❓ Ms. Davies asks the Premier to reconsider increasing the payroll tax eligibility threshold to $1 million, citing unemployment figures. The Premier declines, blaming the previous Liberal-National government's debt.
AnsweredQoN 94Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PAYROLL TAX
94. Ms
M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I add my thoughts to those expressed
by the Leader of the Opposition and the Premier about the fires. The member for
Warren–Blackwood is absent from question time today because he is in
his electorate and I am sure that we are all thinking of the first responders
and the communities impacted.
Premier, I refer to today's
unemployment figures that show more Western Australians are out of work in 2019
than in any other point in our history. Will the Premier now reconsider the
Nationals WA proposal put to this house in November 2017 to increase the
payroll tax eligibility threshold from $850 000 to $1 million and, in turn,
provide a tax break to more than 1 100 business, including many in regional Western
Australia?
94. Ms
M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I add my thoughts to those expressed
by the Leader of the Opposition and the Premier about the fires. The member for
Warren–Blackwood is absent from question time today because he is in
his electorate and I am sure that we are all thinking of the first responders
and the communities impacted.
Premier, I refer to today's
unemployment figures that show more Western Australians are out of work in 2019
than in any other point in our history. Will the Premier now reconsider the
Nationals WA proposal put to this house in November 2017 to increase the
payroll tax eligibility threshold from $850 000 to $1 million and, in turn,
provide a tax break to more than 1 100 business, including many in regional Western
Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
We would love to do that if the
Liberal–National government had not left us with $40 billion of debt.
It would be a great initiative if we could fund it. Unfortunately, the Liberal–National
government blew debt by $3 billion to $5 billion a year over the course of its
time in office, despite having record revenue, and left us with an enormous
debt burden that is difficult to manage. Whilst we have successfully brought
government spending under control, from an average 6.7 per cent increase a year
under the Liberals and Nationals in office down to 1.2 per cent under this
government, and whilst we have successfully secured the greatest infrastructure
package ever seen from the commonwealth government and we successfully secured
the GST package out of the commonwealth government, it is still difficult to do
everything the opposition might like us to do.
All
the opposition ever does is come in here demanding that we spend more money and
that we cut taxes. That is all it ever does. When the Liberals and Nationals
were in office, as we all recall, they put up payroll tax, stamp duty and land
tax. They put up land tax on small businesses three times! We have to manage
that legacy. I meet with business all the time and I understand that
payroll tax is a significant burden, in particular for those that are around
the threshold. I note, despite record revenue when the Liberal–National
government was in office, it did not do what the member is suggesting here
today. All it did was have the worst financial management in the history of
Australia.
Liberal–National government had not left us with $40 billion of debt.
It would be a great initiative if we could fund it. Unfortunately, the Liberal–National
government blew debt by $3 billion to $5 billion a year over the course of its
time in office, despite having record revenue, and left us with an enormous
debt burden that is difficult to manage. Whilst we have successfully brought
government spending under control, from an average 6.7 per cent increase a year
under the Liberals and Nationals in office down to 1.2 per cent under this
government, and whilst we have successfully secured the greatest infrastructure
package ever seen from the commonwealth government and we successfully secured
the GST package out of the commonwealth government, it is still difficult to do
everything the opposition might like us to do.
All
the opposition ever does is come in here demanding that we spend more money and
that we cut taxes. That is all it ever does. When the Liberals and Nationals
were in office, as we all recall, they put up payroll tax, stamp duty and land
tax. They put up land tax on small businesses three times! We have to manage
that legacy. I meet with business all the time and I understand that
payroll tax is a significant burden, in particular for those that are around
the threshold. I note, despite record revenue when the Liberal–National
government was in office, it did not do what the member is suggesting here
today. All it did was have the worst financial management in the history of
Australia.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.