Question Without Notice No. 856 asked in the Legislative Council on 28 November 2017 by Hon Jacqui Boydell
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
856. Hon JACQUI BOYDELL to the minister representing the Treasurer:
I refer to payroll taxation in Western Australia.
(1) Did the government consider increasing the payroll tax threshold to, in part, offset the economic impact of its five-year plan to raise the taxation rate on businesses with payrolls exceeding $100 million?
(2) How many businesses in 2017–18 are estimated to pay payroll tax who fall within the payroll threshold of $850 000 and $1 million?
(3) Of those identified in (2), what is the collective payroll taxation expected to be collected?
(4) What would be the overall cost to government in lost revenue from raising the payroll taxation threshold to $1 million over the forward estimates?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. The following information was provided by the Treasurer.
(1) No. An increase to the payroll tax threshold was not possible given the challenging fiscal circumstances left by the previous Liberal–National government.
(2)–(4) The government is considering changes to the payroll-tax-free threshold as part of the 2018–19 budget and any existing indicative analysis will inform cabinet's decision-making.