What does the 2022 budget mean for local Kempsey businesses?

While local businesses are on high alert for potential flash flooding, the budget does bring some good news.

Read More: Roads closed as Macleay Valley on flood watch

President of Macleay Valley Business Chamber, Gary Scott, said most business owners would be pleased with this budget.

"While it is a pre-election budget, the government can't sit back and do nothing and I'm sure if it was any other year they would have injected some kind of stimulus to help with the cost of living," he said.

A measure to help individuals and businesses alike with the cost of living, was the halving of the fuel excise for six months. This will see excise on petrol and diesel cut from 44.2 cents per litre to 22.1 cents per litre.

"I hope that the fuel excise will encourage people to continue to travel to places like Kempsey," Mr Scott said.

"The fuel excise along with previously introduced measures such as the Stay NSW vouchers are really important for tourism businesses in Kempsey."

The government also announced a one-off $420 cost of living tax offset for more than 10 million workers, while more than 6 million are expected to receive a one-off payment of $250 to assist with cost of living pressures.

Business NSW regional manager Kellon Beard said he was hopeful that this would feed through to greater consumer confidence on the high-street.

"This budget is clearly aimed at putting more money back into the pockets of working Australians and providing support for small business owner." he said.

Measures aimed towards business centred around the pressures of skills shortages, recovering from the pandemic and the rising complexity of the digital economy.

"This is a budget that has a number of welcome measures for businesses, yet it leaves long-overdue tax reform and major issues such as unaffordable insurance costs off the list," Mr Beard said.

Tax cuts for businesses investing in training and technology are some of the welcome measures.

"For every hundred dollars a small business spends on training their employees, they will get a $120 tax deduction, which is a major boost to staff productivity and retention," Mr Beard said.

"Small businesses will also be able to claim a bonus 20 per cent tax deduction for investments in digital technologies like cloud computing, cyber security and web design.

Mr Scott said the Macleay Valley Business Chamber supported the measures overall and was looking forward to speaking further with its members as the severe weather subsided.

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