Starting a photobooth business or expanding your existing business has never been more appealing with the recent announcement of the Australian Federal Budget.  Small businesses, sole traders and those starting a business will enjoy tax breaks, less red tape and accelerated asset depreciation in a stimulus package worth $5.5 billion. The big incentive is that small businesses will be able to claim unlimited tax deductions for items under $20,000, and some capital gains tax obligations will be waived.

If you’ve been contemplating on getting started in the photobooth industry or expanding your existing business, now is the perfect time to start!

Accelerated depreciation

All small businesses will get an immediate tax deduction for any individual assets they buy costing less than $20,000. (Currently, the threshold sits at $1,000).

This $20,000 limit applies to each individual item. Small businesses can apply this $20,000 rule to as many individual items as they wish. These arrangements start from Budget night and continue until the end of June 2017.

Tax cuts

The Government is reducing the tax rate for the more than 90 per cent of incorporated businesses with annual turnover less than $2 million. The company tax rate for these businesses will be reduced by 1.5 percentage points to 28.5 per cent.

To help all Australian small businesses grow, the Government will also provide a 5 per cent tax discount to unincorporated businesses with annual turnover less than $2 million from 1 July 2015. This delivers a tax cut of $1.8 billion over the next four years.

Cutting red tape

The Government will reduce red tape within the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) system by expanding the FBT exemption for work‑related portable electronic devices. This will help small business employees stay connected in the digital economy.

Small businesses will also benefit from Capital Gains Tax rollover relief when changing their legal structures but keeping the same owners.

Want to read more about the 2015 Federal budget:  http://www.budget.gov.au/2015-16/content/highlights/jobsandsmallbusiness.html