Qld Budget 2020: Business fears payroll tax hit, JobKeeper end

This week’s Queensland Budget looms as a make-or-break effort for the state’s businesses, as a perfect storm looms in the new year.

Business has warned the Queensland Government that it must ease costs and provide further stimulus in tomorrow’s State Budget or risk traders collapsing across Queensland.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland has revealed its call centre has been swamped by concerned members seeking details about redundancy rules.

Millions of dollars in payroll tax bills that were deferred at the height of the coronavirus pandemic fall due in January, followed by the removal of federally funded JobKeeper payments in March.

CCIQ policy and advocacy general manager Amanda Rohan warned the “double whammy” was having a chilling effect on business confidence, and more must be done to prevent operators sacking staff or collapsing altogether.

“January to March is a critical time for businesses cash-wise,” she said.

“If businesses have to start paying back more and with the line of sight of JobKeeper, businesses are going to have to start making some solid decisions in the new year.”

Ms Rohan called on the re-elected Labor Government to waive deferred payroll tax bills and provide additional stimulus for small operators so they can grow and expand their businesses.

The News South Wales and Victorian governments both recently detailed big-spending Budgets that contained significant new initiatives aimed at specific sections of their struggling economies.

A $500 million scheme was unveiled in NSW under which families were given $100 to spend at local restaurants to revive the struggling hospitality sector while the Victorian Government announced direct wage subsidies to help women and young people get back to work.

The Queensland Government has insisted its new commitment would be restricted to the $4 billion in debt-funded promises made during last month’s election campaign.

Along with further targeted measures and faster spending of the $140 million “Big Plans for Small Business” fund, Ms Rohan said the Government needed to detail a pipeline of projects to give business certainty.

“We have these four years ahead of us now so we have the foundations to lay down that pipeline,” she said.

“Let’s take advantage of these four-year terms.

“If we can’t get those plans bedded down and that pipeline bedded down in that four-year term we are really going to miss some opportunities to get our economy back on its feet”

Originally published as Qld Budget 2020: Business fears payroll tax hit, JobKeeper end