PAYROLL TAX —
THRESHOLD
649. Hon COLIN TINCKNELL to the Leader of the House
representing the Premier:
By his own admission, the Premier
believes that reducing payroll tax for small business is desirable. Many
business and industry leaders have also stated their desire for this to happen,
and that such a move would stimulate and help grow the Western Australian
economy.
(1) In light of
this and the government's better than expected fiscal position, will
the Premier now seriously consider One Nation's previous proposal to
raise the payroll tax threshold to $1 000 000?
(2) If not, can
the Premier please provide me with the amount of revenue the government stands
to lose by increasing the payroll tax threshold by $150 000, from $850 000 to
$1 000 000?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(2) The
state government is committed to job creation and recognises that changes to
payroll tax is something that is desirable. The government is also committed to
repaying the $40 billion plus debt left to the taxpayers of Western Australia
by the previous government, a commitment acknowledged by the recent upgrading
of the state's credit rating. We will continue to monitor the issue of
increasing the payroll tax threshold while continuing to pay down state debt.