4/1/01
A saving of $75 for business name registration renewals has been welcomed by the State’s small business sector, according to Small Business Minister Hendy Cowan.
The decision not to charge for renewals was announced recently by the Minister for Fair Trading and applies from January 1, 2001.
Mr Cowan said the axing of the $75 renewal fee was part of the Coalition Government’s commitment to keep costs to a minimum for the small business sector.
“Small business operators are often faced with fee increases on many fronts, so this fee reduction will be appreciated,”Mr Cowan said.
Owners of registered business names will still be required to renew the name every three years, but at no cost.
The business names register is important as it enables the public to know who owns a business and ensures that the same name is not used by more than one business.
Mr Cowan said an increase in the rate of business name registrations last year was largely the result of businesses registering for the GST. Another factor was the growth of E-commerce and the resulting increase in domain names being registered as business names.
In the 1999-2000 financial year 31,780 new businesses were registered with the Ministry of Fair Trading, compared with 29,613 in 1998-1999.
There are currently 106,600 small businesses in WA and small businesses account for 96.5 per cent of all private sector businesses in the State.
Media contacts:
Peter Jackson (Minister’s office) 9222-9595
Tracy Taggart (Small Business Dev. Corp) 9220-0222
