Payroll tax holiday extended in win for small business
A payroll tax break is welcome news for this Brisbane cafe, which was forced to close twice due to coronavirus-related incidents.
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Struggling businesses have been offered a reprieve with a payroll tax holiday extended and stamp duty abolished for some small businesses.
The State Government will waive payroll tax instead of deferring it for July and August for small businesses with a wages bills of up to $6.5 million.
The move, combined with exempting JobKeeper payments from payroll tax, is set to cost the state $925 million.
Treasurer Cameron Dick said he understood conditions still hadn’t improved for some business as he committed to make more red-tape reduction announcements in the future.
Number of staff earning more than $120,000 jumps by thousands
The Government also extended the 25 per cent land tax rebate this financial year so landlords could continue providing rental relief.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland welcomed the “tangible support” towards immediate relief.
Property Council of Australia Queensland executive director Chris Mountford welcomed the extended land tax relief.
“This cost saving will assist landlords and tenants as they to continue to work together to navigate the current challenges,” he said.
Businesses will be allowed to pay off existing payroll tax deferred liabilities over 2021.
Meanwhile the Government will inject $500 million into the new Backing Business Investment Fund which will invest into other areas of the economy.
CCIQ economist Jack Baxter said the fund was a positive step forward in supporting business to scale up and grow.
Mr Dick said the fund would support good-quality Queensland businesses that needed capital to create jobs.
“Importantly, the fund will also consider taking ownership positions in assets that have been previously privatised, where it means more jobs for Queenslanders,” he said.
The Treasurer said the fund would be able to partner with superannuation funds.
“More than ever, Queensland businesses need to be resilient and agile to deal with rapidly evolving threats and opportunities,” he said.
“The Backing Queensland Business Investment Fund will provide a catalyst for these businesses to address challenges or take opportunities much more rapidly than they would be able to do so otherwise.“
The Jam Pantry in Greenslopes is one of thousands of struggling small businesses that hopes to benefit from the extended payroll tax holiday.
The popular Greenslopes cafe reopened on Friday after having closed twice in recent months due to two instances of COVID-positive people visiting the cafe.
“It’s still quiet, Father’s Day was OK but it’s still very quiet,” owner Victor Chan said.
Mr Chan and his young family took over the Jam Pantry in May during the wake of Queensland’s COVID-19 lockdown.
With his nine staff not eligible for JobKeeper, payroll tax relief will help him to stay afloat
“I didn’t even know about it (the payroll tax relief) but that will be very helpful,” he said.
“Everyone knows that I stay positive all of the time... I’m really grateful to our customers.”
The cafe is open seven days, 7am-2:30pm.