The QLD Government is making good on a number of election commitments with measures announced in the 2018 State Budget.
While not quite as dramatic and appealing as the changes to payroll tax announced by the NSW State Government, the Queensland Treasurer, Ms Jackie Trad, announced several tax-related measures which should bring financial relief to Queensland-based businesses.
As part of the Revenue Legislation Amendment Bill, the rebate on payroll tax for wages paid to apprentices and trainees will be extended for a further 12 months, to 30 June 2019.
The rebate, at the increased rate of 50%, is in addition to these wages being exempt and as such, may be used as an offset against the payroll tax that businesses are subject to, on other employees’ wages. The measure is part of the Government’s Advancing Small Business Queensland Strategy and should bring welcome financial relief to business employing apprentices and trainees.
However, businesses should ensure they fully understand the detail in this measure, especially if self-assessing their payroll tax.
“Payroll tax is a very complex tax and often misunderstood and with major financial penalties for businesses who which incorrectly calculate their obligations. We definitely recommend that businesses engage a payroll tax specialist,” Peter Tobin, Managing Partner of Lawyers, Tobin Partners said.
Peter explained that this measure only applies to Queensland businesses as payroll tax differs in each state and if employing staff in several states, companies need to fully understand which apprentices and trainees this rebate applies to.
Additional Tax Measures
In addition to the payroll tax measure, the Queensland Treasurer announced a number of other tax-related measures. A 15% betting tax will be imposed on some betting operators (refer thresholds) for bets place by their Queensland customers.
An increase to land tax for landholdings above $10 million will also come into effect, as will additional vehicle registration duty for vehicles over $100,000 in value and an increase in the duty when a foreign person acquires certain Queensland residential land.
Review Your Situation
In the light of these tax-related changes, businesses are encouraged to speak with our payroll tax specialists, to review and revise your own situation, to see how any of these and other budget announcements may affect your tax obligations.
To discuss how the Queensland State Government changes to Payroll Tax and other tax measures effect your business, speak with us at Tobin Partners, Lawyers by email or call Peter Tobin 0438 001 809 for a confidential discussion on how to calculate payroll tax for your business.
