SmartCompany’s most-read stories of 2023

After the gyrations of 2022 – self-imposed Omicron lockdowns, rapidly rising interest rates, the crypto winter – we began 2023 hoping for the best.

The Reserve Bank lost Philip Lowe, the governor who’d promised no rate rises to 2024, and eventually paused on the interest rate rises in June after 12 in a row (until the new governor decided she needed to touch the brakes in November).

Inflation climbed and climbed and eventually peaked, finally heading back below 5% at the end of the year for the first time in 20 months.

The tightened economic outlook proved too tight for many businesses, and we saw a wave of bankruptcies, insolvencies, and collapses. Will 2024 be any better?

Certainly the squeeze looks set to be on for a while. The ATO tightened the screws this year and the COVID-19 era assistance is gone for good. The tax office currently has about $50 billion worth of collectable debt, which is the highest it’s ever been. It’s an 89% increase on pre-COVID-19 figures. In 2024, the tax office will be prioritising unpaid super and GST fraud.

Borrowing costs will remain higher than they’ve been for a decade. And there will continue to be less available capital for early-stage entrepreneurs than in the frothy pandemic years.

Startup raises were down this year. The ten biggest raises totalled $1.06 billion compared to 2022’s $2.49 billion. And the biggest raise – Employment Hero’s $263 million – was just a third of 2022’s biggest – a mammoth $692 million for Scalapay. Read more about the raises here.

Our most-read stories of the year included important Australia Post and ATO news for SMEs, stories of iconic businesses coming unstuck, and our most viral column of 2023, which theorised that the explosion of Airbnb’s in regional towns is killing those towns’ iconic fish and chippers. Something to ponder on your vacation!

Thanks for reading, we’ll see you in January.

The 10 most-read stories on SmartCompany in 2023

1. Australia Post to axe “Sorry we missed you” cards for MyPost customers

2. ATO court actions hit pre-COVID levels as the tax office chases businesses and individuals for outstanding payments

3. Melbourne restaurant Calia collapses, owing $2 million to hospitality platform Liven

4. How Airbnb is killing Aussie fish and chip shops

5. From Kmart to Myer: Australia’s most and least ethical fashion brands, ranked

6. Optus partners with Starlink to provide (almost) 100% mobile coverage across Australia

7. CEO video goes viral with potshots at ‘quiet quitting’ workers and breadwinning mothers

8. ATO commissioner Chris Jordan calls out businesses that treat tax debts “like a free loan”

9. Unpacked: The epic rise and dramatic downfall of fitness chain F45

10. This 15-year-old Brisbane entrepreneur helps Aussies pay for tolls with a money-saving cashback service