All I Want For Christmas

February 20, 2024
4
minutes to read
by
Michael Nuciforo
Table of Contents

What a regular, ordinary and plain old boring year it’s been... said nobody! It’s crazy that Christmas is already upon us. It feels like yesterday that the first Covid case was detected in Australia but in actual fact it was about ten months ago. In the last twelve months we have weathered horrendous bush fires, challenging lock downs and endless video conference calls. When it’s all said and done, this year has been a reminder of how precious our lives are, something we often take for granted, and the fact that we can’t control everything around us.

So now that the year is coming to an end, it’s time to indulge, not only in great food and wine (please remember to drink in moderation) but in dreams, hopes and aspirations for the year ahead.  Businesses have had a tough time of it this year, so give us a break if we want to dream a little! Here is all things we sent Santa for our Christmas wish list in 2021.

1. Small Business Tax Breaks

The Government did a great job this year of providing a lot of breaks, deferrals and funding when times got particularly hard. Of course we would have loved to see a little more, but they stepped up when they had to. We would like to see more done next year to really ensure the economy bounces back post-Covid. For many businesses, Covid has really set back their growth plans by 12 – 24 months, and some extra cash in the pocket would do wonders.

2. Digital Service Subsidies

Many Australian business owners have been reluctant to adopt digital services due to the costs associated with going online.  The upfront time and effort in switching and learning a new tool is often too much for business owners to bear with, so they stick to know what they already know. However, in the long term this creates huge inefficiencies, holds back growth and leads to a poorer end customer experience.  We would love to see the Government provide some really strong financial incentives for going digital by providing a panel of selected services at discount rates.

3. Less Red Tape

The amount of reporting, governance and information that needs to provided when running a business is off the charts.  From BAS to tax, to super and payroll, awards, rewards, hiring, firing, and everything else in between. From our research, we found that businesses spent at least six hours a week on all this ‘admin’.  We think this is definitely an area the Government can invest more in, even if 6 hours was reduced by half, that is literally billions of dollars' worth of time saved each year.

4. Relaxation of Skilled Visa Laws

Australia is a very desirable destination for many people around the world, and it should be easier for the most skilled of them to move here.  The more talent in the country, the better! There is already a veritable treasure trove of smart people who came here initially as immigrants, who have fundamentally changed the landscape of Australian business. We would love to see the Government relax these laws and actively seek to make it easier for people to move here. Given other countries are typically making it harder to move, now is the right time to stick our neck out.

5. Covid Vaccine

This is an obvious one, but let’s hope the Covid vaccine works and is rolled out pronto! The work from home honeymoon period has well and truly ended and everyone wants to go back to a traffic jams and breakfast radio again.

Finally, and sincerely, we really hope you enjoy a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We know it might look a little different this year, but revel in the festivities all the same. We appreciate all your support, encouragement and contribution to the Thriday mission. We’ll see you on the other side!

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