There were few surprises for small businesses in the 2016 Budget, but there were still things to smile about. The biggest of these were aimed at boosting innovation and simplifying taxes. Here’s what you need to know:

Taxes

What: A $187m tax package aimed at reducing compliance costs and simplifying taxes for small and medium-sized businesses over the next four years. The package:

• Focuses on making paying provisional tax much easier and simpler.
• New pay-as-you-go system for businesses with revenue of $5m a year or less can pay provisional tax directly through their online accounting provider.
• Reduces interest and penalties.

Innovation

What: $761m for Innovative New Zealand — a package to encourage skills, entrepreneurship and economic growth. The funding boost aims to increase the skilled workforce available to small businesses. This will include funding for two areas:

Regional development

What: $94.4m of new funding for regional economic development over the next four years. The funding will go towards:

• $44m for the Regional Growth Programme to help regions develop new business investment and growth.
• $8m for the Regional Business Partners Programme — operated by NZTE and Callaghan Innovation — to extend support of small businesses for business development and research.

Find your Regional Business Partner

Start-ups

What: $15m over the next four years for programmes that speed up commercialisation of new technologies. This includes:

• $12m for small businesses that grow out of research from universities or crown research institutes.
• $3m for helping start-up tech businesses.

2016 Budget — Beehive.govt.nz