‘Know your skills and value': How small businesses can face up to tax time with confidence

The Age

8 hours ago

It's often said that no one becomes a small-business owner to actually run a business. It is, after all, a world that few enter into with a blueprint for success. Yet, some 2.6 million Australians have taken the leap into entrepreneurship, many of whom rely on advisers, loved ones, the internet and all manner of support systems to learn as they go. What can hold some back, however? It's the fear of asking 'silly questions' — a phrase most of us have uttered in some form or another throughout our lives.
Kelsie Gaffey is one such entrepreneur in the early stages of building a business. The young South Australian opened Gracie's Wine Room, a buzzy hotspot in Melbourne's East, earlier this year. 'Entrepreneurship has always been something I've aspired to, but I've never really thought I had the time, experience or money,' she says.
'But I knew in my heart that I didn't have a passion for the nine-to-five grind, so about a year ago, I started taking steps to build something of my own, and that's how Gracie's came to be.'
Gaffey is slowly but surely learning the ropes. And with tax time on the horizon — her first being self-employed — she's leaning into the idea that there's no such thing as a silly question in small business.
Uncovering tax-time trepidation
To spotlight some of the complexities of end of financial year (EOFY), Xero surveyed 1000 everyday Australians, including small-business owners. The research found that almost three-quarters of people (73 per cent) feel worried or stressed around June 30, and nearly a quarter (22 per cent) have avoided asking a tax-related question out of fear it might seem silly.
Gaffey can relate to this. 'My skills are centred around marketing and creativity, but not so much the financial side of running a business,' she explains. 'So, honestly, I'm feeling a little nervous about EOFY.'
Accountant Julian Mauro from Melbourne-based advisory firm Mauro sees this all too often. 'Our clients constantly say, 'Why wasn't this taught in school?' And it's true, especially for small-business owners. They simply don't know what they don't know,' he says.
In particular, tax deductions leave one in two people (51 per cent) confused. 'We've pretty much had people ask us everything under the sun in terms of what they can claim on tax. But unless you're taught, you can't be expected to know,' Mauro says.