NSW Business Chamber welcomes payroll tax commitment from NSW Coalition

26 March 2010

NSW’s largest business organisation, NSW Business Chamber, has welcomed the commitment of the NSW Coalition to a $4,000 payroll tax rebate to businesses which create new full time jobs.  The rebate is provided to support the creation of up to 100,000 new jobs.

“We support reductions of payroll tax in NSW, because payroll tax is a disincentive to job creation and an additional cost of production”, said Stephen Cartwright, CEO of NSW Business Chamber.

The NSW Business Chamber’s 10 Big Ideas to Grow NSW released earlier in the month argued that NSW needs to reduce its current payroll tax rate of 5.65% in 2010 to 4.95% by 2014/15.

“Payroll taxes, unlike taxes such as company tax, get incorporated into the costs of production.  Payroll tax makes our businesses less competitive and impacts job creation.

“I’m pleased that reducing payroll taxes has been identified as the number 1 priority in the Opposition’s 5 point plan for NSW.  The Coalition is right to identify payroll tax as a major structural impediment to growth.

“This initiative, targeted at new jobs, specifically recognises that payroll tax is a disincentive to job creation.

Mr Cartwright said he hoped the Coalition, closer to the election, would include in its policy platform commitments to cutting the payroll tax rate.

“Whilst this policy provides real incentives in the creation of new jobs, we do need to improve the competitive position of those businesses that already pay payroll tax – this will only come through permanent payroll tax rate reductions. 

“The Government’s own payroll tax plan sees the NSW rate cut again on 1 January 2011 to 5.5% and we would hope that both sides of politics will make commitments for further rate cuts after 2011.

“Cuts to the payroll tax rate are a real and affordable option in coming Budgets due to the turnaround in the NSW Budget position.”