CRUMBS FOR PRINT IN ELECTION BUDGET

Print business owners were thrown just a few crumbs in Jim Chalmers' election budget, which analysts say did virtually nothing to boost productivity or business growth, or cut red or green tape.

Despite treasurer Jim Chalmers labelling the budget as a "platform for prosperity", there was no business tax reform that business has been demanding, nothing on energy beyond a minuscule rebate, and the $20,000 instant asset write-off was cut to just $1000 – the opposite of what business wanted, which was a massive increase in the write-off amount.

There will also be a ban on non-compete clauses in staff contracts, if the worker is earning less than $175,000. The ban on non-compete clauses will include ending the restraint on staff swapping jobs to a rival firm, and on setting up a rival operation. However, the policy will only apply to new contracts.

Adding to the anger businesses will feel over the move, the government said it is looking at extending the non-compete clause ban to workers on higher incomes, and is looking at banning clauses that prevent staff who move to a rival company, or set up on their own, from taking clients and colleagues with them.

The government is also aiming to ban agreements between rival companies not to poach each other’s staff, and to fix wage levels between themselves.

The upside saw little to benefit print: the 100,000 fee-free TAFE places will continue, and there is a minor tax cut for workers, which will enable them to buy one cup of coffee each week, from next July.

Chalmers did give one potentially beneficial change to print, with the launch of a $20m fund to spruik buying in Australia. However, whether the government itself will take its own advice and mandate taxpayer dollars go to buying Australian print, rather than spending the money overseas because it’s a bit cheaper, remains to be seen.

Taxpayer-funded print buying has been a pain point across the industry for decades, with printers arguing that government departments, and all other government-funded institutions such as museums, the Olympics, and universities, should be buying print domestically, as the money stays in Australia, and will be used to pay Australian wages, mortgages and local consumption – the benefits easily offsetting the higher buy price.

In the US, taxpayer dollars have to be spent in the US, unless there is no option but to go overseas, with the mandate in place long before the Trump administration gained power. Print advocates want the same mandate applied here.

The outlook for total business investment growth remains bleak, with treasury forecasting it will rise from a mere one per cent in the current financial year, up to just 1.5 per cent in the 2026 and 2027 financial years.

The budget also saw the ATO given $200m a year to improve its crackdown on tax avoidance, both business and personal.