3 ways the 2016 Federal Budget will affect your daily life

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The 2016 Federal Budget is here! While many people will be looking at the larger economic picture, as they should, sometimes it’s better to consider what it means for the average Australian too. Here are just three ways the new budget will affect your daily life.

1) Asset Recycling Initiative

Along with the new City Deals, it appears that there is a greater focus around collaboration between the various levels of government across Australia. The Asset Recycling Initiative is an excellent example of this, as this soon-to-be-finalised agreement will open up over $23 billion in spending for the states and territories involved.

At least some of this capital will be heading to the Sydney Metro project, so you might be seeing your daily commute become that much easier, and sooner than you think.

2) The middle-income tax cut

Among some the tax cuts announced for this year was one that will please those Australians who are working on a middle income. While there has been no change to the 32.5 per cent tax rate, the threshold has been increased from $80,000 to $87,000. This means that around 500,000 taxpayers across the country will be stopped from hitting the higher 37 per cent rate.

The government intends for this to keep middle-income earners in the middle bracket until at least 2019-2020. You might find your savings account a little more healthy as a result!

3) Small-business concessions

If you’re the owner or the employee of one of the 600,000 or so small businesses in New South Wales recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2013, this one is for you. Australia is a land of innovative, but small enterprise. The government even called them the “engine room of our economy”. To help stimulate this, there have been a number of benefits announced, but perhaps the most important is the increase of the unincorporated small-business tax discount up to 8 per cent. Businesses earning $5 million annual turnover a year will have access to this as well, up from the previous limit of $2 million.

Hopefully, this will mean more businesses can stay running, and more Australians find themselves encouraged to start their own enterprise in the future.

There are plenty of other ways the budget will affect you and your money over the next year. If you want to be completely prepared, make sure you get in touch with one of the financial planning experts at Border Bank today!