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Payroll tax furore leads to questions about who we are as city

A QUEENSLAND Government Minister has conceded a lack of consistency in whether departments classified Toowoomba as part of regional Queensland or part of southeast Queensland was leading to “frustrations” in the community.

Employment Minster Shannon Fentiman was in Toowoomba on Friday to speak to local business owners about payroll tax changes.

Toowoomba is the only regional area in Queensland that doesn’t qualify for the one per cent regional payroll tax cut that was announced in the recent State Budget.

Ms Fentiman said that was because it was considered part of southeast Queensland. This is despite a number of other departments classifying Toowoomba as a regional centre.

“I treat Toowoomba like it’s part of southeast Queensland, as does Treasury for payroll tax,” Ms Fentiman said.

“Toowoomba has been part of the South East Queensland Regional Plan since 1994. Paul Antonio is the deputy chair of the Southeast Queensland Council of Mayors.

“I know other departments see Toowoomba as regional. I see it as a really important thing to get some consistency.

“That is why people are frustrated, because they’re regional sometimes and southeast Queensland at other times.”

Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise CEO Ali Davenport, who has been advocating for Toowoomba to receive the discount, said businesses told the Minister about the impact of drought and the positive impact getting that payroll tax discount would have on the local economy.

“I think Minister Fentiman understood where our frustrations lied,” Ms Davenport said.

“We know the final decision is not with Minister Fentiman’s office, but we’re hopeful she will take our arguments back to William St.

“This is a major impost on our businesses that they shouldn’t have to bare. It makes us uncompetitive with other regional areas.”

She said the tax cut, if applied to Toowoomba, could save local businesses up to 25 per cent.