Letter to Editor, The Adertiser, 17 December 2013
Holden’s departure and SA’s increased unemployment figures led to calls last week to reduce payroll tax. Business leaders claimed that South Australians face the second harshest state taxes in the country and that this stops our state attracting investment. Maybe? But nobody could realistically suggest that Holden pulled up stumps because of payroll tax.
SACOSS calculations show that currently SA’s payroll tax is the second highest in the nation for employers whose payroll is $1-$2m per year. However, for employers with payrolls above $5m a year, SA payroll tax is the third lowest in the country.
We know that overall, South Australians pay about $450 a year less in taxes per capita than the national average and government revenues are historically low.
This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look at payroll and other taxes, but we need to do so, remembering that taxes pay for the vital services that we all want and rely on – businesses as well as the community. If we reduce payroll taxes, where will the money come from to fund the services we need?
Ross Womersley,
Executive Director, SACOSS