WARD MOVES MOTION TO AXE THE TAX

Member for Kiama Gareth Ward has moved a motion in the NSW Parliament calling on the NSW Government to phase out payroll tax to boost productivity and help small businesses thrive.

“Payroll tax is my most hated of all taxes. It’s very inefficient and it’s an unfair transactional tax that literally taxes jobs.

“Other States and Territories have thresholds well above ours and many states have lower payroll rates. We can do better.

“When I speak with small businesses across our community, the impact of payroll tax is something that people constantly raise with me.

“I note that the NSW Government will seek to remove the Emergency Services Levy from insurance premiums and apply a new charge to property rates. Whilst I am yet to see the full detail, I am pleased that the government is in the mood to discuss tax reform.

“But taking with one hand and giving with the other isn’t real reform.

“Whilst I appreciate that we need to raise taxes to pay for critical services, we need to do this in a way that doesn’t deter business growth, jobs and opportunities. Payroll tax does all of these things.

“It’s been a long time since the Federal and State Governments have discussed the tax mix. It’s time for leaders at both state and federal level to ensure our tax system isn’t a hand-break on economic growth and collects the revenue that is necessary to provide the services and investments that local communities require,” Mr Ward said.

Mr Ward’s motion in Parliament is:

Mr Speaker,

Today I give notice that tomorrow I shall move that this House:

1. Notes that Payroll tax is a tax on jobs and is a grossly punitive and inefficient transactional tax on NSW businesses.
2. Notes calls from business groups for tax reforms that ensures taxes are collected fairly.
3. Calls on the NSW Government to phase out Payroll tax over ten years.