WA businesses pay 5.5% tax just for hiring people.
Once a business’s wages pass $1 million a year, WA charges payroll tax at 5.5%. The tax-free amount shrinks as wages grow and disappears at $7.5 million.
That means a growing local business is taxed hardest just as it takes on more staff. Payroll tax is charged whether or not the business made a profit.
It is a tax on employing West Australians. A better way is to reward the businesses that create local jobs.
What we’d do
- Cut payroll tax, with the long-term goal of abolishing it.
- Lift the tax-free threshold as a first step.
- Freeze the 5.5% rate while it is phased down.