Tax cuts due to come in on April 1 could help a struggling retail sector recover from what is expected to be a less frenetic than usual Christmas shopping period.
But no-one is holding their breath.
Otago-Southland Employers Association chief executive Duncan Simpson said that after the increased costs for ACC were taken into account, the tax cuts were worth more than a packet of chewing gum but less than a block of cheese.
"It's important for the money to go around.
"At least things are moving in the right direction with tax cuts."
Polson Higgs tax partner Michael Turner said the tax changes were not a major piece of legislation for businesses to deal with.
It would involve some changes to the Paye systems.
"There is a feel-good factor involved but not too much to be concerned about there."
What would occupy the minds of business owners more were the changes to the KiwiSaver scheme, the removal of the research and development tax credit and the introduction of the 90-day trial period.
However, those changes would not be considered in depth until after the Christmas period.
"Most businesses are in that frantic phase of fulfilling orders.
"Even if it is not as busy as previous years, it will still be busy.
"I suspect in the New Year, people will turn their minds to some of the changes that have happened."
Employers would have to come to terms with the changes to KiwiSaver so as to explain it to their staff, he said.
Mr Simpson expected that the changes to KiwiSaver would be wider than just changing the minimum contribution from 4% to 2%, and the associated changes for the employer contribution, particularly for those employers who had already been more generous to their staff.
People who had joined a retirement saving scheme for the first time through KiwiSaver would be looking at the negative returns and wondering whether it was worth putting their money into it, he said.
Several thousand KiwiSaver members had taken a contribution holiday already after the annual returns had been sent out.
Others who had joined the scheme as a way of saving for their first home had done their sums and realised that in three or five years, they still would not have saved the 20% deposit for a home, even in a modest Dunedin suburb.
"There is a major missing piece of the Government's agenda.
"So far, we have seen governments propping up banks and the automobile industries in the US.
"There hasn't been an explicit measure to restore confidence in financial markets.
"There are many government superannuation funds around the world that could be used to help boost the markets."
The Government had promised to invest 40% of the $14 billion New Zealand Superannuation Fund in this country.
Sooner or later, the Government had to move into that sector because it affected such a wide section part of the economy.
The elderly had seen their incomes slashed as markets had fallen and they had suspended their spending.
The elderly would not benefit from tax cuts or changes to KiwiSaver, Mr Simpson said.
The Government had promised to keep spending on infrastructure projects to keep the economy ticking over.
The challenge for southern businesses was finding a way to tap into that money, he said.
Extra state houses were likely to be built in Auckland and new roads were also planned for north of Taupo.
It would not be surprising if the Government received a request to help fund the Dunedin stadium.
"How businesses go ahead will depend on what part of the economy they are in.
"We have already seen those businesses that are overseas owned getting the message about cutting costs.
"We have seen that in the banking sector through the ANZ-National and another major offshore bank is cutting all expenditure on training and development for the next 12 months.
"That's an easy area for them to attack.
"You will hear the message that `we are committed to our people and their ongoing training and development but we are putting it on hold for 12 months'.
"I don't think the New Zealand-owned organisations will adopt the same attitude."
Mr Simpson did not think the National-led Government would lift the minimum wage as high and as fast as the previous administration, which had indicated it was planning to go to $15 an hour.
The minimum wage was now $12 an hour and could go to $13.
There would be "howls of protest" about that, he said.
Some of the other changes for businesses would be the removal of some of the legislation on the books the previous government planned to introduce which would have penalised employers unfairly in some circumstances, Mr Simpson said.
Mr Turner said the feedback from his business clients was that they were happy with the rapid introduction of legislation.
"They knew they were voting for change with National and they wanted to see change.
"Business people are happy to see National delivering change and doing it reasonably quickly.
"There is nothing worse than voting for change then nothing happens for six months."
A survey of South Island business leaders completed last week by Polson Higgs and McCulloch and Partners showed a drop in concern about the regulatory burdens on businesses.
That was a response to the National-led Government coming to power as it was perceived as being more business-friendly, he said.
However, half the respondents expected no significant effects from Government initiatives on tax reform, emissions trading, RMA overhaul, new infrastructure and the research and development tax credit removal.
Labour finance spokesman David Cunliffe said the Government would be business-friendly but that would come at the cost of working people in New Zealand.
"The Government will have the veneer of moderation - the rhetoric will be moderation but they will drive through immoderate measures."
Holding the minimum wage at current levels was a wage cut for people trying to deal with inflation-driven price rises.
