Smaller firms largely ho-hum on budget

Almost two-thirds of small and medium-sized firms doubt the May budget will have an impact on their businesses over the next year despite it bringing them another bag of concessions.

The quarterly Westpac-Melbourne Institute small and medium enterprises survey found those who did expect an impact were evenly divided between those expecting positive and negative results from the budget.

"The muted response to the federal budget is somewhat disappointing, particularly given several measures specifically aimed at boosting SMEs," Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said on Thursday.

As well as the planned reduction in the company tax rate to 27.5 per cent for businesses with a turnover of less than $50 million, there was a further 12-month extension to the $20,000 instant asset write-off scheme and funding to reduce red tape and boost skills.

The survey index which examines the economic health of SMEs eased 2.3 per cent in the June quarter, but was still 17 per cent higher than a year earlier.