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The Government has committed to a further five and a half years of support to help small businesses grow through its Regional Business Partner programme, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Small Business Minister Craig Foss announced today.

Regional Business Partners are local hubs of business development know-how and research and development (R&D) expertise for companies.

New Zealand businesses with good cyber security practices could receive a “cyber security tick”, as part of a suite of initiatives to help protect small businesses against cyber attacks.

The cyber credentials scheme is just one initiative proposed in the Government’s new Cyber Security Strategy and Action Plan.

A leap forward in the use of existing tax data means Statistics New Zealand has been able to halve the number of businesses being surveyed for important economic information, Minister of Statistics and for Small Business Craig Foss says.

Until now, 1800 businesses around the country have been surveyed for the manufacturing, wholesale trade, and services information.

But an improved survey design made possible by better use of existing tax data means that number has been trimmed to 900.

Small Business Minister Craig Foss and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith are urging consumers and small businesses to keep themselves safe online this Fraud Awareness Week.

Fraud Awareness Week 2015, which runs from 15 – 21 November, is part of an international initiative to raise awareness of scams and promote safe online practices.

“It’s imperative for small business owners to get up to speed — and stay up to speed — on the types of scams doing the rounds,” Mr Foss says.

Small Business Minister Craig Foss today announced one new appointment to the Small Business Development Group (SBDG) and 10 reappointments. 

Alaina Teki-Clark, from Whanganui, has been appointed to the SBDG to replace departing members Jonathan Flett and Frances Valintine. The group’s remaining members have been reappointed for a term of 18 months.

“Ms Teki-Clark is an outstanding business leader with many years’ experience starting and growing small businesses,” Mr Foss says.

Small Business Minister Craig Foss today congratulated the team behind Business.govt.nz for winning the government category at the 2015 AUT Excellence in Business Support Awards.

“This is the second time in four years Business.govt.nz, the Government’s website for small business, has won this award. It’s a reflection of the talented people we have working on the site and the quality content they produce for the benefit of all small New Zealand businesses,” Mr Foss says.

Revenue Minister Todd McClay and Small Business Minister Craig Foss have welcomed a new initiative dedicated to helping small businesses better understand tax and finance.

“Business.govt.nz has created a new section of the website called Tax and Finance, which covers everything from tax types to payroll dedications, and offers sound advice on topics such as how to reduce your tax bill, setting budgets and getting paid on time,” Mr Foss says.

Small Business Minister Craig Foss will travel to the Philippines later today to represent the New Zealand Government at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Meeting on mainstreaming Small and Medium Businesses in the Global Economy.

“In New Zealand SMEs account for 97 per cent of our companies and they generate 27 per cent of Gross Domestic Product and thousands of jobs annually,” Mr Foss says. 

Small Business Minister Craig Foss today released Small Businesses in New Zealand — an online factsheet highlighting the significant contribution small and medium-sized firms make to New Zealand’s economy.

“This factsheet shows small businesses are consistently punching above their weight,” Mr Foss says.

“They generate 27 per cent of Gross Domestic Product and thousands of jobs annually — for the year ending September 2013, 42 per cent of all jobs created were in businesses with 1-19 employees.

Small Business Minister Craig Foss is welcoming an online initiative to help small businesses better understand and protect their intellectual property (IP).

“Business.govt.nz and the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) have teamed up to produce easy to understand advice on the importance and value of secure IP,” Mr Foss says.

Small Business Minister Craig Foss is encouraging small businesses to utilise the Electronic Tender Service (GETS) — a free web-based service for information on New Zealand Government tender opportunities.

“Small business owners who want to be part of the Government procurement process often don’t know how to go about it — registering with GETS is a great place to start,” Mr Foss says.

Small Business Minister Craig Foss will travel to Melbourne tomorrow to attend the 28^th Annual Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand (SEAANZ) conference.

“Small business is the backbone of the New Zealand economy.  SEAANZ is an important platform for researchers, educators, policy makers and practitioners to develop and share ideas,” Mr Foss says.

Small Business Minister Craig Foss today welcomed a report showing tax compliance costs for small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) continue to fall.

Inland Revenue and Research New Zealand surveyed 1206 SMEs about tax compliance costs in 2013/14 and compared results from two earlier surveys in 2004 and 2009. The report shows tax compliance costs have reduced by 11.7 per cent since 2004.

“This is excellent news for New Zealand’s small businesses but there is still more work to be done,” Mr Foss says. 

Small Business Minister Craig Foss is encouraging small business owners to make submissions to the Rules Reduction Taskforce.

“Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) interact with government agencies about 9 million times every year, giving them valuable insight into the efficacy of many of our rules and regulations,” Mr Foss says. 

“While the Taskforce is primarily focused on property regulations administered by local authorities, unnecessary or pedantic rules administered by central government will also be considered.