Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Phil Wicks: Small Business New Zealand Founder on National's small business plan

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Phil Wicks: Small Business New Zealand Founder on National's small business plan · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: OK, so National's got a 47-point plan to cut red
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: tape for small business. Here's the minister in charge, Cameron Brewer.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: We will also review the GST registration threshold.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: It has been stuck at 60,000 since 2009.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: It wants to introduce a tell government once service. They
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: want to speed up stuff around employment. They want simpler
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: health and safety rules as well. Phil Wicks is the
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Small Business New Zealand founder. Director of BSB Advisory, and
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: joins me now. G'day, Phil.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: G'day. How are you going? Good.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Have you read it? Do you like it?
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: I think there's quite a lot here that small business
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: owners will recognise. I mean, the 47 points sounds like
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: a lot, but the themes are generally pretty simple. Make
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: it easier to employ people. Reduce the time owners spend
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: dealing with government-approved cash flow. Make it easier for businesses
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: to invest and grow. So, you know, overall fairly straightforward,
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: I think.
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  Speaker 1: How much of it was stuff we already do?
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Quite a bit, in all honesty. I mean, but, you know,
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: anything that can sort of take away those areas of friction,
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: give small business owners a bit more certainty is a
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: good thing. You know, most small businesses, what they're really after,
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: small business owners, sorry, is confidence and, you know, confidence
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: to employ another person or invest in another piece of equipment.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: Okay, well Cameron Brewer says, and he says of the
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: 47 points, the big hold-up for small businesses are all
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: the employment rules, and he wants to simplify them, and
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: he's talking about the Employment Relations Authority, and he's talking
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: about the whole employment disputes process. How can you simplify that?
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Well, I guess the issue isn't about removing anybody's rights.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: I think it's relatively straightforward. Sorry, it's when a relatively
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: straightforward disagreement becomes... enormously expensive or time-consuming for both sides.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: Those sort of things can be simplified. It's good if
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: you can resolve smaller disputes faster and proportionately. I think
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: it's also good for that sole trader who's taking on
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: the first employee. There's a huge step there. Suddenly you've
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: got employment agreements, payroll, leave, ACC, and those sorts of things.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: Anything that can simplify that, I think, is a good thing.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: And how do you feel about that 60,000 GST threshold?
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  Speaker 1: Should it be higher?
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I've said this before. I think last time I talked, yes,
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: I think it should be. I mean, in Australia, I
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: think it's around 90,000. And it's been 60,000, I think,
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: since 2009. So, yeah, I mean, I think it should
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: be higher. I've thought about that for a while.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: Well, what's your reasoning behind that?
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: Because, you know, again, the majority of small businesses that
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: start up or a fair proportion will fail. And anything
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: that can actually make that process a little bit easier. And,
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: you know, when $ 60, 000, when you think about that's turnover,
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: that's not profit. So it's not a heck of a
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: lot when you think of it that way.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: All right, Phil, I thank you for your time today.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Phil Wicks, the Small Business New Zealand founder. He's also
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: a director of BSB Advisory and Inspection.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: to News Talk ZB from 5 a.m.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: Weekdays or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.