SMALL BUSINESS

The Problem — Three Failures Killing Small Business And Main Streets

Empty Buildings, Empty Main Streets

Buildings sit empty for years while asking rents stay unreachable. Landlords have no incentive to negotiate. Businesses cannot afford to start. Main streets lose shops one by one. The deadlock is structural — and nobody currently has the policy authority to break it.

High Rents, Empty Shops, No Business

Landlord holds asking rent. No tenant for two years. No pressure to negotiate. The business owner cannot start. The building stays dark. The street dies around it. The financial loss to the landlord is real but slow; the financial loss to the would-be business owner and the community is immediate and total.

Cities And Towns — The Same Problem

From CBD to country town: buildings empty, rents high, no start. Vacant shopfronts blight city precincts. Empty anchor stores kill country blocks. Everywhere, the same deadlock — and the same solution applies in both contexts.

The MMP Solution — Empty Buildings Opened, Main Streets Live Again

CEA — Compulsory Enterprise Activation

Any commercial building vacant for 6+ months is subject to Compulsory Enterprise Activation. The owner must lease it to a verified registered business at 10% of market rate. Not negotiable. Not optional. The building opens. The business pays a fraction of normal rent. The main street comes back to life. At any point, a full-rent offer from another tenant displaces the program tenant — so the policy does not penalise genuine market interest.

The Rent Escalation — 3-Year Runway

Year 1: 1/10 of market rent. Year 2: 3/10 of market rent. Year 3: 6/10 of market rent. Year 4: full market. The business has three years to build revenue before paying full rent. The landlord receives income from a building that was earning nothing. Both parties benefit. The street fills.

Empty Commercial Space Tax

Any commercial building vacant for 6+ months pays an annual empty space tax — 2% of unimproved capital value. The tax stops the moment a tenant moves in — under the CEA program or at full rent. Holding a building dark now has a cost. Filling it removes that cost immediately. The incentive shape reverses overnight.

Zero Tax — Years 1 To 3

Every new business: zero income tax for the first three years of operation. No BAS for businesses under $2M turnover. A single annual return replaces the quarterly compliance burden. The accountant's bill for year one drops from thousands to hundreds. Starting a business in a country town becomes financially viable.

80% Loan Guarantee — No Personal Guarantee

The Commonwealth guarantees 80% of any small-business loan up to $500,000 — without requiring the owner's home as collateral. The bank lends against the business, not the family home. The dairy farmer who wants to open a processing facility does not have to risk the farm to do it. The capital flows. The risk shape changes.

Power At Half Price — Today

Power legislated at 15c/kWh by end of first term. 6c/kWh at SBC maturity. For a small business paying $2,000/month in electricity today: $800/month by Year 2, then $480/month at SBC maturity. Power is the single largest controllable input cost for most regional small businesses. Half price changes everything.

BAS Abolished — The Single Return

BAS abolished for businesses under $2M turnover. A single end-of-year return replaces quarterly compliance. The accountant's bill drops by thousands. The time savings drop by hundreds of hours per year per business. The dignity savings are immeasurable. The micro-business owner can run a business without becoming an accountant.

Founders Programme — 100,000 Places

100,000 places per year in a national Founders Programme — welfare to business. Practical training, mentorship, seed capital, and a 12-month transition runway from JobSeeker. The unemployed Australian with a workable business idea has a structured path from welfare to small business owner. The dignity is in the work.

Sovereign Domestic Payments

Tap-and-go fees capped at 0.2% EU standard. Sovereign Commonwealth payment rail built within first term. The 1–2% the US card schemes currently extract from every small business transaction is returned to the small business and the customer. At the scale of national retail spend, this is several billion dollars a year staying in Australian hands.

Current vs MMP — Small Business

Current — Killing Main Streets	MMP — Main Streets Alive
Buildings empty for years. Landlords have no incentive to negotiate.	CEA: vacant 6+ months → mandatory let at 10% market rate. Building opens.
Holding a commercial building empty has no cost.	2% annual empty space tax. Filling the building removes the tax.
New businesses crushed by tax and compliance from day one.	Zero income tax years 1–3. BAS abolished under $2M turnover.
SME loans require family home as collateral.	80% Commonwealth guarantee. Loans against the business, not the home.
Power bills the single biggest controllable cost — and uncontrolled.	15c/kWh legislated. Halved by Year 2 of SBC. ~6c/kWh at SBC maturity.
Tap-and-go fees 0.5-2% to US card schemes.	Capped at 0.2% EU standard. Sovereign Commonwealth payment rail by Year 4.
Welfare-to-business path nonexistent. JobSeeker pays $54/day, no transition.	Founders Programme: 100,000 places, training, mentorship, 12-month transition.