Wednesday, 5 August 2026
Tax time is a useful reminder of the many obligations businesses carry—and of the need to ensure our tax system supports growth rather than holding it back.
One tax that deserves closer attention is payroll tax. The NSW Coalition has proposed lifting the payroll tax threshold from $1.2 million to $1.5 million, reducing the rate from 5.45 per cent to 4.75 per cent for businesses with Australian payrolls below $10 million, and indexing thresholds to inflation.
The reforms are expected to remove about 4,000 businesses from the payroll tax system and provide a lower rate to another 25,000 businesses across New South Wales. Hundreds of small businesses across Willoughby would benefit from this sensible reform.
Small businesses are the backbone of Chatswood. They create local jobs, support community organisations, activate our shopping streets, and give our area its energy and character.
Payroll tax reform must be affordable and responsibly implemented. However, at tax time, we should ask whether our current settings reward businesses for employing more people—or penalise them for growing. That question deserves a serious answer.
I’ll continue raising these issues in Parliament on your behalf. Please contact my office at [email protected] and let me know how I can assist you and your business.
Tim James MP
Shadow Minister for Fair Trading, Work Health and Safety and Building
Shadow Minister for Local Government
Shadow Minister for Veterans
Member for Willoughby