$135million payroll tax relief package
Nearly of half taxable employers eligible for a full or partial
rebate of their 2012-13 payroll tax
Eligible businesses hiring new employees with a disability or new
indigenous employees to benefit from payroll tax
relief
The
State Government will provide $135million payroll tax relief in the 2012-13
State Budget to reduce the tax burden on small businesses and advance employment
opportunities for people with a disability and indigenous Australians.
Treasurer Christian Porter today announced a payroll tax rebate, worth
$128million, to help small businesses throughout the State.
“The
small business payroll tax rebate aims to reduce the tax burden on small
businesses and helps ensure Western Australia remains an attractive place to do
business,” Mr Porter said.
The
Treasurer said small businesses with Australia-wide group payrolls up to
$1.5million in the 2012-13 financial year would receive a full rebate of their
WA payroll tax liabilities, with a maximum value of $41,250. The rebate would
gradually phase out for small businesses with payrolls between $1.5million and
$3million.
Mr
Porter said while the State’s economy continued to prosper, it was important to
recognise the pressures small businesses faced in a competitive
economy.
“The
Government has made a conscious decision to assist small businesses throughout
the State as the backbone of our economy,” he said.
Finance
and Small Business Minister Simon O’Brien said nearly half of taxable employers
would be eligible for a rebate, with about 3,100 employers eligible for a full
rebate and a further 3,600 employers eligible for a partial rebate. This
translated to about 6,700 employers effectively not having to pay payroll tax
for about 86,000 employees in 2012-13.
The
Government is also introducing two new ongoing payroll tax relief measures aimed
at encouraging the employment of people with a disability, or of Aboriginal or
Torres Strait Islander descent.
Mr
Porter said the measures would make it more attractive for businesses to employ
disadvantaged and vulnerable members of the community whose attributes might
otherwise go under-recognised.
Mr
O’Brien said from July 1, 2012 businesses would be exempt from payroll tax for
wages paid in the first two years of employment of new employees with a
disability for whom they receive a Commonwealth Disability Employment Services
wage subsidy, or who were eligible for any form of Western Australian Disability
Services Commission support.
Disability Services Minister Helen Morton said this measure would help
increase employment opportunities for people with a disability and further their
participation in the community, while helping the employer to fill important
positions.
This
payroll tax exemption is estimated to cost $5million over the four-year budget
period, with employers saving about $2,700 for each new employee with a
disability. It is estimated that wages paid to about 2,100 new employees would
be exempt over the four-year budget period.
Mr
O’Brien also said that from July 1, 2012 businesses with an Australia wide
annual group payroll of up to $15million would be eligible for a rebate of 100
per cent of the payroll tax they paid on wages in the first two years of
employment of new indigenous employees for whom they also received a
Commonwealth Indigenous Wage Subsidy.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Peter Collier said Aboriginal people remained
among the most severely disadvantaged groups in the labour market.
Employers who met the payroll threshold test would be able to apply for
the payroll tax rebate at the end of each financial year.
The
rebate is expected to cost about $1million over the four-year budget period,
with employers saving about $3,800 for each new indigenous employee. Payroll tax
on wages paid to about 200 new employees was expected to be rebated over the
budget period.
In
recognition of the importance of giving small businesses a low-cost, efficient
means of resolving disputes, the Government has also committed to additional
recurrent funding for the Alternative Dispute Resolution service of $925,000 in
2012-13, rising to $1,322,000 in 2015-16.
Mr
O’Brien said the initiative was yet another example of the Liberal-National
Government listening to the needs of small business. Further, in recognition of
the pressures on Small Business Centres (SBCs) and the important role they
played as service providers, the Government has committed to maintaining the
additional funding of SBCs across the State. This is a continuation of the
$500,000 of additional funding allocated in the 2011-12
Budget.
Fact File
In the 2008 election, the Liberal-National Govt committed to
allocating $250m in tax relief during its first term and has now delivered on
this promise
Payments of the one-off rebate will be made in first half of the
2013-14 financial year
According to the ABS: in 2009, 135,000 Western Australians with a
disability were in the labour force (including 10,200 who were seeking work); in
2010, 6,000 indigenous West Australians were seeking employment (out of 27,400
in the labour force)
The Alternative Dispute Resolution service commenced operation on
March 26, 2012. It provides a low-cost, non-litigious means of resolving
business-to-business and business-to-government
disputes
Treasurer’s
office - 6552 5600
