Opened the debate
Bell argued that the budget represented a government hostility toward aspiration, innovation, and risk-taking. Bell claimed that changes to capital gains tax and the reduction of the instant asset write-off from $50,000 to $20,000 would penalise small business owners and tradies. Bell stated that these measures would destroy confidence in the small business community, which she described as the engine of the economy. Bell asserted that the government was redistributing wealth rather than growing the economy, while national debt approached $1 trillion. Bell also noted that financial pressures were forcing families to withdraw children from sports and that higher taxes would reduce philanthropy in the arts sector.