Mr LLOYD (2:37 PM) —My question is also addressed to the Treasurer. Would the Treasurer inform the House of any recent surveys with regard to business confidence and the transition to the new tax system? What do these surveys indicate about the number of businesses making the transition to the new tax system, and what is the government doing to assist those businesses still requiring assistance?

Mr COSTELLO (Treasurer) —I thank the honourable member for Robertson for his question. I pay tribute to the work that he has done on behalf of his constituents. He draws my attention to a survey which has recently been released by Pitcher Partners and Monash University. It is not a survey that I have previously been familiar with, but it was released yesterday under the heading `Survey turnaround: business confidence on the rise as GST support jumps'. This is a survey of family businesses which showed a jump in support, as reported by Monash University and Pitcher Partners, for the GST. The survey also showed that more than 87 per cent of family businesses are confident that they filled out the BAS accurately. It notes that that means there are 12.5 per cent that are not confident, and it is in relation to those 12.5 per cent that there are now new arrangements being put in place. I reiterate those arrangements.

For any business which has a turnover of $2 million or less, they now have the option of taking their December payment and making that as their payment for April and July. They will then have to file an annual return and the annual return, which will assess their liability, will be set off against the instalments which have been made. If they believe for some reason or another that the December payment is not an applicable one to their trading conditions, they can vary in relation to the April and July payments. That means that if you are a business that has a turnover of $2 million or less—I believe this applies to 95 per cent of Australian businesses—you need not fill out a further quarterly report. You can do an annual report which is filed at the time of the annual income tax statement or February 2002, whichever is the earlier. I point out that those businesses which are confident with the current system and which prefer to pay their actual amounts can continue filing the quarterly return without any changes.

Yesterday we were also referred to the Yellow Pages index in relation to small business, which also, as I recall it, showed a jump in conditions in small business. In relation to GST—I did not get the chance to refer to this yesterday—when small businesses were asked, `As far as your business is concerned, what problems are you facing at the moment?' the largest proportion, 26 per cent, said none, the second largest, 20 per cent, said lack of work and the third largest, 14 per cent, said government regulation, state. The GST was named by three per cent, which was the smallest number of people who cited it as a concern. So obviously as people have become more familiar with the system the level of concern in relation to that has dropped. Those surveys do not, I believe, take into account the full measure of the announcements in relation to simplification. For those who want to take that simplification up, that will be an additional improvement.