Currently small business with turnover of less than $2 million faces a 28.5 per cent rate, but larger companies pay a higher rate of 30 per cent. Business Council of Australia president Catherine Livingstone wants a commitment to move to a 25 per cent company tax rate, to bring Australia into line with the OECD average. Credit:Josh Robenstone Business Council of Australia president Catherine Livingstone wants a commitment to move to a 25 per cent rate, to bring Australia into line with the OECD average. Business has also welcomed tax cuts foreshadowed for middle-income Australians. To offset the impact of wage inflation pushing them into the second-highest tax brackets, otherwise known as bracket creep, from July 1 workers on $80,000 or more are expected to receive tax cuts. Treasurer Scott Morrison says that over the next two years 300,000 Australians are going to move from below $80,000 to just above it.

The temporary budget repair levy, also known as the debt levy, will come to an end for people earning more than $180,000. Small business tax breaks Council of Small Business of Australia chief executive Peter Strong has suggested that small business tax be reduced to zero. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Treasurer Scott Morrison has said small businesses will be a winner in the budget. Council of Small Business of Australia (COSBOA) chief executive Peter Strong has suggested that small business tax be reduced to zero for incorporated businesses that pledge to invest all their profits back into their business.

As well as small business tax cuts, an extension of the $20,000 instant asset write-off for small business is expected. The scheme is currently available for businesses that have a turnover of less than $2 million a year. It and allows them to immediately claim depreciation on every asset they purchase up to a value of $20,000. About 100,000 small businesses have made claims under the write-off scheme since July 2015, at a value of almost $420 million. But the tax break is due to finish at the end of June 2017. Super tax breaks scaled back for rich, increased for women There could be budget measures allowing people who have missed work to raise children or because of illness the ability to make top-up payments.

The current 15 per cent rate on super contributions has been used as a tax minimisation tool by higher income earners, prompting widespread calls for the federal government to crack down on tax breaks. The former Gillard Labor Government imposed an extra contributions tax of 15 per cent on high earners taking home more than $300,000. Last year Labor promised to cut the threshold to $250,000, taxing a further 110,000 people at the higher rate. There is speculation the Turnbull Government will now reduce the $180,000 after-tax contributions limit in the budget. It is also likely to match Labor's policy of charging 30 per cent tax on super contributions by people who earn more than $250,000. The lower threshold will most likely come into effect in June 2017 when the debt levy ends. Low- and middle-income earners, such as women who have missed work to raise children, will have their retirement incomes boosted in Tuesday's budget, using the proceeds of the curbs on superannuation tax concessions for the well-off.

The Australian Financial Review reports there could also be measures that allow low-income people and women to top up their super accounts. The government may reverse its decision to due to abolish Labor's Low Income Super Contribution (LISC) scheme on June 30 next year. The LISC is an annual payment of up to $500 to help those earning less than $37,000 save for retirement, but the government has been under fire from groups such as ASFA and Industry Super Australia about its plan to abolish it. To address the fact that women typically retire on substantially less than men, there could also be measures allowing people who have missed work to raise children or because of illness the ability to make top-up payments when they return to work. Wine Equalisation Tax rebate overhaul

The $1 billion subsidy for the wine industry is expected to be limited to stop "rorting" in the industry. There are media reports that the $1 billion subsidy for the wine industry over four years will be limited to stop "rorting" in the industry. The Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) rebate, which was introduced in 2004 and can be up to a maximum of $500,000 each financial year, was supposed to help smaller wineries. In 2013-14 the Australian government paid out $333 million to Australian and New Zealand wine producers under WET. But a report by The Australia Institute's, The goon show: How the tax system works to subsidise cheap wine and alcohol consumption, found that most (about 90 per cent) of the net WET was paid by 23 entities in 2013-14. While the Australian Taxation Office has been cracking down on rebate rorting, major wine lobby groups support removal of eligibility for the WET rebate from bulk and unbranded wine sales.

The government is expected to tighten eligibility for the tax credit, including stricter definitions about what qualifies as a winery or a producer. Funding for regulators The banks will put in $121 million of a $127 million funding boost for ASIC. Credit:Arsineh Houspian Additional funding for corporate regulator Australian Securities and Investment Commission has already been foreshadowed. Treasurer Scott Morrison last week announced that Australia's banks would put in $121 million of a $127 million funding boost for ASIC.

There is concern the proposed extra fees to be levied on banks, super funds, insurance companies and publicly listed companies to cover ASIC's budget Labor – now about $330 million a year – will be passed on to consumers. But the move is expected to save the budget more than $1 billion over the four years from 2018-19. The Australian Taxation Office is also likely to get more money to fight multinationals. The ATO's key program targeting multinationals, known as "international structuring and profit shifting" (ISAPS), which was funded by the former Labor government over four years, comes to an end in 2017. Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan has told Fairfax Media that he wants ongoing funding for this program so that he can continue resourcing staff to undertake audits of multinationals such as Google, Apple and BHP Billiton.

Crackdown on multinationals Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan expects more funding for the Australian Taxation Office to fight multinationals. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen To fund company tax cuts, the government will use money it expects to collect from multinationals. The are expected changes to thin capitalisation rules that affect the amount of debt a multinational can hold and thereby limit its interest bills. The Australian Financial Review reports that the amount of debt a multinational company can load into its Australian operation will reduce from 60 per cent to 50 per cent.