I have what I believe is an interesting story. 

Two weeks ago a close acquaintance of mine (54 years of age) started a new job (after 6 months unemployment) with a small family business in their accounts department. When they phoned to tell him he got the job he really would have liked to ask what the pay was but he knew they wouldn't like it if he asked and they didn't think he had a right to be told. I'm sure the small business people on this forum think there's nothing wrong with that (treat them mean, keep them keen).  Anyways the day he starts they show him their way of doing the books, including entering the family restaurant bills in the books as "training" and newly installed wide screen TV in the family home as business equipment. And to top it all off I assume they would have scored themselves around a $4000 govt gift for hiring someone over 50. 

If you think by focusing on this I'm being unfair to small business ask yourself how vocal and persistent the small business community is in its constant attacks on the pay and conditions of the average Australian workers, from penalty rates to minimum wages; and their constant whinging about paying too much tax (think Swagman).

For almost 2 decades now all sides of Australian politics have spoken about small business as if they're some kind of self sacrificing, long suffering martyrs instead of just another pig with their snouts in the trough living off the hard honest work of the PAYE tax payer.  And there's a reason why the major parties speak of small business in this way. Well, you cant make a hero of big business because they're to big and too profitable. So how do you implement policies that are big business friendly. You sell them as small business friendly policies. And so these small business people with their snouts firmly imbedded in the trough are really the little guy and we all love the little guy. And this kind of trick is constantly played on us.  How do you sell yet another hand out to business; tell them it will create jobs and how do you sell a free trade agreement with china who pays their workers slave wages. You tell the Aust public it will create jobs. Any lie will do?

This is just rational human behaviour in regard to minimizing tax. You forgot the bit about cash transactions. I have known tradespeople who accept payment only in cash.

John Smith wrote on Jul 27^th, 2014 at 9:32pm:


A small business owners earnings per hour are very low. You wonder why some of them do it. Most could earn more and have more free time working for others.

The government rips off small business. They get slugged land tax on their premises and they pay higher electricity rates than families and large businesses.

Its almost as if governments are intent on causing small business to fail.

It is like every thing else there is no one size fits all to small business. Some work very hard for not much and others sit back while the money rolls in and take all the perks.

Some people set up or buy a small business to buy a job and not really a business. I am thinking seriously about doing this now. There is a difference. I know people who have built a small business to the point of floating it on the stock exchange and then selling it for several Million dollars. It can work out that way.

It would be wrong to paint all small business with the same brush even though most business lobby groups make it look that way.

You can build a business to the point where you put a manager in and only work a day or two a week, I know people in that position.

While it is simply untrue that all small business struggle plenty of them do.

Laugh till you cry wrote on Jul 27^th, 2014 at 9:53pm:
Oh for god's sake!!!!