A "confronting" statistic has revealed how are battling the and industry red tape. The Australian Chamber of Commerce has spoken with across the country and found many are worried they will soon have to close their doors for good. More than 45 per cent of respondents said , excessive bureaucracy and new rules like the " " have caused them to consider shutting up shop forever.
Chamber CEO Andrew McKellar told a "crisis" is looming. "It is dire,” he said. “There are a range of different factors hurting small business, but the red-tape burden – tax compliance, payroll and all those things that occur in the background – have been cited by small business as key factors.
" RELATED He referenced the Closing Loopholes legislation that passed earlier this year, which includes the "right to disconnect" rules, criminalising wage underpayments, changes to how a casual employee is classed, labour hire changes, and many others. But McKellar said the raft of new rules "amounts to closing a noose" around the necks of many small businesses who are fighting to stay alive. The Chamber's research found 6 per cent of businesses across the country were spending more than 20 hours a week complying with red tape and more than 90 per cent said bureaucracy was having an impact on the way they want to run their operation.
While the national rate of businesses considering closing down sat at 45 per cent, it jumped up to 57 per cent just in rural and regional areas of the country. Connie Black, wh.