As a ‘founder’ I’ll pay Albanese’s tax. Spare me the whining, we’re not saints

May 28, 2026 — 3:00am

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Since the federal budget, social media has been full of memes casting government as a “silent partner” in small business: entrepreneurs take the risk, do the work, and Canberra – specifically Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the memes – turns up with a hand out for 47 per cent.

It is a good line. It is also misleading.

I am what people now call a “founder”. I run an economic consultancy company. I used to be a salaried employee paying the top marginal tax rate but 20 years ago, my business partner and I started our own company. We worked harder and earned more, but fundamentally did the same work we did before. Yet I paid much less tax.

Like many small-business people now complaining bitterly about the government’s proposed tax changes I have taken advantage of numerous tax breaks for founders. I had a family trust own my share of the company; distributed income to family members on low tax rates; paid out only what we needed to live on, avoiding the top marginal personal tax rate; retained the rest inside the company, accumulating value over time; and can live off retained earnings in my retirement or sell some or all of the company and potentially access the CGT discount.

When founders say, “I worked hard, didn’t pay........

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