A survey of nearly 170 Chief Executive Officers and business owners has found most do not believe getting rid of Australia’s carbon price laws and the mining taxes will have a significant impact.
The conservative Liberal-National federal government promised that scrapping the mining tax and the carbon price would ease the burden on Australian businesses.
However, AAP Newsagency reports it seems the message might not be cutting through.
A new survey shows the majority of Australia’s small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) expect no significant impact from the eventual repeal of the twin imposts of the previous Labor government.
According to The Executive Connection’s (TEC) quarterly Confidence Index survey, 52 per cent of CEOs did not expect the repeal of the tax to have significant impact on their business while 28 per cent expected ‘significant impact’ and 5 per cent expected the effect to be ‘very significant’.
AAP reports the quarterly survey of nearly 170 CEOs and business owners nationwide found 17 per cent of companies with a turnover of between $21 million and $50 million surveyed by TEC expected a very significant impact from the carbon price repeal.
Nikki Potter CEO of TEC said the impact of the carbon price on SMEs was not easy to quantify and consumers should not expect a “huge windfall” in savings.
“The administrative costs and other additional complications associated with scrapping the tax mean that most of our members do not expect to see a significant cost saving in 2014,” she said in a statement.
Nearly three-quarters of all small businesses surveyed actually reported an improvement in business conditions in 2013, more than six months into the carbon price period.
TEC members in Queensland and South Australia predicted little affect from the tax repeal, with over 60 per cent forecasting little change, compared with Victoria where 40 per cent are hoping to see a significant impact.
“Although small businesses were in principle those heaviest hit by the carbon price, 71 per cent of our smaller business owners and leaders reported an improvement in business conditions in 2013,” Ms Potter said.
The government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott has failed to push its carbon price repeal legislation through the upper house Senate before parliament rose for a Christmas break.
Mr Abbott’s government might have to wait until a less hostile Senate takes over in July next year.
