Business Sector Calls For Tax Cuts
Sun Herald
Sunday June 20, 2004
THE State Chamber of Commerce yesterday called on the Carr Government to cut taxes in Tuesday's budget to stop the flight of businesses from NSW.
The organisation's chief executive Margy Osmond said the business community was looking to the Government to create a more affordable environment in which it could operate.
``This means a lower tax burden, a less costly compliance system and a more manageable workers compensation scheme," she said.
``We would like to see the State Government allocate funding in the budget for an audit of business taxes and compliance costs with a view to making it easier to do business in NSW."
She said a recent poll conducted by the State Chamber of Commerce and NRMA Insurance showed a perception among the businesses surveyed that it was easier to do business in other states.
``Almost half of the 330 businesses surveyed throughout NSW said they knew of a company that had moved interstate in the past two years with more than a third nominating high state taxes as the main reason.
``More than 50 per cent of respondents said they would like to see payroll tax cuts and a reduction in other state taxes."
For example, NSW has a payroll tax rate of 6 per cent which kicks in at $600,000, while Queensland has a rate of 4.45 per cent which doesn't kick in until $850,000.
With a recent decline in business confidence in NSW, Mrs Osmond said that the private sector needed some relief to create jobs and build infrastructure.
``In short, we need a state budget which focuses on making it more affordable to do business in NSW, not a budget which focuses yet again on raising more revenue from business," she said.
The NSW economy is under sustained attack from competitors in other states. The tourism industry, in particular, is battling against Queensland and Victoria to maintain market share of the nation's biggest dollar earner.
In Queensland yesterday, a row broke out over budget cuts to the state's tourism spending.
Queensland's Opposition leader Lawrence Springborg said that state's share of the backpacker market had fallen by 10 per cent over the past four years compared with other Australian states. He added that NSW and Victoria have taken the lion's share.
He put the loss of backpacker market share down to Premier Peter Beattie's decision to slice $4.6 million off Queensland's tourism budget and drop its Sunshine State slogan.
© 2004 Sun Herald
