CUT RED TAPE

Small businesses in Australia SUFFER through OUTRAGEOUS amounts of red-tape in any given week.

In NSW, small businesses are spending roughly 14 hours a week on compliance - time they could be spending on growing their business and their families!

The costs of meeting this compliance is estimated at a STAGGERING $58,000 per year!

Recent data from the IPA shows that we have had an enormous increase in legislation over the past decade (6000 pages a year!)*

Data also shows that larger corporations use their size and influence to push for compliance changes which SCREW OVER the little guys.

Government has a responsibility to protect small businesses and ensure we can thrive - we are the heart and soul of this nation, employing roughly half of the workforce.

*Researchers use the change in the number of pages of legislation as the marker for changes in red tape levels

CUT ENERGY PRICES

Governments in Australia are more concerned with appeasing either the climate change believers or the sceptics than to bother doing anything about our SKYROCKETING energy prices.

We have an issue in NSW with wasting huge amounts of generated power - much of which could be reduced with an effective transition to smarter cities.

Since 2015 we have seen an increase in energy prices of around 130% - this is unsustainable and is forcing small business to the wall!

The Grattan institute shows these increases are due to supply costs (which are likely unnecessary) and gaming of the system (to create a false lack of supply), which is currently legal under our frameworks.

THE WASTE AND UNETHICAL ACTIONS OF THE POWER COMPANIES NEEDS TO STOP!

An effective energy and sustainability policy is vital to protect our small businesses, our families, and to ensure the viability of our local communities.

CUT STAMP DUTY

Stamp duty adds a huge upfront burden to first-home buyers, young families, and discourages retirees and pensioners from downsizing their home.

Data shows that stamp duty adds an EXTRA 17% to the deposit needed to purchase a new home - in Sydney this means home buyers now need on average a $250000 DEPOSIT* to purchase a home.

Stamp duty also prevents retirees and pensioners from downsizing to more suitable housing, which affects their quality of life and the overall levels of housing supply.

We will:

• ABOLISH stamp duty for downsizing retirees and pensioners,
• SLASH stamp duty rates for everyone else, and
• PROTECT home buyers through the implementation of a HECS style (staggered payment) system to reduce the UPFRONT BURDEN on purchasers.

*Figures based on Sydney median house price of $1,000,000

NO PAYROLL TAX

There are better ways to raise funds for state growth without punishing one of the largest contributors to our states' coffers - the small business sector. Why does small business always pay multiple times in NSW - WE carry an unfair burden.

Payroll tax is a disincentive to business growth - plain and simple.

Jobs and growth is the great motto of Governments year in and year out - but they actively try to stifle that.

If payroll tax wasn't a barrier to jobs growth in the small business sector, then why does Government need programs to subsidise this tax (if you call $6000 an incentive at all).

Removing this burden on small businesses WILL drive jobs growth, business investment, and innovation - all vital to a sustainable economy.

NO LAND TAX

If we remove the burden of land tax from NSW, we reduce the overheads necessary for businesses to operate, but also assist with housing affordability for families and communities.

The Small Business Party believes that land tax is a significant inhibitor to business and family stability. As land taxes continue to rise in NSW, these costs need to be accounted for in some way and more often than not are passed onto those small businesses and families.

This is another tax on property in NSW, which is already heavily and unfairly taxed.

On average across Sydney in 2018 - land tax accounted for the following extra costs on private tenants and commercial lessees:

• An average of $5028 in land tax (on a residential investment property)
  • This equals an extra $100 PER WEEK to the average renter in Sydney
• An average of $21028 in land tax (on a commercial investment property)
  • This equals an extra $400 PER WEEK to the average commercial tenant in Sydney