Wouldn't it be a worry if you threw a small business budget party and nobody came? That's the hint from the Reserve Bank tucked away in this month's board minutes.

Joe Hockey's "have a go" small business package in the May budget was widely tipped to send small business types shopping to make the most of the immediate write-off on capital purchases of less than $20,000 each.

Growth in retail sales has continued to be tepid, says the RBA. Credit:Louise Kennerley

That lifted expectations of a healthy rise in May retail sales, which resulted in disappointment when the seasonally adjusted numbers for the month rose just 0.3 per cent from April and 0.2 per cent on the trend basis. That was still a rise though – April seasonally adjusted had been revised to a fall of 0.1 per cent from March.

So maybe small business was carefully weighing its options and waiting for the usual end-of-financial year sales and the party would start in June with the government's hoped-for trickle down (or perhaps trickle up) effect for the rest of the economy.