Praise for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's proposed tax reforms for small business has been muted by the long wait before their implementation.
The reforms simplify and reduce taxation for buying assets under $5000, which government said would increase "cash flow" and "reduce compliance costs".
The Government's plans unveiled Sunday in response to Treasury secretary Ken Henry's tax review would raise the limit for writing off assets bought by small businesses from $1,000 to $5,000.
The Government has also suggested that small businesses would write off other assets in a single depreciation pool at 30 percent.
Currently, small businesses allocate assets to two different depreciations pools.
However, the changes won't commence until 1 July 2012.
Andrew Gardiner, spokesperson at the National Tax and Accountants' Association (NTAA), said the reforms would encourage investment in information technology.
"The most obvious thing of course would be laptop computers.
"Very few laptop computers are valued more than $5,000, which means it gives business the capacity to go out and purchase fairly powerful systems in the laptop category and claim a write-off," he said.
Gardiner said there was also a very real advantage from a business level.
"[Information technology] allows small business to communicate faster, with more tools at their disposal," he said.
However, former owner of Axxis Technology and CRN contributor Mathew Dickerson said that while the reforms were "obviously a good thing", he questioned the two year timeframe.
"There will be that many changes in the IT industry by 2012 that [the reforms] will be old by then.
"It's typical of the Government to announce it and tell you to get excited when its two years away.
"Don't get too excited about it," he said.
Next page: What the Government isn't telling you
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