Amanda Rose opinion: All small businesses need a tax break, not just the new ones

It’s great that the Coalition is promising relief to help people start new business, but existing operators are struggling and could also use this lifeline, writes small business expert Amanda Rose.

Hold the press — did someone finally listen to the 97 per cent of businesses that keep this country running? Not quite.

Small businesses are the most neglected sector in Australia — overlooked, overregulated, and under siege, especially under the current federal Labor government.

For years, they’ve carried the economy on their backs while being locked out of contracts, ignored in policy, and buried under bureaucratic red tape.

And now, Labor’s push to legislate mandatory penalty rates will be the final nail in the coffin — forcing struggling businesses to choose between slashing hours, cutting jobs, or closing their doors entirely.

So Peter Dutton’s recent small business pitch — 350,000 new businesses over four years, tax offsets for start-ups, and incentives for digital upgrades — sounded like a welcome shift.

Small businesses have put the economy on their back, now the government needs to do more to ensure they remain open.

If enacted, it would finally give some momentum to the fastest-growing force in our economy — women entrepreneurs, who are now outpacing men in new business creation at record rates. These are the innovators, risk-takers, and job creators driving Australia’s next wave of economic growth. Supporting them isn’t just good policy — it’s smart economics.

But here’s the issue: this plan isn’t for the businesses barely hanging on — it’s for the ones that haven’t even launched. It turns its back on those already in the fight: the cafes, tradies, consultants, and retailers keeping the lights on through sheer grit. They need immediate relief. Some are only days away from shutting their doors.

It’s like tossing a rope to the next wave of entrepreneurs while leaving the rest to drown.

The proposed tax model — allowing new businesses to only pay tax on a portion of their income for the first three years — would be a game-changer if also applied to existing businesses. It would give them room to reinvest, hire, and survive. Otherwise, it’s just another policy that rewards the new and abandons the seasoned.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton seen here addressing the media at an informal Easter Sunday BBQ in Ipswich in the electorate of Blair outside Brisbane in Queensland. Picture: Richard Dobson / NewsWire

If we’re serious about helping small businesses thrive, we need a whole-of-economy approach — one that includes them in the contracts, policies, and decisions that shape this nation. Not just as a PR footnote, but as core contributors to Australia’s future.

Labor has made its priorities clear: unions first, corporates second — and small business dead last. A vote for Labor is a vote for bureaucracy, red tape, and the slow suffocation of the entrepreneurial spirit that’s kept this country afloat.

What small businesses need is a leader prepared to make the hard calls — someone willing to stand up to vested interests and actually deliver a future where family businesses, local employers, and self-starters can thrive.

This policy could be a turning point — but only if it’s backed by conviction. Not half-measures. Not headlines. Real leadership.

Small businesses need a government with the courage to back them — and the vision to build something that lasts.

Amanda Rose is founder and CEO, Entrepreneurial and Small Business Women Australia