Thousands of small to medium-size businesses in Western Australia will start receiving their payroll tax rebate cheques or credits this week.
Premier and Treasurer Colin Barnett said the one-off $100million payroll tax rebate scheme, announced in the 2009-10 State Budget, was a major initiative by the Liberal-National Government to encourage employers to retain staff during the recent Global Financial Crisis.
"One of the major objectives of the State Government's first budget in May 2009 was to protect jobs and support the Western Australian economy following the global economic downturn in late 2008. The payroll tax rebate has played a key role in achieving this objective," Mr Barnett said.
More than 6,500 small to medium-size businesses are expected to receive the rebate on payroll tax which becomes payable after a company's total Australian wages exceed $750,000.
The rebate, which will be worth up to $46,750 per employer, will typically assist companies which employ approximately 11 to 46 full-time staff.
The rebate will offset the total 2009-10 payroll tax liabilities of employers who pay less than $1.6million in wages.
Employers who pay between $1.6million and $3.2million will receive a partial rebate, which will be calculated on a sliding scale.
Mr Barnett said about 70 per cent of the rebates were expected to be issued by the end of the week, with the remainder following progressively thereafter.
"To its great credit, the small business sector of Western Australia has kept people on so we haven't seen the job losses that could have occurred during this downturn and our small business sector has remained strong. Employers can choose to use their cheque to expand their business or take on a young apprentice - whatever they want," he said.
Employers seeking further information about the rebate should contact the Office of State Revenue on (08) 9262 1300, or 1300 368 364 for country callers.
Premier's office - 9222 9475
