How does the 2021 Budget shape up? Expert reactions

The federal government delivered its 2021 Budget this week, with spending plans for health, aged care, child care, infrastructure, housing and more.

To help make sense of it all, we collected some reactions from several finance industry experts:

On tax ...

"The continuation of the low and middle income tax offset was an expected and necessary move to not only support Australians, but to avoid a taxpayer backlash."

 - Michael Croker, ANZ Tax Leader, Chartered Accountants Australia

On economic recovery ...

"Australian banks partnered with the government throughout the pandemic. With this solid mix of investment and support for households and businesses, that collaboration is set to continue during the recovery, to the advantage of all Australians."

- Anna Bligh, chief executive, Australian Banking Association 

On spending ...

"Key tax announcements were tax relief for low and middle income earners and small and medium businesses; a focus on women and on attracting global talent to Australia to help us capitalise on the enviable position we’ve found ourselves in. However, the story of the night is the new spending. The government has clearly decided to go hard in priming the economy and prioritising spending in what it sees as key areas such as aged care, family and domestic violence prevention and child care."

- Mark Molesworth, Tax Partner, BDO in Australia 

On housing ...

"The federal government has announced a number of narrowly-targeted budget initiatives that will assist some first home buyers to realise the Great Australian Dream. They are, however, unlikely to significantly stem an ongoing decline in activity from this group now suffocating from booming home prices and surging investors with total activity over the next year set to fall by at least 20% - even with a full uptake of the schemes announced. The likely overall decline in first home buyers however, will be offset by rising investor activity which will maintain upward pressure on house prices - the bane of first home buyers."  

- Dr Andrew Wilson, chief economist at Archistar

On employment and recovery ...

"This budget details the government’s strategic shift from broad-based assistance to targeted programs across a number of sectors that aim to reduce unemployment, support the ongoing economic recovery and ensure the benefits of the recovery are wide-spread."

- Stephen Halmarick, chief economist, CBA

On small business ...

“This budget represents a substantial financial and strategic commitment to making Australia the best place to start, grow and transform a business. These measures will support small and family businesses as they help lead our national economic recovery and play a critical role in securing our future prosperity."

- Bruce Billson, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman 

On online payments ...

"From an online payments perspective, it’s encouraging to see a further $15.3 million has been assigned to drive business uptake of e-invoicing, which the government is suggesting may deliver up to $28.2 billion in net benefits over 10 years. Australian businesses exchange more than 1.2 billion invoices each year, however of those about 90 per cent are still manual, according to budget documents. E-invoicing is essential in future-proofing a business, given the major shift the pandemic has had on the payments landscape."

- Grant Bissett, co-founder, Pin Payments

Doing your own budget check? Whether you’re facing changing housing costs or trying to save up for a holiday, you can figure out your finances with the help of Mozo’s budget calculator.