contribution to Australia and looks for ways to help them,” the association said.

“Please choose carefully at the polling booth this Saturday.”

Pitting small business against big business unhelpful, says Australian Chamber chief

James Pearson, chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said on Wednesday the SME business community stands ready to work whichever political party is elected on the weekend, but he said attempts by political parties to pit small businesses and bigger businesses is unhelpful.

“That is a nonsense,” Pearson said at an event with journalists and representatives from key industry groups.

“I’ve worked in both sides of businesses in different sectors and I’ve come to understand that big businesses utterly depend on a supply chain, and an efficient and effective and highly functional small and medium business community to supply them with goods and services that they need,” he said.

“We live in a world that over time, the large companies have adopted more and more an outsourcing model, whereas in the past it used to be that vertical integration was the way to go.

Pearson said fact a large volume of Australian businesses operate in the business-to-business space, and therefore need to work together, has been overlooked over the past eight weeks.

“Small businesses depend on big businesses for exactly the same reasons. A lot of businesses are in B2B, they’re in business to business transactions – that hasn’t come through, I don’t think, in the election campaign,” he said.

“The fact is many, many people depend for their livelihood, and therefore their families and household’s livelihoods, on those business to business transactions.”