Budget initiatives for start-ups

A key component of the Federal Budget is the Government's $5.5 billion small business package. The centrepiece of the Budget, it contains a number of initiatives that aim to positively impact small businesses, and in particular, start-up businesses.

These include:

• a 1.5% cut to the company tax rate for small businesses, reducing it to 28.5%;
• a single online registration site to streamline new business registrations;
• changes to upfront deductions for professional start-up expenses, including legal fees;
• beneficial changes to employee share schemes; and
• the removal of obstacles to crowd-sourced equity funding.

Three of these initiatives are discussed in more detail below.