Some have said that historically the Federal Budget handed down on May 14th 2013 will be remembered for DisabilityCare and the education reforms. That may well end up being the case, but it has made for slim pickings from a tax and business point of view. There was very little in the budget that was not previously known or mooted - right down to the size of the deficit ($18 billion) - and even less that is likely to have any significant impact on small-medium enterprises (SMEs) in Australia. Most of the announced business reforms are targeted at large corporate enterprises and multi-nationals, for the most part leaving SMEs untouched. In some respects this is welcome, but in another sense we can't but help wonder aloud - if the current revenue shortfall is attributable in part to a decline in business profits, could more have been done to stimulate business development and growth?
Read our full summary of the budget highlights here.