Rivals talking pay and tax

Braddon campaign heats up

LIBERAL Braddon candidate Brett Whiteley was spruiking tax cuts while Labor’s Justine Keay was slamming the cuts to penalty rates as the by-election campaign entered its final stretch yesterday.

The by-election, sparked by the Australian parliament’s dual citizenship saga, will be held on July 28 and the leaders of both the major parties are expected to visit Tasmania again before polling day.

There is also speculation that if Labor loses Braddon, Bill Shorten’s leadership could come under pressure.

Ms Keay was out in Burnie yesterday saying voters did not like the fact that the Liberals were giving a $17 billion handout to the big banks while cutting penalty rates at a time when job insecurity was at a high point.

“I always have and I always will fight to protect workers and their penalty rates,” Ms Keay said.

Mr Whiteley yesterday campaigned on tax relief saying 14,600 middle-income taxpayers in Braddon would be better off under the Government’s reforms.

“Tax rates for businesses with a turnover of $25-$50 million will also be reduced from today, to 27.5 per cent,” Mr Whiteley said.

“We are all about keeping taxes as low as possible, because we know that it’s your money, not the Government’s. We also know that lower taxes for small and medium business means they the can invest more, employ more people, and pay higher wages.”

The Tasmanian Government’s payroll tax changes also came into effect yesterday, with the tax rate falling from 6.1 per cent to 4 per cent for those companies with payrolls between $1.25 million and $2 million.

“This initiative will particularly help Tasmania’s growing small business sector and will allow them to grow and invest in the state, which in turn will create even more jobs for Tasmanians,” State Treasurer Peter Gutwein said.

“When combined with the Federal Government’s business tax cuts that take effect from today, the evidence is clear that it is a great time to own a business in Tasmania.”