Payroll tax relief a must

Member for Lowan Emma Kealy believes small and medium-sized businesses in her electorate would save hundreds-of-thousands of dollars under The Nationals’ plan for further payroll tax relief.

Ms Kealy said immediately implementing temporary payroll tax-relief measures for all businesses across Lowan on the first $10-million of annual payroll would help get businesses back on their feet after the coronavirus pandemic.

She said the plan would provide a payroll tax saving of up to $485,000 for businesses in 2020-21.

“It would be just the incentive businesses need to help get Victorians back to work,” she said.

“Payroll tax is a tax on jobs and is a disincentive for businesses to hire staff.

“Shutdowns to stop the spread of coronavirus have saved lives, but they have had enormous repercussions for our local businesses, jobs and the local economy.

“A lot of Victorian businesses are facing immense challenges and need urgent measures to help them get back in the game – our payroll tax cut would do just that.”

Ms Kealy said the Andrews Labor government’s temporary assistance in raising the payroll tax threshold to $3-million would end on June 30 this year.

She said under The Nationals’ plan, the threshold would lift to the first $10-million in annual payroll and be extended to June 30, 2021.

For larger businesses, payroll tax would be payable on each dollar of payroll paid in excess of $10-million.