NSW budget to deliver small businesses payroll tax cuts and help with removing red tape

With the New South Wales state budget to be delivered today alongside a surplus of $3.9 billion, SMEs in the state have already been picked as winners thanks to multiple pre-budget announcements revealing tax breaks and red tape “bulldozing”.

In a statement earlier this week, NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet announced small businesses in the state are set to receive a collective $881 million boost to their bottom lines over the next four years, thanks to the state government upping the payroll tax threshold from $750,000 to $1 million.

This change will roll out in increments until full implementation in 2022, with the point at which companies start paying payroll tax rising to $850,000 in 2018–19, $900,000 in 2019–20, $950,000 in 2020–21 before hitting $1 million in 2021–22. This is calculated to be a saving of an average $13,625 for over 40,000 NSW small businesses by 2022.

“Businesses that consistently have payrolls over $1 million will save more than $120,000 over the next decade from the lifting of the payroll tax threshold, which is money that can be reinvested back into businesses,” Perrottet said in a statement.

“As a former small business operator myself, I know how tough it can be to run a small business, and so now as Minister responsible for the sector, I want to make life as easy as possible for those people who take on the responsibility of running a business and creating work opportunities for others,” Minister for Small Business John Barilaro said in a statement.

“The lifting of the payroll tax threshold will not only save business owners money, it will save them time and give them the opportunity to take on that extra staff member, or pursue new ideas to grow their business.”

Additionally, the NSW government will look to take advantage of the $300 million promised by the federal government in the last budget to states that implement regulatory reform to remove red tape for businesses, signing a $95.9 million agreement with the government.

This will be used to bolster the state’s Easy to do Business program, expanding it and and extending the program to the housing sector.

“The Easy to do Business pilots have slashed red tape by cutting the time, cost and complexity of starting up a cafe, restaurant or small bar,” Barilaro said in a statement.

“Instead of waiting up to 18 months and filling out up to 48 forms, an aspiring cafe, restaurant or small bar owner can expect to open in less than 90 days by using one online platform and with the help of a Service NSW Business Concierge. The NSW Government is committed to making this State the easiest place to start and run a small business by removing barriers, costs and complexity.”

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