I hope you have a big finish to FY24. In the meantime, here’s what’s making news in terms of the Budget, the economy and tax policy:
- Business failures soar
- $325 energy rebate
- Tax break extended
- Wages grow 4.1%
A wave of insolvencies is rolling through the business community, credit bureau Equifax has reported. Insolvency levels in the March quarter were 41.1% higher than the year before and at their highest point since 2015.
The federal government has used its 2024-25 Budget to deliver energy rebates of $325 for about one million small businesses that meet their state and territory definition of an electricity ‘small customer', as determined by their annual electricity consumption threshold.
Small businesses will have access to the instant asset write-off for another 12 months, after the policy, which was due to end at the end of this financial year, was extended to 30 June 2025 in the recent federal Budget.
Average wages increased by an annualised rate of 4.1% in the March quarter, down from 4.2% in the December quarter, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.