Labor’s Budget threatens to kill the ‘Australian dream’
Small business owners rally together to send petition to Canberra asking to repeal the CGT tax changes.
GIORGIA Rossi is a mum, staunch Labor voter and small business owner who fears the Australian dream might die.
As she and her best friend watched their young children grow up, they reflected on their own tech-free childhood, and wanted Australian kids to have that same experience.
They bet on themselves and founded Possum Play, a small furniture business marketed as “screen-free, imaginative play, every day”.
“We grew up tearing cushions off couches … kids use their imagination to turn them into unlimited configurations, little cars, rocket ships, reading nooks, spare beds and obstacle courses,” Ms Rossi told AAP.
“We invented a product that essentially did the same thing with a piece of furniture custom built for children.”
But Ms Rossi said Federal Budget tax tweaks – specifically, paring back the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount – might have prevented their business from ever being more than a thought bubble.
It’s the reason she signed an open letter to prime minister Anthony Albanese alongside 39 other young business founders, urging him to wind back the changes.
The entrepreneurs claim small businesses have been ambushed by the tax reforms.
New startups won’t be able to find investors and founders will eventually have to sell their business if the tax reforms come into effect, Ms Rossi said.
“I am a staunch Labor voter and, ultimately, I agree with so much of the budget. There is incredible life-changing policy in there,” she explained.
“(But) we are told as Australians there is essentially a deal – if you take the risk, you get the reward, and ultimately that reward has become less attractive. The government is going to come in as a silent co-founder to make the most of that reward.”
The letter she signed outlines support for changes in the Budget that make it easier for young Australians to buy a home, including removing the capital gains tax discount on housing.
But she believes the decision to pare back the discount on capital gains tax will negatively impact every growing company in Australia.
