Fruit and deli owner Steven Nicolaou calls trust tax changes a ‘kick in the guts’

Fruit and deli shop owner Steven Nicolaou says new federal budget measures targeting trust structures will leave small businesses “working for nothing,” as debate intensifies over the impact of reforms on family-run enterprises.

Nicolaou, who operates his business through a family trust in the Queensland electorate of Rankin, said the changes amount to another blow for small operators already facing rising costs.

“We’ve been screwed over with fuel and power,” he said.

“Now, this thing with the trust, it’s the only thing that we can put a little bit of money away for working for yourself, and basically the government goes ‘no, thank you very much’. So we’re going to be pumped every which way.”

He said the reforms had left him questioning the future viability of his business structure. “I’m worried I’ll be left working for nothing after the budget delivered yet another ‘kick in the guts’ for small business,” he said.

Nicolaou also linked growing frustration among small business owners to broader political sentiment, saying: “No wonder Pauline Hanson is getting all the votes.”

The concerns come as the federal government continues to defend its changes to trust taxation, with debate over who is affected by the reforms extending into electorates such as Rankin, where Labor holds a strong margin.

Nicolaou said many local small business owners use trust structures as a way to manage income and support their families, arguing the changes will hit ordinary operators rather than wealthy Australians.

He is among a number of Rankin residents expressing concern about the policy’s impact on household budgets and small business viability, as cost-of-living pressures continue to rise.

Source: The Australian.