Liberals commit to increasing payroll tax threshold

Doing business in South Australia is getting harder and harder under Peter Malinauskas and Labor.

In the short space of time from the last quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, SA’s economy has gone from above trend and an accelerating pace to below trend and decelerating.

The ANZ Stateometer Report has confirmed underlying business investment has now fallen into negative territory and is well below the national average – a huge threat to ongoing business and employment growth in SA.

Whether it’s power bills, workforce challenges or payroll tax, every small business has a pinch point right now - with some considering winding back hours or even closing their doors altogether.

There are some common-sense levers that government can pull to help alleviate some of the pressure on small businesses, but unfortunately we didn’t see any proactive action taken in the latest state Labor budget.

One area which gets businesses riled up is payroll tax - and I completely understand, because it’s a flat-out tax on jobs.

Increasing the payroll tax threshold is something we are committed to doing should we form government in two years’ time. We’ve been calling for the current threshold to be lifted from $1.5 million up to $2.1 million which is a significant shift.

We also want to provide further relief by delivering payroll tax exemptions for apprentices and trainees, which is a common-sense step and one we’ll keep calling on the government to implement.

As well as alleviating cost pressures, payroll tax reform could incentivise job creation. Two birds, one stone!

Tanunda Clubhouse general manager Jack Ferrett has recently told members that they’re winding back dining hours to cope with business pressures - namely payroll tax.

In The Leader Newspaper this week Jack had this to say:

“Shouldn’t business be rewarded for providing jobs, not bombarded with extra tax?

“We just can’t afford to be handicapped for employing people.

“Surely the State Government could show a little bit of empathy toward small to medium businesses trying to survive these difficult times?”

Payroll tax has a direct impact on a business’ ability to operate and grow which is why we’re so disappointed there’s been no reform in this area – despite the Premier’s “pro-business” promises.

How many small businesses need to make the difficult decision to close their doors under skyrocketing costs before Labor steps up to the plate to help?

The Liberal Party is committed to supporting small businesses, and we’ve got the plans to implement a range of pro-business policies if we form government in 2026.

We want to take the handbrake off businesses so they can grow and employ more people!