Business taxed even more…
APART from social security recipients, and they may well be affected in the future as well, everyone will in one way or another be hit with the latest increase in tax that has come out of the latest State Budget.
Judging from last week’s State budget, you’d think that business hasn’t already been through enough heartache and stress caused by the COVID lockdowns.
You see, if you tax business, eventually everyone pays for it.
That’s precisely what the State Government has done. It’s Increased payroll tax adding to an already high tax on employment with a surcharge to be paid by 9000 of the largest employers in the State’s private sector workforce. The surcharge is to cover the increase in mental health services which needs extra funding but surely there’s a better way?
For the right of employing people and attempting to grow your business, business continues to be taxed at huge levels. The existing payroll tax is already a big tax on employment because a business is taxed for actually employing people, it is quite extraordinary this tax even exists especially for smaller businesses.
Direct and indirect taxes paid by Australians are among the highest in the world.
Any increase in taxes is a handbrake on employment and some of a business’s potential growth, they’re usually hidden and eventually all employees and employers pay for it.
So, what is the alternative? More prudent expenditure across the public sector would be a good start. While the state public sector balloons with extraordinary pay rises to be handed down in the coming 12 months (9.6 per cent increase next financial year), how can the private sector compete?
It’s as if business has to fight to survive with one hand tied behind its back while the public sector thrives unchallenged and the scenario of this continuing will spell disaster for many businesses in the future.
This tax increase is just one of several the State government is implementing from last week’s budget that is extremely concerning for the health of private business and the timing for these extra taxes is bad.
