Chamber welcomes payroll tax cut

Illawarra's largest business organisation, Illawarra Business Chamber, has welcomed the NSW Government's announcement to cut NSW's payroll tax rate by a further 0.05% in the NSW State Budget.

NSW's payroll tax rate will be cut from the current rate of 5.65% to 5.5% from 1 July, six months earlier than originally planned, and then cut again by a further 0.05% to 5.45% from 1 January 2011.

These cuts represent a $300 million reduction in the cost of doing business in NSW.

NSW is in competition with the other states to be an attractive place to do business - cutting payroll tax makes NSW more competitive with Queensland and Victoria.

IBC, in conjunction with NSW Business Chamber outlined a fully-funded plan to cut NSW's payroll tax rate to 4.95% by 2015 as part of its pre-election blueprint, "10 Big Ideas to Grow NSW".

Queensland and Victoria have payroll tax rates less than 5%. We would like to see the NSW Government continue its campaign to cut payroll tax beyond 2011.

NSW businesses pay $1,870 in payroll tax per employee, compared to $1,498 in Victoria.

A lower payroll tax rate in Victoria is an incentive for businesses to by-pass NSW and set up shop in Victoria. We need to continue the drive towards a more competitive tax rate with the other states.