Payroll tax is not the answer

The 2021-22 Victorian Budget has proposed a payroll tax hike.

A mid-sized business with 250 employees paying the average full-time wage will pay over $60,000 more payroll tax a year.

Payroll tax is a tax on jobs.

Payroll tax makes no sense. Increases to payroll tax act as a disincentive for businesses to grow and create more jobs. It's as simple as that.

The costs are felt by employees through slower wages growth, consumers through higher prices, super funds through lower dividends and jobseekers who can't find work.

This is the worst possible time to increase taxes.

Victorian businesses have been - and continue to be - smashed by long and difficult lockdowns. Why on earth would we want to slug them now?

Victoria is becoming an uncompetitive place to do business.

Some of the biggest employers in the state will simply look elsewhere to do business, invest in new projects and create jobs. Other states are cutting payroll tax and competing hard for business.

A large business with 5,000 employees paying the average full-time wage will pay around $4 million more payroll tax a year. That's the equivalent of 43 jobs.

Everyone agrees mental health is an important issue especially in Victoria where the community has borne the brunt of this pandemic.

That’s why the business community already spends millions of dollars on mental health programs for their employees and contributes significantly to many community initiatives.

Having a job, being productive and having a purpose is important for good mental health. If mental health is the issue, a tax on jobs is not the answer.

The business community stands ready to work with the Victorian Parliament on a better solution to the mental health challenges.

A large business with 25,000 employees paying the average full-time wage will pay over $20 million more payroll tax a year. That's the equivalent of over 240 jobs.

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Authorised by J. Clark for the Business Council of Australia of 120 Collins St, Melbourne.

Support the campaign

Support the campaign against payroll tax hikes by emailing your local member of Parliament today.

This campaign is no longer active. Thank you for your interest.