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• $135million payroll tax relief package

• Nearly of half taxable employers eligible for a full or partial rebate of their 2012-13 payroll tax

• Eligible businesses hiring new employees with a disability or new indigenous employees to benefit from payroll tax relief

The State Government will provide $135million payroll tax relief in the 2012-13 State Budget to reduce the tax burden on small businesses and advance employment opportunities for people with a disability and indigenous Australians.

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Treasurer Christian Porter today announced a payroll tax rebate, worth $128million, to help small businesses throughout the State.

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?The small business payroll tax rebate aims to reduce the tax burden on small businesses and helps ensure Western Australia remains an attractive place to do business,? Mr Porter said.

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The Treasurer said small businesses with Australia-wide group payrolls up to $1.5million in the 2012-13 financial year would receive a full rebate of their WA payroll tax liabilities, with a maximum value of $41,250. The rebate would gradually phase out for small businesses with payrolls between $1.5million and $3million.

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Mr Porter said while the State?s economy continued to prosper, it was important to recognise the pressures small businesses faced in a competitive economy.

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?The Government has made a conscious decision to assist small businesses throughout the State as the backbone of our economy,? he said.

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Finance and Small Business Minister Simon O?Brien said nearly half of taxable employers would be eligible for a rebate, with about 3,100 employers eligible for a full rebate and a further 3,600 employers eligible for a partial rebate. This translated to about 6,700 employers effectively not having to pay payroll tax for about 86,000 employees in 2012-13.

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The Government is also introducing two new ongoing payroll tax relief measures aimed at encouraging the employment of people with a disability, or of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent.

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Mr Porter said the measures would make it more attractive for businesses to employ disadvantaged and vulnerable members of the community whose attributes might otherwise go under-recognised.

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Mr O?Brien said from July 1, 2012 businesses would be exempt from payroll tax for wages paid in the first two years of employment of new employees with a disability for whom they receive a Commonwealth Disability Employment Services wage subsidy, or who were eligible for any form of Western Australian Disability Services Commission support.

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Disability Services Minister Helen Morton said this measure would help increase employment opportunities for people with a disability and further their participation in the community, while helping the employer to fill important positions.

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This payroll tax exemption is estimated to cost $5million over the four-year budget period, with employers saving about $2,700 for each new employee with a disability. It is estimated that wages paid to about 2,100 new employees would be exempt over the four-year budget period.

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Mr O?Brien also said that from July 1, 2012 businesses with an Australia wide annual group payroll of up to $15million would be eligible for a rebate of 100 per cent of the payroll tax they paid on wages in the first two years of employment of new indigenous employees for whom they also received a Commonwealth Indigenous Wage Subsidy.

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Indigenous Affairs Minister Peter Collier said Aboriginal people remained among the most severely disadvantaged groups in the labour market.

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Employers who met the payroll threshold test would be able to apply for the payroll tax rebate at the end of each financial year.

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The rebate is expected to cost about $1million over the four-year budget period, with employers saving about $3,800 for each new indigenous employee. Payroll tax on wages paid to about 200 new employees was expected to be rebated over the budget period.

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In recognition of the importance of giving small businesses a low-cost, efficient means of resolving disputes, the Government has also committed to additional recurrent funding for the Alternative Dispute Resolution service of $925,000 in 2012-13, rising to $1,322,000 in 2015-16.

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Mr O?Brien said the initiative was yet another example of the Liberal-National Government listening to the needs of small business. Further, in recognition of the pressures on Small Business Centres (SBCs) and the important role they played as service providers, the Government has committed to maintaining the additional funding of SBCs across the State. This is a continuation of the $500,000 of additional funding allocated in the 2011-12 Budget.

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????? Fact File

• In the 2008 election, the Liberal-National Govt committed to allocating $250m in tax relief during its first term and has now delivered on this promise

• Payments of the one-off rebate will be made in first half of the 2013-14 financial year

• According to the ABS: in 2009, 135,000 Western Australians with a disability were in the labour force (including 10,200 who were seeking work); in 2010, 6,000 indigenous West Australians were seeking employment (out of 27,400 in the labour force)

• The Alternative Dispute Resolution service commenced operation on March 26, 2012. It provides a low-cost, non-litigious means of resolving business-to-business and business-to-government disputes

Treasurer?s office - 6552 5600

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