SMALL BUSINESS BOOST A SHOT IN THE ARM

CHRISTMAS has come early for struggling Gold Coast small businesses in the form of incentive schemes and tax cuts in Tuesday’s budget unveiling.

The thousands of small businesses across the city left in the lurch following the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of JobKeeper in March have been promised “peace of mind” by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

The funding includes $8m for a two-year campaign encouraging people to support their local small and familyowned businesses. A further $900,000 has been pledged over four years to help small business owners “improve their mental wellbeing”.

Small businesses can also claim any assets bought since October last year on tax.

Seadog owner Brodie Green said: “It’s amazing, especially when we’ve been impacted so heavily. “The way the market is at the moment, we had to build a coffee cart for the new site. (Things like this) make a difference.”

The popular hole-in-thewall Burleigh cafe opened a second takeaway location in Memorial Park, in collaboration with the Burleigh Heads Bowls Club.

Mr Green added an increase in the maximum number of hours worked by international students from 20 to 40 hours could be “incredible” for the city’s hospitality industry.

International students previously facing a 40-hour fortnightly limit on their working hours have had their cap lifted if they’re employed in the hospitality and tourism industry.

“It’s incredible for the hospitality industry, because a lot of them are struggling to find workers,” Mr Green said.

“They’ve even approached us wanting to share staff. This could really help.”

The Gold Coast could also see more small businesses popping up citywide, with $15.5m promised over two years to provide more people the opportunity to explore and start their own small business.