Government working on new plans to ensure small businesses get paid on time

Running an Indian newspaper and getting paid on time by advertisers was a big issue as deadlines came fast one after the other before one got their head stuck into stories and editorial. There is this saying that ‘when paying bills advertising is the last on the list of payment for anyone’ since they are not an emergency like the electricity, water, petrol or food bill. Still life cannot run if the money does not turn up into the account no matter what bill and which service including advertising.

The government realises this as it is focussing on backing small and medium sized businesses  with a new plan to ensure they get paid on time, boosting cash flow and helping them grow.

Says Scott Morrison, “Cash flow is crucial to the health of any business, but especially small business. Although there have been significant improvements, small businesses are still being shouldered with the burden of long payment times.  We have listened and we heard loud and clear from small business owners around Australia, and we are taking action to ensure small business is not being used as a bank.”

“To address this issue, we will work with the sector to develop an annual reporting framework, requiring large businesses over $100  million turnover to publish payment information on how they engage with small businesses.

It will cover 3,000 of the largest businesses in Australia ”“ including foreign companies and government entities.

Through a new procurement policy we will require those same large businesses seeking to tender for government contracts to match our 20 day payment policy.”

Mr Morrison says small business is the backbone of our country and they need to get a fair go, “Trade between small, medium and large businesses totals more than $550 billion a year and the improvements we make through this action will improve our economic growth.”

“At our request, small business payment times will be placed on the COAG agenda for our next meeting on 12 December in Adelaide. We will also do more to help small and medium sized business compete for government contracts with a new commitment to have 35 per cent of all contracts up to $20 million delivered by small businesses.”

The government is also lowering the cost of funding for smaller banks and non-banks with a $2 billion fund, which means cheaper loans for small and family businesses.

Because of this plan  3.3 million small and medium businesses will pay less tax, down to 25 per in 2021-22.

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